The 2012 CEV Champions League

Quote from Vaio

I'm still under impression how setter from Dinamo Moscow and coach could not realized that Ortiz was on fire last night, instead using her more she didn't get a lot balls in crucial moments, really bad decision. I believe that Fang, coach from Cannes is feeling bad also, because he decide to not signed Ortiz and later he signed Lipicer, well with Ortiz, that will be really serious team even for 1st place on F4, instead I think they will need to be happy with qualifying on F4.
For sure match Rabita - FB is final before finals, and it is pity that CEV didn't do nothing to avoid this.

Agree with you (how unusual ), and I've also wondered why Ortiz has played so little all over the season. Do you know if she had any injury problems? Makarova and Yaneva haven't been too convincing, at least they both aren't able to consistently show high level. Grün's role is mainly to lead the team as person and to contribute in defense, but her attack performance also has been far from convincing recently...she never was the player who would kill high balls against a high block, at least not from Position 4, when she played as Opposite in the past she did better.

Quote from bvb

Nice to see Liuba as opposite!

Very very bad for Russian NT! Lyuba has to receive! Maybe it was a mistake from her to stay in the team which is coached by Brazilian NT coach

Quote from Vaio

she played as opposite but she was receiving in some rotations, I didn't saw match but in stats from match she was receiving.

yes she was (receiving)

Quote from Matthias

Agree with you (how unusual ), and I've also wondered why Ortiz has played so little all over the season. Do you know if she had any injury problems? Makarova and Yaneva haven't been too convincing, at least they both aren't able to consistently show high level. Grün's role is mainly to lead the team as person and to contribute in defense, but her attack performance also has been far from convincing recently...she never was the player who would kill high balls against a high block, at least not from Position 4, when she played as Opposite in the past she did better.

Mathias do you think the lack of attack power for Grün is due to the fact that she has very different step order while spiking and it is not comfortable for a spiker attacking from 4

Quote from semisonic

Very very bad for Russian NT! Lyuba has to receive! Maybe it was a mistake from her to stay in the team which is coached by Brazilian NT coach

No ı don't agree at all, Sokolova is totally better at attacking at 2 than 4. And she can receive while she is opp as well

My thoughtsI:
Dinamo Moscow is eleminated - because I think this team needs a system changes!!! Just remember, last years` team also could not reach the Final Four, even the next round of Play -Off`s! Ok, I agree due to Parkhomenko`s injury they lost enough power, but the team was good enough to reach Final Four or at least eleminate Pesaro! They dont have that mood Bergamo or other teams have! Just look at Atom - they played with all their passion and I must say I adored this team!!!
Eczacibashi - I think they are very similar with Dinamo Moscow!!! they need something to change!!! They can not be a team!!! Last three years I dont like them as a team!!! And Neslihan- she is great player but I think it would be better if she had not left Vakifbank!!! The same about Poljak!!! And now we see - they are eleminated again and by the same Vakif!!!! I really like Vakif`s team spirit!!!
Pesaro- another very very similar team to the first two team I wrote about!!! Ok they dont have as many stars as the previous ones,but they also did many big mistakes in their transfer policy starting from the last season!!! So many similar problems I see in these three teams and I really did not enjoy any of their matches! Maybe one or two!!!
Kazan - I did not like their game at the beginning of the season, but now they have started playing really very good game and very fast!!!! I think they can be successful if they continue like this!
Azerrail - They have also improved their game! Parkhomenko`s affects their game at blocking, defence and the setting from the bad reception, but Nootsara organizes the team very good having better reception than they used to have!!! I think with new American player (if she has good reception and better attack than Kosek) they can pretend to win Kazan! It will be ver hard!
Fenerbahce - they are quite strong team and very logical pretenders to the main title!!! A lot of great players! Naz Aydemir is their weakest point as she play very unstable. One match she can play good another just awful! But also logan Tom is not as good as we used to see her! Maybe because of the lack of the practise! Kim and lyuba are good enough! Eda is also great! Fabiana - the same about Logan!!! Libero is another weak point of Fener!
Cannes - I LIKE this team!!! They can be a CHAMPION!!! TEAM!!! This is their main spirit! They have a very good team job!!! Bravo Antonijevic!!! only good words about this team!!!
Bergamo - they started playing better and better after each match! But Vaisleva is the key point of the team! She is unstable player! If she plays well then the team is very close to win! Picci is Picci!!!
Villa - all the words I told about Cannes are concerned about Villa too! Very good team !!!
Vakif - they are very good as a team! Even Poljak`s loss did not affect on that! I sympatyze to this team, I dont think this team will pass Cannes, even it is very possible! I say 60 to 40 for Cannes! But if this team reaches Final Four and even becomes the Champion I will not be surprised!!! Like last season! ) Glinka and Nikolic are great! And twin sisters with libero help them a lot!
Rabita - one of the main candidates to the title! But before they have to pass Fenerbahce! I think it is also very possible but you never know what happens in female volley! Rabita defeated Fener with a great game and mentally has advantage. But I think Fener will do its best to take revenge!!! I think the chances are 50 to 50!!! Queen Mammadova started playing like MAMMA again after serious injury (even she never played awful game despite of injury ) she showed how important she is for the team and Azeri spectators showed how they do LOVE her, Osmokrovic is healing her injury and we hope she will be ok! We have two strong setters and amazing attacking middles like incredible Golubovic and Krsmanovic!!! Especially Golubovic which is the fastest player I have ever seen! =) Popovic is also back and showed how important for the team she is!!! And STAROVIC - last season she was the Best Scorer of Rabita and one of the key player on reaching second place of Champions league and MVP of the Azerbaijani Superleague!!! This season her role changed as Osmokrovic added to the team and now she is set not so many as before! SHe started the season not good, but lately her percentage at attacking is at least as good as Mammadova`s and Osmokrovic`s,sometimes even better!!! She is one of two BEST defenders in the team even she is tall, very useful at blocking. If I as a coach I would have never changed her either!!! Because she is very important player in the team!!! Ok, does not have star name, but she is one of the most stable and useful players for the team!!!
So - I can not say which teams will reach the Final Four as I am not ALLAH and only he knows that !!! All the ambitious team were built to play for the top! So, I just respect each of the teams and shared my opinion about each of them! Hope, I did not hurt anyone`s feelings )
It is just sport, my friends! Love ya all! )

I think Fenerbahce's advantage is that they will play 2nd match at home,so eventually home crowd could help them if golden set is player,but overall I like Rabita's chances..If Popovic is healthy,she's main in defence and one of the best libero in Europe I would say at the moment,and we have pretty strong attach,2 great MBs and Mammadova and I hope healthy Osmokrovic.Also I like both setters,Zhukova and Spicer,but I would also like to see Glass in starting six,maybe at least 1 set to replace Starovic,so she can show what she can do...She may not be good in defence,but she spikes pretty good and has great serve,I think Gajic should give her chance..I think Rabita will somehow manage to win this match and qualify for F4.

At that event I also see Azerrail,they played all their home matches perfectly,and they will play 2nd match and eventually golden set at home, and Nootsara is phenomenal setter,very versatile. Plus Rahimova in attack,Korotenko in defence,then Anzanello,Bown,I think they can bit Kazan!!!!

In bottom half of draw I see Bergamo and Vakifbank winning. I think Cannes is all the time concentraiting on MBs,they play great.but I think overall as a team Vakif is much better,especially with Glinka,and they won last year,plus great coach.

In Italian derby I think Bergamo will win,they're playing better and better, their team-spirit is also great, and altough Villa played great against Moscow,russian team played very bad!

Quote from serdar

Mathias do you think the lack of attack power for Grün is due to the fact that she has very different step order while spiking and it is not comfortable for a spiker attacking from 4

It could be a factor, with her type of approach it's a bit easier to attack from 2 (for example, also Goncharova, Koleva, Glinka and Turlea do the same approach as Grün and, maybe except Glinka, they all attack better from 2 than from 4), but probably right now it would not make much difference if she played as Opposite, she is not in her top form in attack now. And as I said before she never was a player to kill high balls, at least not as high as she gets from Ulyakina. But one strength of her which I observed in many matches, she might not score a single point for 15 minutes, but when the end of the set comes and the score is close, she will not make any mistakes and she can suddenly kill even the most difficult balls.

On paper I think you have to consider Fenerbache the favorite simply because of the talent they possess. However, marshmellow previously mentioned in the thread, their last match was the first time all four of their foreign transfers were on the court together. Solokova has been playing on the left almost the entire season and while she has considerable experience as an OPP over the yeas, I am wondering if her moving to the right might take a little time for the team to adjust to. The connection with Kim and Naz will be important against Rabita, there were a lot of miscues out of the backrow in their last match. Rabita is as solid at every position as Fenerbache with exception of the OPP position if Solokova plays there. They need to pass well and get a lot of offensive production out of their middles. In their first match against Atom Sopot when they lost it seemed like they were only going to the outside attackers and they struggled. Regardless of who takes this series I just hope to see both teams play at their best. Both teams have played below expectations in a few of their matches.

Kazan looks to be playing a high level of volleyball. Their service reception is allowing them to spread the ball around and not rely exclusively on Gamova which makes things even easier for her when she does get the ball. I think Kazan is a big contender for the title. They haven't been playing the big matches that have been getting a lot of attention but their level of play has gotten better with every match.

I'm not surprised that Azerrail has been playing well with Nootsara running the show. The Thai offense is very complex and requires a talented setter to run that show. She is a very deceptive and skilled setter and I am glad she is getting the opportunity to display her talents to a larger audience.

I think a few people on this board are looking at Bergamo for their history and not for their current team. Without Lo Bianco they are an entirely different team, and for the worst. Their advancement in the tournament over Pesaro isn't much of an accomplishment in my eyes. Pesaro may have had a few upsets but for the most part have been a weak team both in the Italian League and CL play. It seems to me that usually either Vasileva or Picci have a good performance but rarely at the same time. They'll need to both excel to beat Cortese.

Villa Cortese on the other hand has been very efficient and playing a stable level of volleyball. I really like the sort of players and system that they are utilizing. Wilson and Guiggi are very quick, efficient middles, Cruz and Bosetti are small but efficient passers and attackers, and Pavan is a true opposite who is phenomenal both from the front and back row. I anticipate Villa Cortese taking the series but they need to get continued good play out of Pavan as the Cortese outside hitters are not efficient attackers out of system on high ball sets.

The Cannes-Vakifbank matchup is going to be another exciting matchup. Cannes has probably been the most consistently good team from the beginning of the tournament. Rasic and Raava put up big offensive numbers for middle blockers and the connection with Antonijevic is very solid. I've said it before and I'll say it again Antonijevic is the best backup setter in the world. Centoni has been very impressive as well, which irritates me even more that she hasn't been included with the Italian NT because her services would be GREATLY useful. Vakifbank certainly has the advantage at the pin hitting positions and is certainly battle tested after the last round. It's really a toss up in this series and I can't really pick a winner.

This is completely opinion based but in regards to Grun's approach (btw I think Turlea and Goncharova are great examples of this), I think it's much easier to block players with that sort of approach when they hit on the left side. With a normal approach it's much more deceptive and easier to disguise a lineshot attack. However, with players like Grun, when they hit on the leftside they have to face the angle or line much earlier in their attack and approach which allows for the opposition to adjust quicker. When Goncharova attacks from the leftside her efficiency falls tremendously because of this. From the opposite side of the court their shoulders stay open which allows them easy access to the lineshot or going cross court at the last second.

Cannes is a good team.But I believe and trust Vakıfbank.Ok don't have Poljak but everythings is not Poljak..We can do like last year and I hope everythings will be last year..Let's go my girls !! Show your power!!

According to azerisport.com Azerrail weel play its first match with Dinamo Kazan on 22nd of February.

http://azerisport.com/volleyball/20120212122037720.html

Quote from king

My wishlist for final 4

Fenerbahce

Vakifbank

Villa Cortese

Dinamo Kazan

and I hope for a final between Vakifbank and Villa Cortese, and of course to win for Vakifbank

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I hope will win Villa!

did you see Logan's servers at the last match? If Logan use this servers,Rabita's and Vakif can do nothing