Italy - Serie A 2011-2012


  • No Djuric? He was showing good game recently :(


    Well, a lot of players are committed with their NT, that's way - for example - there is only one opposite, and a lot of Bulgarian players (they aren't partecipating to the European pre-qualification tournaments because they'll host the European tournament).


    But I think Modena could have provide at least one player (I was thinking to Yosifov and Dennis).


    WE WOOOOOOOOON 3-2 against Latina :D
    couldn't believe it, we started SO BADLY, I thought we were gonna lose all the points... but we won 3 sets in a row, yay .
    Maruotti MVP... he didn't even start the match, he was great today :)


    YEEEE!! I'm so glad, it was hard to keep hoping after that two awful sets we played at the beginning, but it was worthy! Compliments to Maruotti, he played very well (weel, his serve is nothing special, but beside that...) and deserved the MVP awards! I imagine it was hard for him sitting on the bench the last 3 matches (when we always won). Today he had the chance to proove him and he did great!


    Any more infos about my personal red-head hero Kuba Jarosz and my always beloved Alberto Cisolla, please?



    Troy played most of the time... Cisolla started very well but later less. Great chioice to let Maruotti play :)

  • Energy Resources San Giustino 1-3Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo
    Itas Diatec Trentino3-0 CMC Ravenna
    Lube Banca Marche Macerata3-1 Casa Modena
    M. Roma Volley3-2 Andreoli Latina
    Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza 0-3Sisley Belluno
    Copra Elior Piacenza3-0 Marmi Lanza Verona
    Fidia Padova 0-3Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia



    1. Itas Diatec Trentino 7 18
    2. Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo 7 17
    3. Lube Banca Marche Macerata 7 16
    4. Casa Modena 7 14
    5. Sisley Belluno 7 12
    6. Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia 7 12
    7. Andreoli Latina 7 11
    8. Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza 7 11
    9. M. Roma Volley 7 10
    10. Marmi Lanza Verona 7 8
    11. Copra Elior Piacenza 7 7
    12. Umbria Volley San Giustino 7 5
    13. Fidia Padova 7 5
    14. CMC Ravenna 7 1

  • Dzekov is playing only with Vlado Nikolov and despite that, Copra are leading.
    Gasparini looks like something between a heron and an ostrich...


    Zhekov and Grbic are two avatars of one soul

  • ZHEKOV CAN SET! He is 1:1 with Grbic - great on the wings, average with MB. Good enough for Оlympic title ;)

  • ZHEKOV CAN SET! He is 1:1 with Grbic - great on the wings, average with MB. Good enough for Оlympic title ;)


    Zhekov is NOT as good as Grbic!!!
    Zhekov has the skills to be above average OH, above average OPP, above average libero, even above average MB :lol:
    He chose to be above average setter.
    Did you watch the game vs Verona? How many times Vlado and Pappi had to just throw the ball in the opposite field because of a bad set from Andrei. He's not that bad, but he's not Grbic.

  • Zhekov and Grbic are two avatars of one soul


    :lol: :lol: :lol:
    Damn, that sounds soo poetically :P

    ZHEKOV CAN SET! He is 1:1 with Grbic - great on the wings, average with MB. Good enough for Оlympic title ;)


    Well, I don't think they are 1:1, because Grbic is simply better. He had some problems with MBs in the past, but with time he really improved that part of his game a lot and now is much better than before. Zhekov sometimes in this aspect - setting to MBs - is even under avarage, but thanks God he has his bright moments, too (I will never forget the match against Russia on the WC 2007, which brought us to Pekin :obey: ) We have discussed a lot of times our bad reception as for sure one of the main reasons for not playing enough with the MBs, but it is really not only this, at least not alaways. I remember some matches in which we had perfect reception, very good, indeed, but still organization of the game wasn't on the necessary level - unexplainable. And sometimes Zhekov makes really strange deciosions to whom to pass the ball :lol: But IMO, I don't think he is that bad as some people insist - in a lot of times when other players from the team have sucked - he has been the steadiest one on the court. One of his positives is also as triglav_kran said yesterday that Andrey is very complex player. What I like about him the most is that he is so devoted to the game and really cares very much for the NT, he is a good and diligent professional which I appreciate very much. And moreover - I still can't see some current alternative for his position, so he has my support. :win:


    The "Good enough for Оlympic title " statement - as I am such a super fan of our team - I can only agree with you :thumbsup: . Olympics are very interesting tournament, one of the most unpredictable and almost everything could be expected - yes, we definately don't have the best setter for example, but that doesn't mean that we don't have our chances (just first to qualify :lol: ).


    And something for the match yesterday: Vladooo :obey:

    Wild Wild West!


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    " There is nothing better than this"


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  • Grbic is better because he plays 15 years in Seria A1 and he had the chance to win European Olympic Games without Brazil. Zhekov has played so far only in Greece and Turkey where players get no further development. About MB - Volkov said that Grbic is bad passer and that's why he left Cuneo. They have the same style - great relationship with the opposites, good with OH, not good with MB and Zhekov is weaker with MB, but not much. I have a lot of matches on my hard when the MB and Zhekov decided the match, the last two were with Poland and Germany ad the ECH 2011

  • Grbic is better because he plays 15 years in Seria A1 and he had the chance to win European Olympic Games without Brazil. Zhekov has played so far only in Greece and Turkey where players get no further development. About MB - Volkov said that Grbic is bad passer and that's why he left Cuneo. They have the same style - great relationship with the opposites, good with OH, not good with MB and Zhekov is weaker with MB, but not much. I have a lot of matches on my hard when the MB and Zhekov decided the match, the last two were with Poland and Germany ad the ECH 2011


    It is true, but with the same success you could say "Grbic plays 15 years in Seria A 1, because he is better". I mean if Zhekov had the potential to go in Italy earlier I am sure he would do it and wouldn't play in Greece and Turky. Of course with time he is getting better and now he playes in Italy, too , but In Copra, which this season are not very strong team. Nevertheless I think that this is a huge success for him and step forward in his career and proffesional development, because no matter of the team Seria A1 is Seria A1 after all and he is a titular for his Copra which is good :win:

    Wild Wild West!


    ..............................................................................................

    " There is nothing better than this"


    ..............................................................................................

  • About that comment of Volkov, let me quote Velasco "a good spiker isn't who can spike perfectly a perfect set, but who can slove perfectly a not perfect set".


    I'm not saying that Volkov isn't a good spiker, of course (he has a kill spike!!!), but may be he should use the chance to learn from Mastro how to "solve" a not perfect set...



    BTW, Rome-Latina ( :rolll: ) was a very strange match, with a lot of incredible stupid mistake (expecially by Rome), and a lot of lucky situation, like a block digged by chance with the head, and then ended on the elbow of another player, and then on the shoulder of another one, and point. :what: :what: . This was almost by Latina, we had only Maruotti lucky ace (the net totally helped). And a team dominating for two set, the other one for the rest of the match (fortunally I cheers for the "other one"!!! :D :D ).


    For example, would you belive that Rome lost the first set 25-18 with 75%70% in reception and 54% in attack?! (Latina 46%31%; 58%). And with Sabbi at 20% in attack (he made several mistakes and I noticed that, but honestly I didn't realized he had such low stats in attacs, I would have thought 40% at least...)


    BTW, excellent match by Maruotti that deserved the MVP, but also Ivan (exept in serve, 6 errors and not as usefull as he can be) did a great match, 66% in attack, 57%57% in reception (with 35 reception! He is receiving so well lately, but it's also true that Latina doesn't have such an amazing serve imo...). Paparoni played very good in reception, while in defense he wasn't playing so well in the first two set, then he improved a lot!


    Lebl will drive me crazy with is useless float serve (only in the tie break happened that he served more than once in the same serve run, and the first 5-6 time he serve was perfect rec-MB or opposite direct point), but he is doing very well in block and attack, and also in how he is staying on court. Bjelica is so funny xD, always pissed off :lol: , but he is playing well too lately, also in serve he often makes break points, and not many mistake.



    ps go Macerata!!! I read that Savani and Parodi (and also Travica) played very well, I was so pleased to heard that, the WC is so close!

  • r u serious :what:


    1:1 as style of playing. Deadly serious. I didn't earn my PhD for not thinking :lol:


  • 1:1 as style of playing. Deadly serious. I didn't earn my PhD for not thinking :lol:


    1:1 as style of playing but not 1:1 as quality of setting. Zhekov is a better blocker and a better defenceman. Grbic is better server and better setter. Saying they are equal you mean that Zhekov is one of the best setters in the world ? No way. At least not in top ten.

  • It is true, but with the same success you could say "Grbic plays 15 years in Seria A 1, because he is better". I mean if Zhekov had the potential to go in Italy earlier I am sure he would do it and wouldn't play in Greece and Turky. Of course with time he is getting better and now he playes in Italy, too , but In Copra, which this season are not very strong team. Nevertheless I think that this is a huge success for him and step forward in his career and proffesional development, because no matter of the team Seria A1 is Seria A1 after all and he is a titular for his Copra which is good :win:


    You imply perfect rationality of both Zhekov choices and seria A1 coaches choices for players, which is not true. Playing in Greece for Zhekov had several benefits over Italy not so long ago - BETTER SALARY, closer to Bulgaria, closer to Boyan Yordanov. And don't forget that in Bulgaria we didn't have so big ambitions of faith in our success - the medal from 2006 was considered huge victory, instead of missed chance to be on the top. And we are happy with bronze, not like Serbia, who always aim higher. Players without maximum ambition don't choose the team to get the best titles and cups. Or their teams which sell them.

  • 1:1 as style of playing but not 1:1 as quality of setting. Zhekov is a better blocker and a better defenceman. Grbic is better server and better setter. Saying they are equal you mean that Zhekov is one of the best setters in the world ? No way. At least not in top ten.


    Of course he is in top ten (although Grbic is really better than him, like Ball and Rucardo, but not that much), he have always been there. It is impossible to win any medal without top setter, no team has ever won one, neither will win in the future. Just wait for the World League to give rest to Zhekov to see the difference without him.


  • Italy have great chance to qualify early for the Olympic tournament, especially with Parodi - Savani - Zaytsev trio and with Mastro in the roster. Bulgaria is not there to beat you, so go ahead :drink:

  • yup, he is seriously thinking and getting his PhD while our players hang down on the court messing everything up :rolll: :rolll: :rolll: :aww:


    I think you are way too biased. Go make statistical analysis, call Camillo Placi and then we'll talk ;) Mathematics is my game

  • yes, but volleyball isn't :lol:
    :drink:


    To play volleyball and to understand volleyball are two different things, or else the best players would become the best coaches which is not the fact in the world.


  • I think you are way too biased. Go make statistical analysis, call Camillo Placi and then we'll talk ;) Mathematics is my game


    hahaha, the only way in which mathematics is connected with volleyball is when Anastazi and Bernardinho are calculating when to lose :lol: :lol: :lol:
    Statistics is a result of how players performed and has nothing to do with who will win the next game.
    Statistics help coaches to understand better what they've already seen during the game.