2016 CEV DenizBank Champions League


  • That's stupid, how can Macerata hosts final4 if they aren't qualified? Bad italian journalism. For sure Macerata will be a candidate and they've already said it, but we are going to discover in february who will host the finals, not before


    I absolutely agree with you. Usually they announce the host before the draw for the Playoffs 12, some time in January or February. I can't remember whether we had known the organizer so much in advance before. I posted it as a rumour, maybe the Italian journalists know something more, or maybe they just wrote it because Lube have sent an official application.


  • I absolutely agree with you. Usually they announce the host before the draw for the Playoffs 12, some time in January or February. I can't remember whether we had known the organizer so much in advance before. I posted it as a rumour, mayblube the Italian journalists know something more, or maybe they just wrote it because Lube have sent an official application.


    Luba has sent it officially, but that stupid italian journalist understood another thing :aww:

    Per un pir, un pam un persec per na brogna e na rumleina, nuetr'a sam d'la Ghirlandeina nuetr'a sam da rispeter




  • Refused to further watch the third set of Marek vs. Berlin. What a bad match :white:


    Halkbank vs. Zenit seems to be more interesting. Spridonov seems to be in good form again. Mainly with his antics, of course. :roll:

  • Halkbanks players look like they only hope that this is going to be over soon. Something is seriously wrong there.......

  • I can officialy say that Budva - Hypo Innsbruck is the worst match I've seen in CL ever :obey: I wasted 130 minutes of my life on watching amateurs struggling with volleyball basics :aww: Simply pathetic, CEV ruined the best club competition in the world.

  • I can officialy say that Budva - Hypo Innsbruck is the worst match I've seen in CL ever :obey: I wasted 130 minutes of my life on watching amateurs struggling with volleyball basics :aww: Simply pathetic, CEV ruined the best club competition in the world.


    I don't think Cev has responsabilities if 100% of big money and sponsors are nowadays concentrated in Russia, Poland, Turkey and Italy. 10 years ago almost all countries were able to express good teams, today no. So what? Should we reform and create a special Champions League with teams from only the big 4 above? Proposals?

    Per un pir, un pam un persec per na brogna e na rumleina, nuetr'a sam d'la Ghirlandeina nuetr'a sam da rispeter




  • This is the lowest point in Halkbank's history.
    It is sure there will be departures after today's game.

    This version of Zenit has much better block-defense than the Leon-Mikhaylov one, which was a major issue for their opponents. Halkbank lacked a strong finish. Things worked well until Serebrennikov managed to explain what to do to control Le Roux and Kooy - it took a decent half an hour - after which life, in turn, got much brighter for the Zenitbenchers. Poletaev was cool-minded and very strong. Amazingly, he managed to spike against one block regularly. Salparov was the de facto captain and I must say he controlled things very well too.


    Last but not the least, one good thing about all this political blah-blah was that the chap with the whistle was as neutral as could be. This mostly extinct in Asia Minor phenomenon was a truly decisive factor too.

  • 4th set was brilliant by Kazan bench Players.

    From other way- what did You expect from Halkbank? I don't see there good names, average Team, that's all.


  • I don't think Cev has responsabilities if 100% of big money and sponsors are nowadays concentrated in Russia, Poland, Turkey and Italy. 10 years ago almost all countries were able to express good teams, today no. So what? Should we reform and create a special Champions League with teams from only the big 4 above? Proposals?

    We have chewed this topic over and over again. Many of us have agreed that the problem partially comes from the extended list of participants. We don't have 28 great teams across Europe, so reducing the number to, say, 20 is the first step. I also hope that the idea of introducing qualifiers for the group stage will be accepted and will last, then we will know that at least these smaller teams that usually change their rosters completely at the end of each season will have to show some skills before earning the right to enter the draw. I totally agree with you that with money now being a larger portion of motivation for international governing bodies we can't expect a tournament with 16 teams - they way it was in, let's say, 2000 or 2001. But with the emergence of developing volleyball markets outside Europe. e.g. Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, etc., some European countries find it hard to attract the best international stars. Also, the level of local leagues at some places, like Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, is not as great as it used to be and these teams often struggle in the Champions League. But there are other reasons for that as well, including the lack of talent sometimes. More doesn't necessarily mean better and CEV need to understand that when they discuss the future of the Champions League. One last example - take a look at the football Champions League. It is also almost always clear who the group winners will be and there is often a lack of drama before the elimination rounds. I doubt football fans enjoy some heavy beatings and level differences that much (the last example - Real vs. Malmo). This was also not the case there 10 or 15 years ago. It is a problem also occurring outside volleyball, so introducing qualifiers and reducing the number of groups (and teams) is a way for CEV to start, in my opinion.

    4th set was brilliant by Kazan bench Players.


    From other way- what did You expect from Halkbank? I don't see there good names, average Team, that's all.


    Actually, this is exactly what I see - good names and an average team. Le Roux, Kubiak, Travica, a recovering Sokolov and a decent Kooy are not anonymous players, you know. However, what they really lack is team spirit. Unlike last year, this season it doesn't really function well. I guess there are several reasons for that, but one of them is certain - Bernandi seems no more capable of motivating his players and creating a team out of them. To change the head coach is one of the things everyone is expecting now and this might be the right thing to do. Whether it will completely solve their problems (most probably not) is a different discussion.

  • I can officialy say that Budva - Hypo Innsbruck is the worst match I've seen in CL ever :obey: I wasted 130 minutes of my life on watching amateurs struggling with volleyball basics :aww: Simply pathetic, CEV ruined the best club competition in the world.



    You needed 130 minutes to recognize that You shouldn't watch the match because of level?


  • I don't think Cev has responsabilities if 100% of big money and sponsors are nowadays concentrated in Russia, Poland, Turkey and Italy. 10 years ago almost all countries were able to express good teams, today no. So what? Should we reform and create a special Champions League with teams from only the big 4 above? Proposals?


    Who is responsible? FIVB, AVC, NORCECA? F.e Budva is going through big financial crisis, chairman is in prison due criminal activities, they completed roster 3 (!!!) days before CL start. This team should be in CL? Similar situation is in Tomis but they are tearing apart in the middle of season. CEV should adjust some rules, teams with financial difficulties can't play in CL for first. What's the purpose of seeing ACH, Budva, Liberec, Marek in CL? Marek's coach Naydenov said they'll use CL to gain experience?! WTF, the most elite competition shouldnt be used for gaining experience. Zvezda is doing the right thing, they are realistic about their chances in CL so they are withdrew 3 seasons in row.

  • Even if the Players were in top form I would see Halkbank in max Play off 6.


    Do you mean Halkbank right now or Halkbank in general? Because with some proper coaching (or even with a more motivated Bernardi) and with the full roster at the coach's disposal, plus some luck at the draw, Halkbank stand a chance of reaching the Final Four. But I totally agree that this year they don't play as a team that deserves to advance further in the knock-out phase. I also mentioned luck because last year Halkbank eliminated Belogorie and then were unlucky to face the tournament's best team en route to Berlin, they could've easily been there instead of Berlin or Skra, for instance.

  • They could even won it if Juantorena was healty.
    This year there is an uncomfortable environment. There are rumors that Kubiak had a fight with Bernardi and left the training.And we all know Sokolov doesn't like him. Bernardi is slowly becoming the 'unwanted ' coach. None use of Travica is causing major criticism.Also nobody knows why he doesn't use Bojic, Kemal Kayhan and Samet Güneş.

  • Quote


    Do you mean Halkbank right now or Halkbank in general? Because with some proper coaching (or even with a more motivated Bernardi) and with the full roster at the coach's disposal, plus some luck at the draw, Halkbank stand a chance of reaching the Final Four. But I totally agree that this year they don't play as a team that deserves to advance further in the knock-out phase. I also mentioned luck because last year Halkbank eliminated Belogorie and then were unlucky to face the tournament's best team en route to Berlin, they could've easily been there instead of Berlin or Skra, for instance.

    Too many probability issues here, to be honest, and I wouldn't say that Halkbank were very much unlucky last year. (Let me remind you that they "have been there instead of Berlin" a year before). Yes, Haklbank had to face Belgorod and Kazan who looked way better than the rest of the teams but their position was not without an advantage as:


    1. Belgorod had clearly entered the lack-of-focus phase that winter starting from the Russian cup where they were eliminated by Novosibirsk in four sets. The first leg in Ankara was as close as it gets, with Belogorie being unable to convert the transition ball on their setball (courtesy of the Karate Kid Dmitry Ilinykh), which would have given them an away point. The game in Belgorod had featured some colossal blunders from the local team to give Halkbank the golden set. I need to note that roughly around that time it became evident that Shipulin, the Demiurge of the Belgorod club, was terminally unhappy with the setter Travica and had no plans of extending his contract. I would rather carefully think about Dinamo Msk - Trento matches back in 2012-13
    season, as a parallel here. The KKK (Kruglov-Kurek-Krivets) Dinamo was a sick outfit that ended up in the play-out of the home league. But there was a 3:0 winа over Belgorod that season and... do we remember what happened to Trento?


    2. Halkbank played the second leg vs Zenit at home. This is the very case when many things can happen. Luckily for Kazan, those things happened in the tie-breaker, after Zenit had scored its away point. I don't want to be harsh to the Halkbank players but the two games they played in Kazan have left me puzzled as for the overall ability of the team to keep the standard (cf Dinamo Msk 2012/13). Having said that, Dinamo had no problem qualifying from the 2nd spot of their group and even made it to F6. Halkbank just needs to win the game in Innsbruck, which is doable.
    F4 sounds less straightforward as, for that, winning several games in a row sounds like a must. Something I couldn't see Halkbank doing under Bernardi, to my surprise.

  • Too many probability issues here, to be honest, and I wouldn't say that Halkbank were very much unlucky last year. (Let me remind you that they "have been there instead of Berlin" a year before). Yes, Haklbank had to face Belgorod and Kazan who looked way better than the rest of the teams but their position was not without an advantage as:


    1. Belgorod had clearly entered the lack-of-focus phase that winter starting from the Russian cup where they were eliminated by Novosibirsk in four sets. The first leg in Ankara was as close as it gets, with Belogorie being unable to convert the transition ball on their setball (courtesy of the Karate Kid Dmitry Ilinykh), which would have given them an away point. The game in Belgorod had featured some colossal blunders from the local team to give Halkbank the golden set. I need to note that roughly around that time it became evident that Shipulin, the Demiurge of the Belgorod club, was terminally unhappy with the setter Travica and had no plans of extending his contract. I would rather carefully think about Dinamo Msk - Trento matches back in 2012-13
    season, as a parallel here. The KKK (Kruglov-Kurek-Krivets) Dinamo was a sick outfit that ended up in the play-out of the home league. But there was a 3:0 winа over Belgorod that season and... do we remember what happened to Trento?


    2. Halkbank played the second leg vs Zenit at home. This is the very case when many things can happen. Luckily for Kazan, those things happened in the tie-breaker, after Zenit had scored its away point. I don't want to be harsh to the Halkbank players but the two games they played in Kazan have left me puzzled as for the overall ability of the team to keep the standard (cf Dinamo Msk 2012/13). Having said that, Dinamo had no problem qualifying from the 2nd spot of their group and even made it to F6. Halkbank just needs to win the game in Innsbruck, which is doable.
    F4 sounds less straightforward as, for that, winning several games in a row sounds like a must. Something I couldn't see Halkbank doing under Bernardi, to my surprise.



    I am sorry but Belogorie and Zenit are not a desired draw nowadays regardless of what shape they are in. Halkbank would've probably advanced to the F4 hat they been drawn in any of the other playoff pools. With or without blunders, they knocked out Belogorie and that, in my opinion, says enough. You also mention the Playoffs 6 encounter with Zenit and, I agree, the home factor the Turks had back then, but you didn't mention that they played without Juantorena and, if I am not mistaken, without Sokolov (or maybe only absent in the first leg, there was something with him last year). Any of the two players is a big factor at this phase of the tournament. So, actually, Zenit were the lucky team because they faced a team that had eliminated the scary title holders Belogorie and could not, for that matter, use their star player, thus unable to repeat the performance of the Playoffs 12.


    One again, let's not compare the two campaigns of Halkbank. They clearly have much trouble this season. Whatever they do in the group stage, they would indeed suffer in the playoffs. But it hasn't always been the case and I guess we have to agree to disagree. Maybe Bernardi is indeed the problem, I don't neglect that possibility, but a good coach would make the most out of this group of players.

  • Quote

    I am sorry but Belogorie and Zenit are not a desired draw nowadays regardless of what shape they are in. Halkbank would've probably advanced to the F4 hat they been drawn in any of the other playoff pools. With or without blunders, they knocked out Belogorie and that, in my opinion, says enough. You also mention the Playoffs 6 encounter with Zenit and, I agree, the home factor the Turks had back then, but you didn't mention that they played without Juantorena and, if I am not mistaken, without Sokolov (or maybe only absent in the first leg, there was something with him last year). Any of the two players is a big factor at this phase of the tournament. So, actually, Zenit were the lucky team because they faced a team that had eliminated the scary title holders Belogorie and could not, for that matter, use their star player, thus unable to repeat the performance of the Playoffs 12.


    One again, let's not compare the two campaigns of Halkbank. They clearly have much trouble this season. Whatever they do in the group stage, they would indeed suffer in the playoffs. But it hasn't always been the case and I guess we have to agree to disagree. Maybe Bernardi is indeed the problem, I don't neglect that possibility, but a good coach would make the most out of this group of players.

    Juantorena was a big factor indeed and I assume that partially the problem of this season is that D[censored]k Kooy is not Juantorena. At the same time, Juantorena scored no points in the GS that Halkbank won in Belgorod last season, so there are clearly other factors too. Sokolov was very much present in both legs against Zenit last season. He wasn't in his best shape? Well, so was Leon in Ankara. My point is that in the "happy" previous season Halkbank had several very questionable games for which their recent home loss to Spirik&Co looks nothing but a natural progression. In particular, a team that manages to lose an away leg in straight sets (19,18,17, W/L +3), at the F6 stage, should never proceed further, for the sake of volleyball. Now, is Bernardi the reason why a bunch of mature mercenary volleyballers assume they have to face Katya Gamova and Dinamo in Kazan - and get Leon and Zenit instead? Possibly. Maybe it is the time to give a call to that Bulgarian moronic loser coach... and actually admit that he doesn't look that much moronic and that much a loser anymore? :)

  • Looking at the ranking of group A and B it seems, after Dinamo and Belgord not showed up in turkey, that the points went to the turkish clubs :|