After the Olympics - what now?

I remember the Croatian team at the Sydney Olympics. They had Barbara Jelic, wow, that girl was impressive. She scored 44 points in a 4-set match against China. Croatia finished 3rd and they had to face Cuba already in the quarterfinals. They lost in straight sets, but I remember Croatia also played well in the World Cup. I wonder if the new Croatian team will be as good as the Croatian team of the end of the 90's.

I believe Netherlands will be a strong team in Europe as well, as far as I know, the Dutch team is young and already experienced, so they have a couple of years to show their value, like they did in 2007. I also think Turkey and Germany will be strong teams, as well as Italy, Poland and Serbia.

Croatia in the late 90s was not only Barbara Jelic/Ruzic, they were also influenced from Russian volleyball. Karpol worked a lot in Croatia and some former Soviet stars (Kirillova, Likhtenstein, Sidorenko, Chebukina) played for Croatia NT.

Now Croatia has a lot of young talents, I just hope that the organization behind the team will work fine so that everyone will play for NT.

Quote from Nastja

Nobody was actually saying that the level of volleyball gets worse.

The only thing that bothered me during these Olympics was the disability of teams to perform at their best. Actually just Brazil did (at times also USA and Cuba) and thats why they won.

Celso,

Im not saying that im disappointed of the OG level just because my favourite team lost. If i thought like that i would say that volleyball´s level is underneath all goods.

All teams were preparing min. 3 years for these Games. And all they can show is just a middle- class performance? embarrassing! There were some interesting and high quality matches but in whole there were just a few.... Actually all matches from Pool B were kinda onesided cos just 2 teams were well prepared.

Actually all teams are capable of great volleyball and they show it from time to time. But its sad that they arent able to show it at the most important event.

I hope Croatia will be able to be the 2nd Serbia. They have the players to achieve it. Would be cool to have some more dangerous teams in europe besides the oldies....

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Totally agree with Nastja, about the OG thing.

And, also wanted to remember that all teams have 4 years to prepare until next OG. That's quite a long time and we may be surprised with the growth of some teams, I think specially Serbia and Poland have the possibility of being good on the world scene if they develope a great job with their players in this meanwhile. I think USA has some potential too, for growing, since they have at least 10 young players with some international experience that can improve a lot and replace some old players just fine. That's why Lang Ping took them to be punch bags in tournaments like WCH and GP.
About Brazil, I just hope that whoever that coaches the team do not forget that players get old and that you have to already think about young players...

About Russia, I see them as a good team for 2016, not for 2012. Croatia needs first to get its players back, since half of them don't even want to go to NT, like in this last Pre-OG. And Italy needs to find a player that defines the match when the team needs her, just like Paula has been for Brazil lately.

2016. LOL! That's reassuring...

Russia team for GPQ:

S: Marina Sheshenina (Uralochka NTMK), Marina Akulova (Spartak Omsk)

OH/Opp: Natalia Safronova (Zarechie Odintsovo), Olga Fateeva (Zarechie Odintsovo), Tatiana Kosheleva (Zarechie Odintsovo), Aleksandra Pasynkova (Uralochka NTMK), Ekaterina Gamova (Dynamo Mosca), Natalia Kulikova (Samorodok Khabarovsk)

MB: Julia Merkulova (Zarechie Odintsovo), Maria Borisienko (Dynamo Mosca), Julia Sedova (Autodor-Metar Chelyabinsk)

L: Ekatierina Kabeshova (Leningradka), Svetlana Kriuchkova (Zarechie Odintsovo).

So no real surprises...has Alimova retired from NT as well? And who will guide the team anyway??

i heard that Alimova has some family problems so she cant help NT now

Quote from mateo

i heard that Alimova has some family problems so she cant help NT now

"Help" is not the right word, but sure, I understand.

Nivea,

In case you don't know it yet, Zé Roberto will continue to be Brazil's coach. I just didn't get your concern about the young players, Brazil's federation is always worried about the generations to come and this year they picked up young and promising players to replace the adult team in the Pan-American Cup. Besides, Zé Roberto already said he is bound to test new players in 2009 and the only tournament where the majority of the Olympic Champions will be on court is the World Grand Prix, because there will be a leg of this tournament in Brazil. There's nothing for you to worry about when it comes to Brazil's team.

For the US team Setters-

Losing Robyn Ahmow for the USA doesnt look bleak as much as it is. I think Berg is fundamentally better than Ahmow. Ahmow tends to feed the OH/Opp players with "too much sets" and still sets it there even though they are losing. Berg distributes it better with the MBs getting its share. Berg has a better "court sense" i think...

Berg will be having a knee operation today (September 01). As for her back-up, I think its going to be Anggie Mcginnis. Pan-American Games Best Setter.

EDIT:

Its good that Gamova is still in. Sad not seeing Sokolova and Godina.

+Berg serves much better than Ahmow ı think

Yes, Lindsay Berg is a very valuable player to USA. I hope she will play in the next Olympic Games in London.

Quote from Nastja

Nobody was actually saying that the level of volleyball gets worse.

The only thing that bothered me during these Olympics was the disability of teams to perform at their best. Actually just Brazil did (at times also USA and Cuba) and thats why they won.

...snip...

All teams were preparing min. 3 years for these Games. And all they can show is just a middle- class performance? embarrassing! There were some interesting and high quality matches but in whole there were just a few.... Actually all matches from Pool B were kinda onesided cos just 2 teams were well prepared.

Actually all teams are capable of great volleyball and they show it from time to time. But its sad that they arent able to show it at the most important event.

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I completely agree with this - I was disappointed in these Olympics because I was expecting 9 teams to be able to really battle each other and only Brazil, USA, Italy and Cuba played to their potential.

The Good:
Brazil - Any questions re: can they retain the high level they showed in the Grand Prix finals for a month were answered! Brazil was fantastic. Perfect preparation including Mari becoming a strong receiver at the perfect moment! Very impressive Ze' Roberto!
USA - Lang Ping was also able to "peak" her team at the proper moment. They brought their best game when they needed it against Italy. The rest of the time they played near the upper level of their capabilities.

The Bad:
Russia - They left their game at home. I don't know who those people in the Russian uniforms were... Tragic!
China - failed in their preparations. Feng, Yang and Zhao were not recovered from injuries sustained four years ago! Not only did they fail to recover their players injuries, they also failed to develop adequate replacements. Yes, they won the bronze medal, and maybe that is all they could have won even if healthy, but I think they should have been capable of the level they showed in 2004.

The Average:
Cuba - Although Cuba can be amazing, like they were against USA in the
group match, they have not been able to sustain that level over the
course of several matches. If they had previously shown the ability to
play near their highest level consistently, I could call them a
disappointment.
Italy - Showed a very high level for most of the Olympics, but had a bad match at a bad time. Italy played a bad match at the same time USA played the best game they are capable of and it was in the quarterfinals. Sad that Italy failed to reach the medal round, but I think it was mostly bad luck. Considering they had to play without Del Core, and Aguero and her situation had to affect the group, Italy mostly played near their highest level.

Disappointing:
Japan, Serbia, Poland: I didn't expect these teams to medal, but I expected at least one of them to win a match against one of the teams listed above. I expected all of them to push the teams listed above on several occasions. Other than Poland v. USA these teams didn't really push the other teams.

Jist, do you have information regarding Kanoe Kamana'o? She was pretty good during her college days. And I remember her setting for the team that played in Montreux 2006(??). Correct me if I'm wrong.

Is she playing in some foreign team or did she leave the game for good. I believe she has potential.

Quote from gael alexei philippe

Jist, do you have information regarding Kanoe Kamana'o? She was pretty good during her college days. And I remember her setting for the team that played in Montreux 2006(??). Correct me if I'm wrong.

Is she playing in some foreign team or did she leave the game for good. I believe she has potential.

hey this might answer you http://www.vimeo.com/615287

have heard of her before..she's was pretty stellar in her college i think (4 all-american in 4 years).

Too bad, such talent put to waste. But if she will pursue politics, I wish her all the best. Maybe it will be tough to leave her comfortable life just to get international experience.

I hope that Nellie Spicer will try and play internationally. I like the way she runs her teams offense. The pace is fast.

Quote from murina

I completely agree with this - I was disappointed in these Olympics because I was expecting 9 teams to be able to really battle each other and only Brazil, USA, Italy and Cuba played to their potential.

The Good:
Brazil - Any questions re: can they retain the high level they showed in the Grand Prix finals for a month were answered! Brazil was fantastic. Perfect preparation including Mari becoming a strong receiver at the perfect moment! Very impressive Ze' Roberto!
USA - Lang Ping was also able to "peak" her team at the proper moment. They brought their best game when they needed it against Italy. The rest of the time they played near the upper level of their capabilities.

The Bad:
Russia - They left their game at home. I don't know who those people in the Russian uniforms were... Tragic!
China - failed in their preparations. Feng, Yang and Zhao were not recovered from injuries sustained four years ago! Not only did they fail to recover their players injuries, they also failed to develop adequate replacements. Yes, they won the bronze medal, and maybe that is all they could have won even if healthy, but I think they should have been capable of the level they showed in 2004.

The Average:
Cuba - Although Cuba can be amazing, like they were against USA in the
group match, they have not been able to sustain that level over the
course of several matches. If they had previously shown the ability to
play near their highest level consistently, I could call them a
disappointment.
Italy - Showed a very high level for most of the Olympics, but had a bad match at a bad time. Italy played a bad match at the same time USA played the best game they are capable of and it was in the quarterfinals. Sad that Italy failed to reach the medal round, but I think it was mostly bad luck. Considering they had to play without Del Core, and Aguero and her situation had to affect the group, Italy mostly played near their highest level.

Disappointing:
Japan, Serbia, Poland: I didn't expect these teams to medal, but I expected at least one of them to win a match against one of the teams listed above. I expected all of them to push the teams listed above on several occasions. Other than Poland v. USA these teams didn't really push the other teams.

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Yes, I agree with your analysis here. I really thought Poland would do something too. China was under so much pressure to do well since they were the hosts, I think they were overwhelmed.

Gael, I agree with what you say about Nellie Spicer, she is great player in college. Do you follow the NCAA volleyball in USA?

Oh i didn't know that Sarah Pavan is Canadian-Italian. If she decides to play for Italy, then we can again see a quality left-handed opposite (after Metcalf). She played for University of Nebraska, NCAA champion team of 2006(correct me if im wrong). And i think she was also awarded as the National Player back then. She's also tall..around 6'5.

Quote from jist

Oh i didn't know that Sarah Pavan is Canadian-Italian. If she decides to play for Italy, then we can again see a quality left-handed opposite (after Metcalf). She played for University of Nebraska, NCAA champion team of 2006(correct me if im wrong). And i think she was also awarded as the National Player back then. She's also tall..around 6'5.

Yes, you are correct, she did play for Nebraska and won National Championship in 2006. I have watched her play on tv, she is pretty good. If she does decide to play for Italy, that would be a great addition to Italy NT. Nebraska had a great team that year in 2006, good at hitting, receiving, blocking, etc.

Quote from M1KV

Yes, you are correct, she did play for Nebraska and won National Championship in 2006. I have watched her play on tv, she is pretty good. If she does decide to play for Italy, that would be a great addition to Italy NT. Nebraska had a great team that year in 2006, good at hitting, receiving, blocking, etc.

Wow,Sarah Pavan is really tall & powerful.I have watched her video of NCAA final in 2006.

She did play for Canada NT this year,and then joined the Conegliano club,I remember that her father & mother are both Italian(correct me if im wrong),and I found that her sport-national is ITA now,if it is right,that's a lost for Canada NT !