Olympic Games - Brazil 2016 (qualification process)

    I envy you for your composure, Belgium, in deed, missed a big chance tonight. :thumbup:

    Quote from Richard

    Germany is facing a tough tournament: Poland and Serbia will have less compassion.


    Thats true, if there is no improvement, it is going to be difficult. But three points in straight sets is a good base to start with. On the positive side we have:


    • In-shape Grozer, who led by example, especially in first set.
    • Great reception by Kaliberda. (we forget about attack for a moment).
    • a very composed Kampa in the most important moments (serve and setting).
    • all subs (Fromm, Tille, Strohbach) made things better when they entered.

    So, for tonight i decided that my beer is rather half full than half empty :drink:

    Not bad math between Serbia and Poland.. I think Serbia is strugging with its second OH: Kovaceivcis doing well (as in the club) but Petric or Ivovic aren't so positive!

    Is Lisinac not playing for Serbia? I guess he's injured can anyone confirm? Thanks!

    We knew the lack of time for preparation for this tournament would mean reduced, to a certain extent, quality so we can't be too critical about what happened on day 1. Finally a more balanced game after the disappointing first two matches. It is OK to play badly in January but what worries me is that both Belgium and Finland haven't moved an inch forward since 2015. Belgium have the same squad issues as at the ECH, this is not the same team from the WCH 2014, all I see when I watch them is Deroo. He gets pretty much all the sets after they have made a mistake. Besides, they still miss these damn chances they create for themselves. This match was almost a deja vu, it was more or less the same as in the playoffs in Sofia in October.


    Finland, meanwhile, are struggling with the new generation of players and this is something Sammelvuo can't be blamed for. However, the only reason Finland is in Berlin is the European ranking. I think they should at least look like a team that belongs there, for we have certainly witnessed better Finnish teams. Sure, any team can have a bad day, Bulgaria, for instance, might look just as helpless tomorrow. I guess they are not going to change the coach after the historic WCH finish, but Sammelvuo's work has been merely visible so far.


    A surprisingly shaky and badly receiving Serbia. They were really struggling with the ball at times. Majstorovic must've been the weakest libero on day 1, also in defence. I am usually very critical toward Jovovic, I have often questioned how Serbia could win big games and medals with him as a playmaker and tonight he was very inaccurate again.


    Last, I also question Germany's aspirations to host an Olympic qualifier. I am sorry guys but the sports hall was not full on any occasion and was even nowhere near its half full capacity for the Belgium vs. Germany match.


    Meanwhile, Nikolay Penchev is in bed with a pneumonia, thus further reducing Bulgaria's chances to make it out of the group.

    Holy my... I was really surprised by Łomacz's passing! Really! It doesn't mean he somewhere became a genius but it was one hell of a solid work from him! 8) All guys actually were a TEAM and that's the biggest victory. Zatorski made me stand up for a few times when he received the bombs and very important balls in the same time. Mika was killing me and suddenly he was hit straight in his face... And here we are, a reborn of a hero with a tampon in the nose :D he scored like a dozen important points right after that while I was pretty sure he will be substituted soon. Kurek and Bieniek - great, nothing less and nothing more to add. I liked our stability on serve. Kubiak, as for the comeback after break - good again, clever as always 8) I expect a lot more from Kłos and Wojtaszek though. But I'm pretty sure they will warm up in coming games ;) All together - damn good job!
    Still we couldn't quite stop Atanasijevic. If he only would have a stronger support in OHs...


    Quote from YavorD

    Meanwhile, Nikolay Penchev is in bed with a pneumonia, thus further reducing Bulgaria's chances to make it out of the group.

    NO WAY! This is very unfortunate :(

    Quote from YavorD

    Last, I also question Germany's aspirations to host an Olympic qualifier. I am sorry guys but the sports hall was not full on any occasion and was even nowhere near its half full capacity for the Belgium vs. Germany match.


    Berlin is close to Germany-Poland border, so no need to worry about the attendance in the coming days... lol.

    Quote from Diesse14

    Not bad math between Serbia and Poland.. I think Serbia is strugging with its second OH: Kovaceivcis doing well (as in the club) but Petric or Ivovic aren't so positive!


    If they had another Kovacevic they could win 4th set.


    Why Germany wanted to be host when the hall is empty?

    Quote from arman

    Why Germany wanted to be host when the hall is empty?


    Now wait ... tha hall was not empty.
    For the German match there were about 3000 (the number in the CEV report was :aww: I don't kno why)
    Serbia-Poland was attended by about 3500 (I guess 2000 polish fans).


    A German's first priority is to work ;( and yesterday was a working day. And the German match was early. And the German opponent Belgium was (at least on paper) not the strongest.


    Today and on Friday it will be different, I guess.
    So let's not do a summary before the weekend.

    Quote from mariuszj1939

    They need qualification as it was in 2012 and host of WQ.


    One reason that they took the financial risk of hosting this event is that federation needs the government fundings which are highly related to the olympic "status". If neither men nor woman qualifies there will be big financial problems in the next four years, mainly due to the lack of private sponsorship for volleyball.


    I agree that yesterdays attendance was a bit disappointing, although not really surprising (at least for me). The most obvious reason for this is, that Germany simply isn't a "volleyball country" and it is traditionally difficult to fill the halls. There are some other things in the structure of the tournament (like "Bayer" mentionned above) which doesn't help but the main problem is the latter.


    Overall i think the attendances will get better day by day and if somehow the guys manage to qualify for the final matches we might see some relevant push from the crowd.

    Todor Skrimov did everything possible to win the game 3-0 for Bulgaria and the rest did whatever they could to give away a set to the Finns. Probably the most solid attack performance in the qualifiers so far (by Skrimov). Finland had an easier opponent today so the match was more balanced and they could play some volleyball, although they should thank Nikolay Uchikov who allowed them to stay another set on the court. I didn't like the way Bulgaria played and approached the match, the only positive things are the score and Skrimov's shape. OK, the performance of the middles as well. However, Bulgaria started the match slowly. The block, the defence, the serve were all missing till the very end of the opening set. The fact that Bulgaria won it in the end shows how vulnerable this Finland actually is. Salparov, I believe his level has dropped significantly over the years, was almost a spectator in set 1, but gradually improved throughout the course of the match. Gradinarov kept spiking in the hands of the blockers for some reason, at least his serves and blocks helped when it mattered. Of all three liberos available, the best one, not only in my opinion, Vladi Ivanov played the least. Bozhilov's presence in the national team remains a huge mystery and luckily against Finland it didn't cost us the final score. Maybe against Russia and Finland this will come out. Uchikov was extremely disappointing, I don't see how Vlado Nikolov will ever get any rest during this tournament with him as a substitute.


    Yes, I realize this was the opening match and things weren't meant to work perfectly, but it is unacceptable to lose the third set in the way they did (Skrimov closed the gap almost alone). Finland were almost heading to the bus when Bulgaria called them back. Now they missed a great chance to save some energy (and let their main opposite play as little as possible). At least the pressure will be off their shoulders now and we are supposed to wait for a rabbit out of some hat.

    Quote from ravens#7

    I feel really really sorry for Eemi Tervaportti. ;(


    At least the finnish fans had something to celebrate, even if it was only one set :drink:

    Great start by german team :super:


    Whatever Grbic prepared for this match, it does not work so far. Jovovic already subbed......

    I watched just for a while. Skrimov was rocking on court. I wonder who's the genius who chosed to play both the men's and women's tournaments in the same week. I chosed to watch the women's one just because it looks more open to surprises.