Russia - Superliga 2010/2011

  • This championship is nowhere near as exciting as the conlusion of the Serie A, or so it seems to me.

  • This championship is nowhere near as exciting as the conlusion of the Serie A, or so it seems to me.


    Well matches Zenit vs Yaroslavich, Iskra vs Dinamo Krasnodar in quarter finals were very exciting. Especially last matches were Zenit saved 10*-14 in 5th set (with big help from refs) and Krasnodar - Iskra where 5th set ended 26-24 for Krasnodar :cheesy:


    But every year Russian league is stronger and stronger, they dont have financial problems (only Belgorod), league is much more equal than Italian. Teams are orienting on Russian players mostly despite they have big budgets unlike Italians were foreigners are main players. F.e Dynamo have only one foreign player - Dante, Belgorod all Russian players, Surgut only Kadziewicz, Yaroslavich only Janic etc. They are putting huge efforts to strenght NT and this is only way to do that.

  • Meh, yeah perhaps it's because I haven't really been watching the matches then. Yeah Russia has an uncanny ability to produce quality players. A lot of times there's players I've never heard of, but they all seem good enough for the Russian NT.

  • Meh, yeah perhaps it's because I haven't really been watching the matches then. Yeah Russia has an uncanny ability to produce quality players. A lot of times there's players I've never heard of, but they all seem good enough for the Russian NT.


    This year take better look on Alexander Gutsalyk :whistle: best blocker in league from Gazprom Ugra Surgut. Then Alexei Spiridonov (OH) from Iskra Odintsovo. Also great season had Pavel Mrozov,powerful opposite from Kuzbass Kemerovo, and 20 y.o setter Igor Kobzar from Gazprom Ugra Surgut. He was on Alekno's list for WL.

  • But every year Russian league is stronger and stronger, they dont have financial problems (only Belgorod), league is much more equal than Italian. Teams are orienting on Russian players mostly despite they have big budgets unlike Italians were foreigners are main players. F.e Dynamo have only one foreign player - Dante, Belgorod all Russian players, Surgut only Kadziewicz, Yaroslavich only Janic etc. They are putting huge efforts to strenght NT and this is only way to do that.

    I wonder if this is such a good Idea.
    Russia never lacked physical nor technical skilled players. But they often missed mentally strong players, and their volleyball culture has some other blind spots like defense and counter attack*. I think it's no wonder if Kazan is winning in Russia, they have american players bringing these cultural elements as well as one of the few Russian player who's mastering them: Sergey Tetyukhin. They even have the coach with the most balanced experience between Russian and International volleyball, and therefore the more likely to melt them together: Vladimir Alekno.


    Sure, with so few foreigners in their teams, Russians clubs will produce a lot of good players able to play in NT. But playing almost all together in Russia without opening more to the rest of the world, will they be able to develop the handful of amazing players with the mentality and the experience needed to defeat the best NT in the world ?



    *I'm always startled by how Russians teams look like nobody knows what to do when they defend a ball ! Spikers suddenly look unable to figure out the proper timing to call the ball, setters looks like they can't handle much more than "where I am going to receive the ball", and if the dig was performed by the setter, that's a total disaster because all 5 players remaining are looking at each other in wait for who's going to set the ball !

  • This year take better look on Alexander Gutsalyk :whistle: best blocker in league from Gazprom Ugra Surgut. Then Alexei Spiridonov (OH) from Iskra Odintsovo. Also great season had Pavel Mrozov,powerful opposite from Kuzbass Kemerovo, and 20 y.o setter Igor Kobzar from Gazprom Ugra Surgut. He was on Alekno's list for WL.

    Just to make it accurate for those who don't follow the Russian league - the name is Pavel Moroz, and there is also Peter Veres as a second foreign OH in Dinamo, and together with Dante they have an equally important role ;) There is also Dinamo Krasnodar with two Brazilian foreigners besides Kuzbass (Andrae and Lee) and Ural (with Stanley and Kromm), but you're right overall. I absolutely agree with the names of the young/new players that Kaziyski mentioned. The mentality of Russian players we've discussed so many times, especially in the NT section, most obvious problems occurring when Russia reaches a final, but they do have a strong league indeed! To mention to the discussion - how many national league games in Europe (or the world) start with performing the national anthem? Russians are just expected to stay in Russia, not many of them try to go abroad even for a season. I also think they would develop abroad, but in the example with Berezhko I am 99% sure he'd have had a more successful season had he stayed in Russia.. even though with Veres and Dante in Dinamo this might've been a bit more difficult.

  • The mentality of Russian players we've discussed so many times, especially in the NT section, most obvious problems occurring when Russia reaches a final, but they do have a strong league indeed!


    (...)


    Russians are just expected to stay in Russia, not many of them try to go abroad even for a season. I also think they would develop abroad, but in the example with Berezhko I am 99% sure he'd have had a more successful season had he stayed in Russia.. even though with Veres and Dante in Dinamo this might've been a bit more difficult.

    I agree that Russia has a strong league (the best league in the world in my opinion). But they'll probably be having the best league in the world even with more foreign players, and I wonder if this would not help the NT more than having a bunch of these classical Russian players we've been seeing for decades.


    Also Berezhko having problems to adapt to Italian league works in both way: a lot of foreign players have trouble to adapt to Russian league.

  • I wonder if this is such a good Idea.
    Russia never lacked physical nor technical skilled players. But they often missed mentally strong players, and their volleyball culture has some other blind spots like defense and counter attack*. I think it's no wonder if Kazan is winning in Russia, they have american players bringing these cultural elements as well as one of the few Russian player who's mastering them: Sergey Tetyukhin. They even have the coach with the most balanced experience between Russian and International volleyball, and therefore the more likely to melt them together: Vladimir Alekno.


    Sure, with so few foreigners in their teams, Russians clubs will produce a lot of good players able to play in NT. But playing almost all together in Russia without opening more to the rest of the world, will they be able to develop the handful of amazing players with the mentality and the experience needed to defeat the best NT in the world ?



    *I'm always startled by how Russians teams look like nobody knows what to do when they defend a ball ! Spikers suddenly look unable to figure out the proper timing to call the ball, setters looks like they can't handle much more than "where I am going to receive the ball", and if the dig was performed by the setter, that's a total disaster because all 5 players remaining are looking at each other in wait for who's going to set the ball !


    Well mentality is something what is inside people. I agree that excellent foreign players brings their own cultural elements and mentality but Russians wont open their league for players abroad. There is rule that only 2 foreign players can be in team (including bench) in league matches, in Cup their number isnt limited.


    And full agree with italic part. Russians are very poor in defense, they look quite lost in rallies. Maybe reason for that is in different volleyball schools because they always rely on block and serve, probably due height of players. Other nations give more attention to defense and technique.


    And believe me money isnt problem in Russia and they can buy anyone they want. Behind Zenit, Fakel Novy Urengoy and Ugra Surgut as main sponsors are oil&gas companies (Gazprom and Surgutneft one of whose major shareholders is Vladimir Putin, I'm not sure about name of company which is behind Fakel but 100% is oil and gas company), both Lokomotives are financed by Russian railways, behind Kuzbass in entire Kemerovo Oblast (one of Russia's most important industrial regions, with some of the world's largest deposits of coal) but along Zenit Ural is richest club in Russia :whistle:.



    Just to make it accurate for those who don't follow the Russian league - the name is Pavel Moroz, and there is also Peter Veres as a second foreign OH in Dinamo, and together with Dante they have an equally important role ;) There is also Dinamo Krasnodar with two Brazilian foreigners besides Kuzbass (Andrae and Lee) and Ural (with Stanley and Kromm), but you're right overall. I absolutely agree with the names of the young/new players that Kaziyski mentioned. The mentality of Russian players we've discussed so many times, especially in the NT section, most obvious problems occurring when Russia reaches a final, but they do have a strong league indeed! To mention to the discussion - how many national league games in Europe (or the world) start with performing the national anthem? Russians are just expected to stay in Russia, not many of them try to go abroad even for a season. I also think they would develop abroad, but in the example with Berezhko I am 99% sure he'd have had a more successful season had he stayed in Russia.. even though with Veres and Dante in Dinamo this might've been a bit more difficult.


    Thx for correction about Moroz :drink: I think Veres have Russian citizenship so he isnt foreign player but not 100% sure.


    But biggest disappointment for me are Ural and Iskra Odintsovo. Ural invested lot of money and they had really poor season. Stanley didnt showed nothing, Kromm also had big problems during the season and they had really decent team. What to say abot Iskra? Just look their roster - Samica, Schops, Makarov, Kuleshov, Bogomolov, Verbov, Spiridonov and Abramov (he had problems with injury so he missed lot of matches) and they lost in quarterfinal to Dinamo Krasnodar. Once again they proved that they are looser team :whistle:

  • Still funny that no one in Russia ever said "okay look, all we're gonna do from now on is train defence". Though I remember somewhere in 1999, Netherlands played Russian NT in the World League with with Tetyukhin, Yakovlev, Mitkov as libero, Saveliev, Choelepov, Kulesov and kazakov and Blangé (still playing) commented afterwards, that this was the first Russian team he'd ever faced which was good on defence. He said Mitkov and Tetyukhin touched almost everything in defence and then they would set it to Yakovlev (pre-accident Yakovlev) and he'd power in 8 out 10 spikes on the high sets. I'll try to upload this game at some point. So perhaps they mastered it for a while. I remember us getting pummeled even with Blangé, Gortzen, Nummerdor and Bas van De Goor in top form.

  • Next season russian league might be extended to 16 club clubs from post soviet countries like Belarus Kazakhstan and especially Ukraine might be invited and league would be departed to West and East Zone. Club that is nearlest Superligue is Lokomotiv Kharkov. League would be modeled on hockey league KHL. It is a confdential information and idea of russian federation. For the time being you will not find any information about that only huge discusion on biggest russian forum http://forum.belogorievolley.ru/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3387
    I think it is a good idea but i am not sure whteter will suceed because volleyball is not so popular as hockey

  • Next season russian league might be extended to 16 club clubs from post soviet countries like Belarus Kazakhstan and especially Ukraine might be invited and league would be departed to West and East Zone. Club that is nearlest Superligue is Lokomotiv Kharkov. League would be modeled on hockey league KHL. It is a confdential information and idea of russian federation. For the time being you will not find any information about that only huge discusion on biggest russian forum http://forum.belogorievolley.ru/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3387
    I think it is a good idea but i am not sure whteter will suceed because volleyball is not so popular as hockey

    It is the fact now. I think it is a good decision. :thumbup:

  • Russian Federation made agreement with Belarus & Ukraine so from next season Belarus and Ukraininan team will play in Superleague. Next target is Kazakhstan.


    Game schedule and travel is hard in Russia as things are now. Kazakhtstan is a very large country, it seems almost impossible for a resoanable time and training, and rest.

  • WTF, are they reinstating the Soviet Union???! *grabs his nuclear missiles*

  • Game schedule and travel is hard in Russia as things are now. Kazakhtstan is a very large country, it seems almost impossible for a resoanable time and training, and rest.


    Probably only one team will be from Kazakhstan :wavy: travelling is hard even without Belarus and Ukraine. Novosibirsk is around 3000 km from Moscow, Kemerovo even more far. So nothing unusual for them :whistle: :wavy:

  • WTF, are they reinstating the Soviet Union???! *grabs his nuclear missiles*


    similar thing exists in ice hockey and basketball... in KHL league participate clubs from Kazakhstan, Lativa, Belarus and Russia :whistle: there is even longer trips f.e to Khabarovsk which is near Vladivostok and schedule is even harder then in volleyball.