Olympic Games - London 2012 Women (qualification process)

    Russia - Spain 3:0 (25-14 25-10 25-15)

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

    Quote from TheUSAFAN

    Welcome to the modern world. Professional sports is a for-profit industry. The concept of a player representing a country having to have been born in a country or a not being ethnically representative of the nation they're playing for is outdated and slightly xenophobic. If a federation is willing to accommodate a foreign-born athlete of higher quality than someone born there and the foreign athlete is willing to live and train in that country and represent them on an international scale I don't see the slightest problem with it. In fact, here in the USA there are athletes that live full-time, train using domestic facilities, and still represent other nations in international competitions and I don't have the slightest issue with it.


    Coming from a guy that lives in a country full of naturalized players in every single sport (and field, actually) and where native or real americans are minority. What more to add. :roll:


    ...


    Great win for Bulgaria! :super: Still one tournament to go to reach Olympics, though. ;]

    Quote from Brazildk


    Regarding the naturalization i am totally against too, i do not know you but i don't feel represented by someone who has nothing to with my country, even if is the best of the world it doesn't change the fact they play for interest, and that is not my country which is winning and yes the money


    Totally agree.

    Quote from triglav_kran

    It's one thing to train in a foreign country and represent your own and it's another thing to buy players for your NT. Of course nowadays in every sport people do this(in some sports like basketball it's even more ridiculous) but isn't the meaning of "National team" lost in this way???
    Wouldn't it be bad if we see in the future Qatar's team filled with Cubans, Brazilians and Italians fight for every final with Turkey filled with Russians, Bulgarians and Serbians?


    I don't believe it's "lost" in any way. Sports isn't some sacred entity exempt form change. It's an aspect of popular culture and like almost all other aspects of popular culture there is increasing globalization which is why you see more foreign-born athletes representing different countries today than you did 50 years ago. Perhaps that doesn't sit well with you and violates your concept of the meaning of "national team" but it's not realistic to think otherwise.

    Quote from flyingdutchman

    Totally agree.


    My question to you would then be do you disagree with foreign coaches as well? And if not, what difference does it make if you have a naturalized athlete or a naturalized coach? They would be representing your country just as much if not more and would be doing so solely on the basis of winning and money.

    Yay Bulgaria has very awful statistics in the attack category. How is it possible that They won the match :?:

    Quote from TheUSAFAN

    My question to you would then be do you disagree with foreign coaches as well? And if not, what difference does it make if you have a naturalized athlete or a naturalized coach? They would be representing your country just as much if not more and would be doing so solely on the basis of winning and money.


    Good question !!


    To be honest, I have less :!: problems with foreign coaches, because coaches make no points and win no games. It doesn't matter to me who is the coach, doctor or busdriver.

    Quote from TheUSAFAN

    Welcome to the modern world. Professional sports is a for-profit industry. The concept of a player representing a country having to have been born in a country or a not being ethnically representative of the nation they're playing for is outdated and slightly xenophobic. If a federation is willing to accommodate a foreign-born athlete of higher quality than someone born there and the foreign athlete is willing to live and train in that country and represent them on an international scale I don't see the slightest problem with it. In fact, here in the USA there are athletes that live full-time, train using domestic facilities, and still represent other nations in international competitions and I don't have the slightest issue with it.


    It is not only about ethnically, but for culturally representative players. Any player, born in a country can represent it, no matter of ethnic heritage, since is part of its culture, is formed there, is trained there. Taking players from other country even if they are from your ethnic origin /which is possible, especially on the Balkans/ is not right. It is about culture, financial and moral debt, not about gene expressions and other xenomorphic fantasies.

    It's about disappearing the difference between NT and clubteam !!!


    Read triglav_kran's post :teach: :teach:[/quote]


    This is the point, but for sure we know the globalization is gradually changing it

    Quote from raylight


    It is not only about ethnically, but for culturally representative players. Any player, born in a country can represent it, no matter of ethnic heritage, since is part of its culture, is formed there, is trained there. Taking players from other country even if they are from your ethnic origin /which is possible, especially on the Balkans/ is not right. It is about culture, financial and moral debt, not about gene expressions and other xenomorphic fantasies.


    If that's the case please tell that to those who constantly reference the fact that Costagrande and Aguero are not Italian-born. Secondly, culture is not solely dictated and formed by where you were born and remains static for the rest of your. People are more than capable of absorbing and adapting throughout their life. There is no cutoff date. If you didn't know players like Grun, Perepelkina, Hooker, Akinradewo, Goncharova, Costagrande, and Mammadova weren't born in the countries they represent you wouldn't be able to blindly make the distinction that their "culture" was "formed" somewhere else by watching them interact with other players who were born there.

    Quote from flyingdutchman

    Good question !!


    To be honest, I have less :!: problems with foreign coaches, because coaches make no points and win no games. It doesn't matter to me who is the coach, doctor or busdriver.


    To equate a coach with having the same impact and effect on a NT as does a doctor or bus driver is a poor argument. A coach has more effect over wins than does any single player and while they pace the sideline they wear the name of the country they're representing just the same.

    In USA they will never understand that we are trying to say... One man have said: USA is not a country it is a hotel :lol: I really sorry for the people there - they are tottaly desinformated by their (?) own governers
    About the sport: The mankind is great and it is progressive and after so many wars: now we have the sport competitions - who want to compete - that is the beautifull way to do it. So nowadays the people convert their instinct of warriors into sports :)

    Радо Стойчев каза: Мизия, Тракия, Македония! Западните покрайнини - завинаги български!

    Sport, apart from way of entertainment, is a field in which countries are competing against each other. That's why many head of states rely so much on sport and put a lot of money in it. So basically countries show off with their sport teams and try to be the best. And the good in sport is that you could be a lot worse economically than other countries, but you can be better in sports. And the players wearing the jerseys with the colours of your NATION are its representatives. So would you be glad (I think the fact that you're american makes it hard for you to understand the importance of ethnic roots in the building of a nation) to see people that have nothing in common with your country representing it? And raylight is right in that case that if someone is born in the country, he knows it's history, problems, language, etc., he is considered a representative (figuratively speaking there is nothing wrong to be black and represent Sweden if you're name is Larsson, for ex). And, yes, you're right about the coaches, but they're the smallest issue - they aren't at the focus of the cameras as much as the players and they don't wear those national jerseys to say the least. But still, it's not right and I'm glad that at least in our male NT the coach is Bulgarian.

    im not opposed to the naturalized players, realized by the countries which dont have a say in volleyball or want to develop/improve their level of volleyball like ,Israel or Azerbaijan to some extent. But i dont understand the ones ,realized by the countries like Italy,Russia etc. Because they are the dominant powers in volleyball and expected to play the game by the players raised by their own.

    Born and live, not only born