2016 FIVB World League

  • read some comments and it's because tickets are so expensive :!:


    They are! My friend and I are travelling there tomorrow from London to watch the matches. For the last pool play matches, semifinal and finals we have pretty much spent £400 pounds each for level A seats! That's the most I have ever spent - even more than the olympic games in London!



    Looking forward to it though!

  • Tickets are around 100 Euro or even more. So...

    and to compare - 9 years ago it was probably a half of it or even less :whistle:

    Gold medal - World League 2013 Prediction Game
    Bronze medal - World League 2012 Prediction Game

  • Easy win for Brazil. They looked really sharp and seem to be on a good way.


    Well, I don't think they played that well, honestly... especially at the beginning.




    This is the story of two teams; Lube Civitanova and Italian National team. I officialy give up.


    And guess who is the common link? Cester!!! It's all his fault for sure!!! :P [laughing not to cry, obviously...]




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    WTF :sos: Italy is using Zaytsev in the backrow attack instead of Vettori and this makes Vettori totally irrelevant. I can't imagine its effect on players confidence


    They do that only when Ivan serves, if I'm not wrong, and it's the first time they try it (again, if I'm not wrong).
    I honestly think Vettori is mature enough to take it without having a self-confidence crisis.
    Well, the match suggests the opposite, but still xD




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    Filippo is the only one who can receive and he shold be on court in every combination


    How many times have you watched him playing during the WL? He isn't in his best shape, especially in reception. And I like him, so I'm not glad to admit that.
    BTW, despite what many can think, Zaytsev isn't receiving that bad. As I keep saying (may be not here, though) since he was chose to be OH in Perugia, his first problem as OH isn't receiving, but spiking from 4.

  • OMG I start watching Poland-France now, when I read the hall was empty I didn't though that empty!!
    That made me reconsider the half empty Palalottomatica in Rome two weeks ago...

  • Rouzier needs to step up his game a lot more. he played inconsistently for the rest of this summer. And does anybody know when will Kevin Tillie able to play? The team needs his passing and digging ability.

    This is true but let's not forget that injuries seem to have infected any other team but France until now. You can't play that amount of matches with the same roster and expect everyone to be healthy all the time. It was about time that happened to France as well. And let's now see how they will perform with Marechal, Clevenot, and Rossard. I am sure Tillie will be ready for the Olympics, perhaps they won't risk overloading him with game time now. I don't know what his condition is, though.


    Mentioning the Olympics, I think the French focus has slightly (and logically so) changed this year. This year's French team doesn't quite play with the hunger from 2015. At the 2016 WL they have had a number of avoidable tie-breaks and defeats, including last night's match against the hosts. I am not underestimating Poland's victory in any case, I even think Poland, even more as a Finals organizer, had more motivation and focus (from a certain point on) to win the match. I may be wrong but it looked like France showed everyone they can play the same volleyball we know they can and then seemed relaxed and full. Let's also mention that the journeys to Japan and Australia have certainly taken their toll and just like most of the teams (maybe not Brazil, we'll see about USA) they have their eye on Rio. There is still time for some good volleyball, I hope for enchanting semifinals.


    Poland won another tie-break against France and it seemed like a deja-vu yesterday. However, they played a suicidal first set and went on making mistakes in the second one. Kubiak was a shadow of himself and Poland would need him in good shape for the Games. Buszek was good in attack but struggled in reception and is more of a reliable joker than a starter. Mika's performance reminded of his 2014 WCH which is surely a good sign. But we can't make general corollaries based on the matches yesterday. People thought teams might conceal tactics and we see it is happening, at least on Day 1.


    Unfortunately, the first match was one of the most one-sided games we have seen in WL Finals. It doesn't look good on the Italian side, nothing more to say, it is a long topic and you guys have written pretty much everything. Brazil's game, although not the best they could deliver, was very, very solid. Which is a bright aspect of this 2016 edition as it lacks the sparkle from 2015.

  • I fell asleep and missed most interesting parts of the match! (last 3 sets) My sleeping was lucky for Poland

  • Uff, both teams are more fighting with their own performance than with the opponent. Italy still brought it over the line it was tight in the end. I hope it is getting better now.....

  • Each day I'm growing more and more convinced Brazil will sleepwalk their way to gold in Rio.

    I really fail to see how anyone can think this. :what: Poland, USA, Italy, Russia and especially France can all beat Brazil.