Russian Superleague 2017/2018

  • This is the worst commentating ever for a playoff series. I want to hear the players,the coaches and the crowd not the commentator overpowering all the sounds. :white:

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • Belogorie is in big trouble. Kemerovo is definitely not the 7th seeded team with this kind of performance. Their form was heavily damaged after the russian cup final but they are stronger than the top 4-6 team when they are in good condition to play.


    Belogorie is a big puzzle with too many pieces missing right now.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • Belgorod have spent their training time very wisely. A clear improvement in the cheerleaders' performance.
    The team trails 0-2 to Kuzbass but who cares? It's now or never for them in set 3.



    Upd:
    0-3 it is, just like 3 month ago at the Cup. Belgorod is badly in need of OHs, Yereshenko and Tetyukhin do not always deliver. Wait a sec, this chap who starts for Kuzbass, Podlesnykh, the one who scored so much today - where did Kuzbass get him from? :)


    I wonder what they'll be able to do within one week. Things do not look good as they are and unless smth bad happens to Poletaev Belgorod would struggle in Kemerovo.

  • Belogorie is in big trouble. Kemerovo is definitely not the 7th seeded team with this kind of performance. Their form was heavily damaged after the russian cup final but they are stronger than the top 4-6 team when they are in good condition to play.


    Squad-wise, Kuzbass is within top 4. On the bench, they have people like Makarov, Apalikov, Ilinykh, Nikitin. Vasilyev (the bench opp) was among the top scorers last season. But the Podlesnykh business is still my favourite. I would say, this is an excellent reflection of the sport/scouting challenges in the locally minded community.

  • Belgorod have spent their training time very wisely. A clear improvement in the cheerleaders' performance.
    The team trails 0-2 to Kuzbass but who cares? It's now or never for them in set 3.


    Squad-wise, Kuzbass is within top 4. On the bench, they have people like Makarov, Apalikov, Ilinykh, Nikitin. Vasilyev (the bench opp) was among the top scorers last season. But the Podlesnykh business is still my favourite. I would say, this is an excellent reflection of the sport/scouting challenges in the locally minded community.


    I think what's worse is taking Grozer and not using him which implies he is still not keen with Grankin's playmaking yet. :gone:


    I agree with Podlesnykh. I'm still shocked they let him go to get a fragile Biryukov(who got injured eventually) when he is younger,energetic and much eager to learn. He also has a great serve. He might be a little unpolished compared to the Tetyukhin and the ukrainian but sometimes I feel youth and energy can be contagious in a good way if they actually tried developing the talent within him.


    Belogorie favoring experience when it could've been a big chance to rebuild the team(Belogorie is like ancient :teach: ) was such a missed opportunity and now he is beating you up in another uniform. :white:

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • Squad-wise, Kuzbass is within top 4. On the bench, they have people like Makarov, Apalikov, Ilinykh, Nikitin. Vasilyev (the bench opp) was among the top scorers last season. But the Podlesnykh business is still my favourite. I would say, this is an excellent reflection of the sport/scouting challenges in the locally minded community.

    And they changed their coach for the 4th this season already, right? Kuzyutkin was way too old for the job and now it goes back down to... Alexander Kosarev :D

  • I think the worst part is not Kuzyutkin's age but his history as a men's volleyball coach. :gone: I would like to think that's not his mistake if he accepted the vacant position. The fault should be solely on the person who actually hired him in the first place.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • The worst Belgorod I've seen in years. A spark of hope showed in 1st set @19:24 but it's unbelieveable how they missed to convert 5 mp's in a row due to poor reception. But what I really dont understand is lack of vision in terms of coaching in Belgorod. Kosarev, Bogomolov, Cretu, Kuzyutkin and again Kosarev couldnt fid to use potential of this team. Ok, they lacked width on OH position but still this is huge failure for Belgorod.


    Kuzbass was brilliant in both matches, I was stunned with calmness in 1st set, fighting spirit and tactics in general. Sammelvuo is doing great job and I'm sure they'll win CEV or Challenge cup next year

  • Congratulations to Zenit St. Petersburg.


    Great performance from everyone. It's hard to single out anyone for the victory. They had come a long way especially Sivozhelez and Pankov. I think with this improvement...both players deserved a call up from Shlyapnikov atleast for the VNL. I know Sivozhelez isn't the best attacking option out there but his leadership might be needed with how young Volkov and Kliuka are. Pankov is a legend in the making. I just hope he stays grounded but I feel he has the competitive nature that is needed more than ever from a setter. It could be a nice break from rather stoic setters like Grankin or Butko and he has the serve and block. I don't think I've ever seen a setter score this much. The setting I think has also improved. Connection with Luburic is now better than ever.


    Fakel had a hard time with Moroz not playing well. He didn't start the game but was forced to play so I am guessing he got injured or his performance from the first game put him on the bench. The loss of opposite scoring was not remedied by Volkov or Kliuka who played their best in the team despite some lapses.



    I'm not sure of the reward but it seems like they have won the champions league qualification because of the rerouting of placings with Kuzbass' victory against Belogorie.


    I thought Kuzbass will inherit Belogorie's league standing in the playoffs but it turned out that they will have to play against Zenit Kazan in the semifinal. I am surprised by this but it's a pleasant surprise in my opinion.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • The worst Belgorod I've seen in years. A spark of hope showed in 1st set @19:24 but it's unbelieveable how they missed to convert 5 mp's in a row due to poor reception. But what I really dont understand is lack of vision in terms of coaching in Belgorod. Kosarev, Bogomolov, Cretu, Kuzyutkin and again Kosarev couldnt fid to use potential of this team. Ok, they lacked width on OH position but still this is huge failure for Belgorod.


    Kuzbass was brilliant in both matches, I was stunned with calmness in 1st set, fighting spirit and tactics in general. Sammelvuo is doing great job and I'm sure they'll win CEV or Challenge cup next year


    I wouldn't say Belgorod was that bad but clearly after the first set (that they lost from 23:16!) things looked a bit surreal for all of them. I wouldn't say they had a bad season either. Rather that they got worn off towards the play-offs. They beat Kazan at home in a very spectacular way and - note it - spent several days at the top of the Superleague table, after dismissing Kazan. Something that hasn't happened for four years in Rus. The team had their "demons" throughout the season that obviously finished them off in the (premature) ending, Kuzbass being one of the demons. It is tempting to blame it all to the declining mental health of their demiurge Shipulin who keeps shuffling the executives with his invisible hand. Likewise, one can dig into their financial particulars and blame it all on the short-sighted boss of Metalloinvest who wants it all and now.


    My take is usual: the first problem is the local Boris Yeltsin-styled thinking whereby a well-funded team appoints a loyal clown or a group of such at a managerial post. And then tries to remedy the situation by hiring random adventurers to help up during the season. Note that there were four managers with a strong track-record available on the Rus market (Shlyapnikov. Cherednik, Voronkov and, briefly, Marichev) but somehow none of them showed up in Belgorod. Noone wants to be kicked out like a teenager bcz of a single loss and lack of local links.


    Secondly, the roster is definitely not assessed adequately. Tetyukhin is still regarded as a top OH in Belgorod - the guy is in many ways phenomenal but Poletaev scored 30 points by hitting over his block in two play-off games. By far the most prolific goal-scorer of the amateur Night Hockey league in Rus is someone called VV Putin: this phenomenal athlete scores seven goals in every game he plays, despite starting his hockey career at the age of 50+. This prodigy hockey player somehow fails to make it to the NT roster - Tetyukhin is still very much untouchable nevertheless.


    Belgorod had a mixed success on the OH market in the summer. Retiring the disabled Taras Khtei-Shipulin was an obvious achievement that brought them several wins. But then letting Podlesnykh go (who suddenly became a decent player over the summer) and dropping Biryukov (who was able to recover by the play-offs) was hard to understand. Nevertheless they had enough funds to keep three opposites and then, after hiring Grozer, move Bakun to the bench. They had two "young" OHs, Semenov and Spodobets, who looked OK early season and... where are they now? I would sell them to Kuzbass :). Even bigger bizarre was with MBs. The two local guys, Safonov and Khanipov are professional bench-players, one can block, the other can serve. How on Earth do these guys start a set in a play-off game? Yes, Muserskiy and Nikolov have problems with their shoulders but, again, would have been logical to rest the two throughout the season and focus on play-offs.


    Lastly, from what I've heard, their performance until the end on Jan has won Belgorod the budget for the next season. I guess, their home game vs Kazan was in this sense a final :).


    In the meantime, Novosibirsk is close to focusing on CL games - down two sets to Moscow, at home. The game does look very close though - having Grozer wouldn't harm here. Zhigalov and Pavlov do not score.

  • I forgot about Biryukov recovering. :gone:


    It would even be considered a black comedy if Belogorie paid all of his medical and rehab bills and they still let him go. :lol:

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • So amazed of Pankov. It helps that Zenit St. Petersburg is stable in everything compared to their first half of the season but he has shown maturity in a lot of times beyond that time. His serve and block is also great. I hope he does not stop improving.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • Was that an accidental or an intended play by Sivozhelez to destroy the ad board to delay the serve of Kooy? :gone:

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • Zenit From St. Petersburg must have a lot of fans in Moscow. It's like there's no home advantage at all.


    Good second set for both teams. Got some rallies there that went for nearly a minute. Dinamo Moscow's Kruglov and Berezhko with great serves to tie the match. Luburic made a lot of errors particularly on position 4. Pankov a little fast in some of his tosses but forgiveable.


    I have a feeling that Zenit using up all their challenges made them uneasy about their attack. Mostly on Luburic... He asked for the second failed challenge and that was the start of their instability.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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    Edited once, last by Rains_of_Castamere ().

  • Big away win for Zenit St. Petersburg in tiebreak.


    Zenit's serve,block and defense(Pankov's serve especially) destroyed Dinamo Moscow. The attack just came naturally after that.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • Why Poletaev wont play in last game vs Zenit Kazan ? Injury ? Anyone have information if he will play tomorrow?


    He had food poisoning before the first match.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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  • What an amazing comeback win by Zenit St. Petersburg to clinch their first ever final in the Russian Superleague.:drink:


    I thought they were goners when Dinamo Moscow stopped the Cuban from scoring but Pankov finally realized his distribution is wrong and started to use Luburic more and the other Zenit became stable after that heroic performance.


    Everyone responded to the desire from the serbian to win which brought forth the confidence and fire in their eyes to wage a come back after being down 2-0 and 8-0 in the third set. :obey:

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


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    Edited once, last by Rains_of_Castamere ().

  • This is a statement I made on the first page in this thread in mid-September. Perhaps I took Zenit St. Petersburg, albeit in their first full season as a team/club/organizataion, more seriously than I should have back then, it kind of paid off. You can say I am not even surprised they reached the play-offs finals :) Usually I am much better at analysis and observation rather than prediction, but I did well here :) The troubling signs in Belgorod turned out true in 2018, Dinamo kept being shaky, and technically speaking, together with the disappointment in Belgorod, Lokomotiv Novosibirsk failed the most. Hence, when all those happened, Petersburg's Zenit's final spot should not be touted as a big upset.

  • Have anyone read the interview of Ostapenko by Volleymob(my mistake... it is from a russian new site)? :gone:


    I'm not sure if it was a good idea to talk about Leroux but I guess the cultural divide between Russia and other western nations is very deep particularly on that topic of mental health. :whistle:


    He also talked about Dinamo Moscow under Marichev. I was always suspicious about their energy level going down in matches like their tendency to lose tiebreaks in the beginning of the season. They are still fond of losing tiebreaks like this Petersburg matches in the semifinal but they solved it around the time of the new coach which was what they needed to atleast save their season from the relegation zone.


    It's an interesting read particularly on the management of aging players imo.

    Favorite players: M: Maxim Mikhaylov, Murilo, Serginho, Aaron Russell, Otavio, Simone Giannelli, Ivan Zaytsev, Tsvetan Sokolov, Michał Kubiak, Mariusz Wlazly, Pawel Zagummy W: Sheilla, Zhu Ting, Natalia, Fe Garay, Fofao, Gabi, Thaisa, Foluke Akinradewo, Wei Qiuyue, Ding Xia, Carli Lloyd, Fabi, Natalia Goncharova, Yuko Sano, Saoris Kimura and Sakoda


    #FreeBritney

    Edited 2 times, last by Rains ().