2014 FIVB World Championship - Italy - 9/23

    Quote from CarduCat

    Right, very interesting game for (real) volleyball lovers ; 2 strong teams and a big strategic battle. Bonitta made a lot of changes in 2nd and 3 sets because Chinese players (especially Ting Zhu) brought a lot of problems for Italians.


    La Cardullina : digs, well yes. But moreover it's the high quality of her sets which makes the difference with Monica (a good libero anyway).
    I think Bonitta will put Lo Bianco and De Gennaro for Final Six again because Ferretti and Cardullo came back from injuries.


    thanks to both...I will definitely see it as soon as possible! :win:


    about the third phase: I think that Italy will have to face two great teams, but all teams are strong at this point of the tournament! Italy has the weapons to beat both of them, but they could also lose. They're playing well, whoever comes in, does her job well...so let's hope it continues like this!! Come on girls!! :box:

    just to put my own predictions into the discussion....


    USA as ever very consistent team, well drilled, but fall short of the Brazilian 'x factor' - that passion and desire. Brazilians really want this as well - so they will fight to the very end - However, they have shown nerves in this tournament because they want it so much. Only way USA can beat them is if they just completely dominate and overwhelm them and it is a quick match - not impossible because USA are now very good at having runs of points - but unlikely. Ofcourse, Brazilians could just come out very nervous... the depth in their bench players might help here..
    These teams could very well meet in a semifinal..... I would give Brazil the win here.



    Dominican R and China are equal to the semis - both can be very good when on a roll but have so many instabilities that winning is never really up to them, but their opponents. China can only win if they can keep their attacking and blocking game going - but that means consistent passing -which they have been unable to sustain. I expect Brazil to face a tougher match from the Dominicans, who are learning to win..




    Italy could get through - but have been unable to beat USA really since that shock Beijing loss. Centoni and Del Core will determine this match, with some help from Lo Bianco. I'd say Italy have stronger chances against Russia, only if they pass well. They also need to play a clever attack game like they did against the Chinese block.


    I Think Brazil v USA in the final most probably - A Brazil win would make a good story - and a USA win would validate Kiraly's super fast system.

    For the first time after many years Italy has a very effective serve.
    But they lack a lot in blocking. If they will (not) block like they did with China they'll surely have problems with Russia and USA. Arrighetti is not a good blocker as were Barazza and Anza in their good days.


    Very sorry there is no Korea in this WCH. I have a feeling they could have been in top six. Nevermind!! :whistle: :whistle:

    Let's face it the only two teams who could beat Brazil at this stage are: USA & Russia. I'm not really sure if the USA can give the Brazilians a really good fight for the gold medal match, remember London 2012? I don't know what to call it, maybe they lack the 'X-factor' some people are calling it here, but they are the next best team after Brazil. On the other hand, if Russia continues to pick up their game, they will be a very dangerous opponent. Russia, like Brazil, is no slouch to these "big games". The worst thing to happen to Brazil is to win all 12 matches and lose the "13th" and Final/gold medal match. Whoever that opponent will be, we'll see in the coming days. :wavy:

    i'd like either BRA or USA to win this one because we need a new WCh and it'd be a first for either country. of course i think it'll be BRA but US is very dangerous if they are playing their best and really focused.


    i do not want or care for RUS or ITA to win it, specially RUS, they have no middle attack, all they want to do is hammer their opponents into submission. not beautiful volleyball.


    i also hope DOM gets a bronze… but that'll be difficult.

    the funniest thing about sports and sports fans is the use of sensationalism using x-factor, motivation to the last minute and all the other cr8p when in fact these teams are playing too few games (also playing against too few teams)for us to make a substantive analysis, now dont get me wrong right now brazil, usa and russia are the biggest candidates for gold but winning gold does not automatically mean your the best, of course fans of teams will ignore teams will ignore this fact because all they will care about is "yay! go (insert name of country we won! i told you we will be champions!" even if their team played so so in the whole tournament as long as they win the gold all of that would be ignored.

    iceman006: Well, what do you mean by "playing too few games"? I thought this has been a rather long and tiring tournament for all teams. And I think some of the users here are overrating the importance of having a few standout individuals in a team. It's not really essential if you have a good-looking system like the USA's, a well-oiled machine that's always ready to fire through all cylinders, at least for the moment. Moreover have we forgotten about their MBs duo already? those are the players that can make a difference, not to mention Robinson whose potential I believe we haven't seen the last of.
    Of course we volleyball fans appreciate beautiful volleyball but I think it's not fans' fault for always wanting their favorite teams to do well and achieve good results despite their current leavels because at the end of the day, everybody plays to win. If you're worried that Russia with its lackluster game can win gold then I suggest that you shouldn't. Brazil and USA are overwhelming favorites and they sure as hell won't just fold and hand Russia the win. Russia HAS to perform well to win and if they can, so why not. Same for other teams :win:

    i don't know, but usually it's either brazilian men who will win gold and the brazilian women going home crying or the other way around. since BRA men didn't win this WCH, I think it's BRA women who will finally win their WCH gold. :D just saying.... 8o :P

    Quote from CarduCat

    You can confess it ! You just copied the comment you posted 2 years ago, 1 week before the OJ final game, no :white:


    Canter, what do you mean by "Us is a professional team " ? And others :white:


    So I think USA can win too, but remember 2002 and 2012 !
    My fav : Brasil
    Dark horse : Les Bleues

    I don't remember posting such thing for women. I always think that USA MEN NT is built to win final games if they can reach it, but not the women's team. I am just impressed the way they play so far.

    I support Russia. They have to have Pasynkova in team roster every single match. And Kosinenko has to play, she can use MBs more than Startseva. But the problem is Gamova and Startseva are speaking same language.

    Quote from inc0gnito

    Let's face it the only two teams who could beat Brazil at this stage are: USA & Russia. I'm not really sure if the USA can give the Brazilians a really good fight for the gold medal match, remember London 2012? I don't know what to call it, maybe they lack the 'X-factor' some people are calling it here, but they are the next best team after Brazil. On the other hand, if Russia continues to pick up their game, they will be a very dangerous opponent. Russia, like Brazil, is no slouch to these "big games". The worst thing to happen to Brazil is to win all 12 matches and lose the "13th" and Final/gold medal match. Whoever that opponent will be, we'll see in the coming days. :wavy:


    it seems to me that losing at least one time before final stage/match is not bad...not easy to win all the matches and reach the title but if there is to be a team to succeed it that cant be any other teams but Brazil


    Quote from iceman006

    the funniest thing about sports and sports fans is the use of sensationalism using x-factor, motivation to the last minute and all the other cr8p when in fact these teams are playing too few games (also playing against too few teams)for us to make a substantive analysis, now dont get me wrong right now brazil, usa and russia are the biggest candidates for gold but winning gold does not automatically mean your the best, of course fans of teams will ignore teams will ignore this fact because all they will care about is "yay! go (insert name of country we won! i told you we will be champions!" even if their team played so so in the whole tournament as long as they win the gold all of that would be ignored.


    good point...agree with you


    Quote from aXeLbEn12

    i don't know, but usually it's either brazilian men who will win gold and the brazilian women going home crying or the other way around. since BRA men didn't win this WCH, I think it's BRA women who will finally win their WCH gold. :D just saying.... 8o :P


    :lol: its very likely to happen

    Quote from Flame Princess

    iceman006: Well, what do you mean by "playing too few games"? I thought this has been a rather long and tiring tournament for all teams. And I think some of the users here are overrating the importance of having a few standout individuals in a team. It's not really essential if you have a good-looking system like the USA's, a well-oiled machine that's always ready to fire through all cylinders, at least for the moment. Moreover have we forgotten about their MBs duo already? those are the players that can make a difference, not to mention Robinson whose potential I believe we haven't seen the last of.
    Of course we volleyball fans appreciate beautiful volleyball but I think it's not fans' fault for always wanting their favorite teams to do well and achieve good results despite their current leavels because at the end of the day, everybody plays to win. If you're worried that Russia with its lackluster game can win gold then I suggest that you shouldn't. Brazil and USA are overwhelming favorites and they sure as hell won't just fold and hand Russia the win. Russia HAS to perform well to win and if they can, so why not. Same for other teams :win:

    Couldn't have said it better. I don't understand with all the Russia hate bandwagon. Brazil has overall strong game, nothing new about them. The only glimpse we have of how USA A-team performs against strong teams was their game against Russia. And, if Russia with all their problems were able to keep up a good fight, then this must be good news for Russia should they manage to find the "fix" for their problems. No need to put other teams down, just sayin'. Kthanksbye :whistle:

    Quote from tunc

    I support Russia. They have to have Pasynkova in team roster every single match. And Kosinenko has to play, she can use MBs more than Startseva. But the problem is Gamova and Startseva are speaking same language.


    Do we have any news about Pasynkova's injury and whether or not she is ready to play in the next matches? Paging semisonic? :wavy:
    I still believe Startseva will be default setter for the next matches. She has better defense than Kosianenko, arguably a better server, and believe it or not, she has started to use the MBs more esp. Fetisova. Team Zenya FTW :lol: Speaking of Fetisova, I'm glad Marichev realized she is the only Russian MB who is reliable in the block, which can be crucial in decisive moments (case in point: Fetisova's kill block in first set against Serbia).

    Quote from raylight

    I don't remember posting such thing for women. I always think that USA MEN NT is built to win final games if they can reach it, but not the women's team. I am just impressed the way they play so far.

    It was ironical, raylight !
    :drink:
    Just mean that a lot of people thought the same thing about US team in Summer 2012 ... and it collapsed in the final after the 1st set ...


    ...
    canter : ok I got it. Nevertheless the main quality of Kiraly's team is his fast game. But Italians could put some sand in the US mechanics.

    Usa's fast game (good defense then fast game in return) is half of the secret of their success....i dont think they have as excellent players as in London this time...Larson is a very good player but its uncertain about her shape at the moment..Robinson kind of inexperienced...they have great Mbs however i dont remember any other Mbs making its team champion except for Brazilian Mbs..i like Murphy,she is a good opp and very suitable for fast game but we should better see her game against organized blocks when the game is slowed down by good serves of the opponents..