World Grand Prix 2010

    Quote from gael alexei philippe

    I know. The pun was intended. :) I think that Lena brought a lot of intangibles to the team that no stats can account for. I believe that she brought a lot of fire, energy and leadership to the team and I guess that is what is lacking in Team Poland. I guess a player needs to stand up from the Poles to bring about cohesion to the team. Anna Baranska may be this player and I hope she brings her strong WGP performance to the WC.


    I definitely agree with your comments about Lena. She was more than points, blocks or whatever. She brought fire to the team together with Liktoras. Poland definitely misses its true leaders.


    Remember how Mroz (may she rest in peace) was effective in '03 and '05 European Championships.

    Quote from joanamss

    I read she felt pain her back..an old problem she carries with her. Aparently it is nothing to serious, but for precaution Italian staff decided to let her resting in teh hotel with the team physioterapy. Barbolini in press conference said Leo left after first set cause she was felling a bit sick also. I hope is nothing serious, and she can be well soon enought


    Thank you for clarifying the matter. I hope she will be back stronger in WGP 2011 qualifications in Italy.

    Quote from deepblue

    Remember how Mroz (may she rest in peace) was effective in '03 and '05 European Championships.

    Yes, and what happened to her is really sad. I hope she will always be remembered by all volleyball fans for what she did on court and what she is as a person.

    Yes, Gael, I agree with you about Lena Dziękiewicz. I also wish she played in NT. Too bad the injury stopped her NT career. Maybe if she was a little bit younger, she would try to pick up the gauntlet again...

    The most important 3:
    POLAND-SZCZECIN-VOLLEYBALL


    5th place - Prediction Game - World League 2011 :D

    Congratulations to US. They made great job in this tournament. There is nothing else to say almost everything it's been said before.
    It was the most fascinating WGP and most balanced in the view that any team could beat any team. A huge thanks to all teams who participate giving us those great games with endless action. The greatest week in this month :thumbsup:
    USA leaves with the gold
    Brazil with two injuries and silver
    Italy with bronze and a lot of work till WC
    China with
    Japan leaves with a big suprise
    Poland with a quite good appearance and losing their team spirit (coach)
    Netherlands disappointing
    Dominica Republic doing as good as they could
    Germany had a disaster in this tournament

    First of all-congratulation for US team.


    I agree that Poland misses good spirit. Agata Mroz was so important to the team, not because of block/attack skills, but enthusiasm. Now there is a lack of it. I think it is more about mental part of preparation than phisical in Polish team.

    Quote from deepblue

    Will Caroline Gattaz return to the NT or did she also retire from the NT like Walewska did?


    Carol is still part of the selection. But has suffered many injuries followed. Today she would be the fourth option for the position. Fabiana, Thaisa and Adenizia are the first options. Natalia Martins was part of the work of Ze Roberto.

    A curious fact I noticed that the Polish team .. Skowrońska a player is very soft. In all attacked balls in his direction instead of trying to defend them she preferred to protect themselves. To cite just one example opposite. Takeshita against Brazil suffered with three balls in his face and yet never gave up .. This type of scene disrupts the union of the group ..

    Congrats to Brazil! :dance6:


    Great news: Fofão is going back to the WC 2010! Brazil's NT will be scary again.

    Fofao hasn't confirmed that she'll be back with the NT. Ze Roberto will be coaching her club team in Turkey this season and there are rumors circulating that he wants her back on the team. However, I doubt we'll see her back in action. Her time is done, she closed it out at the pinnacle of the game and Brazil desperately needs to develop new setters for the future. It wouldn't make any sense to have Fofao start in the WCH and not have her available in 2012 for the Olympics.

    It won't be good for Brazil if Fofao came back to the team again. They need to improve younger setters for Olimpic Games. It is the weakest point of Brazil. The gain would be only for World Cup, but just after then it would be big hole in the team.

    Quote from jaco

    It won't be good for Brazil if Fofao came back to the team again. They need to improve younger setters for Olimpic Games. It is the weakest point of Brazil. The gain would be only for World Cup, but just after then it would be big hole in the team.


    Couldn't agree more. Very true. :thumbup:


    If Brazil wants instant results, then they can call Fofao back. As easy as that. BUT, it will just hinder the progress of their current setters (Fabiola, Dani Lins, etc).


    To me, Fabiola is a fine setter. Never a flashy player but she gets the job done. :)

    "[size=8]It's years and years of work and sacrifice and dedication. Along with a lot of these girls, we've sweat and we've bled and we've cried together in past Olympics. It just brought tears to my eyes, & I'm more than thrilled. This will be forever." -LOGAN MAILE LEI TOM (Silver Medallist - 2008 Beijing & 2012 London Olympic Games, 2011 World Cup runner up, 2003 & 2007 World Cup 3rd place, 2002 World Champs runner up, 4-time World GrandPrix Champs)

    Looks like there are lots of people concerned about development of young brasilian setters! ;)
    I don't think that Ze Roberto even asked Fofao to come back. Seems to me that it's just a speculation started by a journalist well known for his speculations and sensational writing.Last year there were also rumours about Fofao coming back but she made it very clear that she has no intentions of coming back and I am sure Ze roberto respects that.
    I think Brasil will be just fine with Fabiola. She is not Fofao or FV, but she played very well in this GP, and I admire her attitude on court. I would like to see Brasil win gold with Fabiola setting!
    What Brasil needs to improve most is their defence. As for Mari and Paula I hope they will recover very soon( for now it looks like Paula has more chances to make it to WCH than Mari). In any case, I think that the team which played the last 2 matches of GP is the best brasilian team.

    This whole rumor was started by Bruno Voloch, a controversial blogger who gets a lot of attention since his blog is hosted by a big news portal. This guy is a trouble-maker and when he cannot find trouble... he makes it up. Now he's after Fabíola. I don't know what she ever did to him, but he certainly got something against her. His latest gossip claims that the only reason Fabíola got a spot in the starting 6 was because she's got a "godfather" in the NT - that'd be Paulo Cocco, assistent to Zé Roberto and Fabíola's main coach at her club, Pinheiros.


    For the record: I don't think Fabíola did a nice job in the GP, I'm not satisfied with her, but I think she gained space fair and square. She may not be a brilliant setter, but she's very determined and brave and that counts a lot when you consider the fact that the girls aiming for a spot were: a) someone who's perfectly happy being a substitute in her own club for years and years in her career; b)someone who's more gifted from the technical point of view, but who couldn't handle the pressure despite earning a lot of confidence from the coaches who she's worked with. That makes Fabíola our main option right now.


    Never once I fell into that talk that brazilian media has been setting for while: I don't think Fabíola did a good Superliga; I don't think she's a key player in her own club. She's been given time to improve as well, for quite a while, and she hasn't. But due to the other options, she's as good as we get right now. What Voloch is doing is unethical, it's a very low shot.


    By the way: this whole nonsense about Fofão coming back is ridiculous. Let the poor woman rest; she has done enough for our NT. Be grateful and let her go.

    I agree -Fabiola is just solid player and it is the best option for Brazil now. Dani Lins looked much weaker this season, however I would prefer her to play, but only because there is too many Fab-players(Fabi, Fabiana, Fabiola -maybe there is any Fabinha somewhere?) and it would be easier to discuss about the Brazil team;)

    Quote from sne

    Looks like there are lots of people concerned about development of young brasilian setters! ;)
    I don't think that Ze Roberto even asked Fofao to come back. Seems to me that it's just a speculation started by a journalist well known for his speculations and sensational writing.Last year there were also rumours about Fofao coming back but she made it very clear that she has no intentions of coming back and I am sure Ze roberto respects that.
    I think Brasil will be just fine with Fabiola. She is not Fofao or FV, but she played very well in this GP, and I admire her attitude on court. I would like to see Brasil win gold with Fabiola setting!
    What Brasil needs to improve most is their defence. As for Mari and Paula I hope they will recover very soon( for now it looks like Paula has more chances to make it to WCH than Mari). In any case, I think that the team which played the last 2 matches of GP is the best brasilian team.



    I couldn't agree more with you guys. It is a sad fact that such a journalist create news intended to disturb Fabíola's development in Brazil's NT. It is also important to mention that Paula was being a victim of Bruno's comments during this year's WGP. I have this feeling he does that in order to disturb the friendly atmosphere among Brazil's players and their preparation for the WCH.


    I acknowledge that Fabíola is not Fofão, but she has performed well this WGP. Of course there's a lot of room for improvement in her game, but she didn't compromise Brazil's performance and more importantly, she's daring and she had some moments of brilliance this WGP. All she needs is experience and rhythm, I am confident about her development as time goes by.


    I only hope Bruno Voloch have to swallow every single word he wrote about both Fabiola and Paula.