I cant believe how poor Russians r in counterattacks. This is below pathetic, they won ECH with 39% eff.
Tragic ECH
It is not only this game. If you watch carefully the Belgium match, Rus had up to 20 transition balls per set but never more than 7-8 breakpoints from that.
Congrats Russia!! A deserved victory for sure!
But somehow today Germany seems to me like the team that deserve the compliments the most: what a fight they delivered! They were so close!
Has anyone got any link to the awarding ceremony livestream?
If you can watch Raisport, it's online.... (search for 'raisport hd diretta' on Google, for me it's the first link)
Awards?
For me Volokov deserve something for sure, as Grozer (best opp). So may be Mikahilov can have the MVP, Grozer best opp and Volkov best spiker, may be with Kaliberda or Deroo?
Kampa best setter...
Lisiniac from Serbia... with? Finger? A Russia MB?
EDIT: Crick not Finger!!! 
For the libero I don't know.... Zinger? Many split the court...
Volkov and Kaliberda best OH
MB Lisiniac and Bohme
Grankin and Grozer.
I admit I would have preferred a Russian MB and Kampa...
Vlasov has been blocking horribly. Too many chances but no cigar.
Butko is a great server and a great blocker. Kliuka is better blocker and attacker than Berezhko so that makes sense to strengthen your strengths.
On the paper, yes. But in reality Kluka has been off with an injury and was overly out of rhythm. In the game, he struggled a lot finishing the ball from four whereas, on the paper, he's got the highest reach of the two teams, i.e. could have finished it all in the ninth meter/off the block. He did block Grozer in the tie-break, true, - but immediately failed to side-out afterwards and received very questionably. Add to this three or four easy serves that boosted the self-esteem of the Ger block. Yegor was clearly not ready for this level, it was very clear in the Belgium game.
Thanks for the response, KK. My livestream didn't show the awarding ceremony and have to look for a new one.
I'm supposing MVP is Mikhailov like he usually gets and deserves.
Stuer best libero. Honest choice after all.
Stuer best libero. Honest choice after all.
Russian Libero would've gotten it if not for the final. 
But the Belgian libero was amazing during the bronze medal match. So deserved! 
MVP Mikhailov.
Decent award choices overall, imho.
Russian Libero would've gotten it if not for the final.
But the Belgian libero was amazing during the bronze medal match. So deserved!
I've a bit of an hard time to judge the liberos since some of them played only on reception/defense, and for me isn't that right to give a prize to someone that just had to do half of the job... Plus I'm not sure of who did what so it's difficult to said who was better
But I think also Ribbens and Stuer alternate sometime (the italian commentators never notice when a team use two liberos – they're still convinced Russia played always with the same one 
– and in TV is a bit hard to notice if they change always for tactical reason or just sometimes when one is playing bad or even never...)
Ps why this habit (in the WGP too) of giving the Cup to the Captain alone before the awarding ceremony? (and then again to the captain with all the team during the ceremony) 
Sponsor reason may be?
It's truly nice for Russia to have two amazing setters available to them. Grankin was just below his standards today and that could've been a big factor for a possible loss but Butko stepped the f up and despite getting an injury during the last stretch of the match... He still made good choices and had a good serving run at the end of the tiebreak that got them to where they are.
It's truly nice for Russia to have two amazing setters available to them. Grankin was just below his standards today and that could've been a big factor for a possible loss but Butko stepped the f up and despite getting an injury during the last stretch of the match... He still made good choices and had a good serving run at the end of the tiebreak that got them to where they are.
Butko is a strong server and blocker but what is important is that he is Mikhaylov's teammate in Kazan and overall better setter for an opposite. He also spent plenty of time setting to the MBs (Volvich and Kurkaev).
Regarding his injury, there is a peculiar thing. Butko is de facto the only setter for Kazan (the second one being Alekno's son Laurent, 190 cm tall and slightly immature.) If he fails to recover (I bet the league starts in 10 days), a usual setter hunt may start.
Now this was a wonderful and thrilling match. maybe not so much for a fan of the russian team but anyway....
Congrats to the russian team, they just deserved this after they have played such a great tournament. The german guys put everything on the court and it was visible that they just had nothing to lose but everything to win today. Even as a spectator i somehow felt this way. No comparison to the OG qualifier against Poland where there was so much at stake and which took away years of my lifetime.....
Russia playing far below level they have shown in previous matches. Germans without any pressure..
And thats, in short words, the story of the game. Russian guys knew they had to win this match, and especially the most important/experienced players Grankin/Mykhailov had issues to deal wit it, which also affected the other guys. some ball handling issues of some players were really appaling and only explainable with nervosity and pressure.
On the other side of the court, seeing the passion and enjoyment in the faces of Grozer and Kampa was just great. Also the youngest on court, Tobi Krick, really impressed. Never thought, this ECH would end like this and there are a lot of things the guys can be proud on today 
Now this was a wonderful and thrilling match. maybe not so much for a fan of the russian team but anyway...
All is good what ends good. Not only in volleyball.
QuoteAlso the youngest on court, Tobi Krick, really impressed. Never thought, this ECH would end like this and there are a lot of things the guys can be proud on today
Crick was in play when opp Grozer was in three, two or at the service. When he was in three and two, Grozer had two blocks on him by default. From four or from back court, it was different.
Choke... No OPP contribution today. Germany fought hard, believed and didnt give up. Giani deserves praise. IMO Grbić won't extend contract with Serbia after this ECH...
Well, we talked about chokers 3 days ago and look how things change 
And we were all sure Russia wouldn't drop a set after the Belgian massacre but who would've bet on that drama last night?
Final with Slovenia was bigger sensation than this one. Back then Slovenia eliminated The Netherlands, Poland and Italy. Now Germany had much easier path to the finals
Yes, in general I agree, Slovenia's outburst came out of the blue and probably has a bit bigger value than Germany's silver medal. But mainly because Giani laid the foundations of this Slovenian team and put it on the volleyball map, whereas he inherited a relatively decent team from Heynen (it IS a great team but some players had allegedly retired...) and built on their bronze WCH 2014 finish. I don't quite agree that Slovenia had a much tougher road to the final, they just had a match more (and lost twice in Varna back then). Germany eliminated Italy (kind of, let's ignore the Italian roster for a moment), a much better Czech team than in the pool match, an in-form Serbia and almost beat Russia in the final. Although their path might've been slightly easier (and shorter) after all, Germany played equal against theoretically stronger teams and just the epic comeback versus Serbia is enough to put them alongside Slovenia.
Let me start by congratulating the winners but also the Germans because they actually stole the party on a number of occasions last night. There were a lot of mistakes in the final and it is the most natural thing in a game of such importance and length. But as it is often the case in (professional) volleyball, the more the mistakes and the pressure in a final, the more drama there is. It was a very long and entertaining final and it fit this ECH perfectly. A lot of you complained about the level of the tourney in general and you surely have a point because there were players missing, teams underperforming, completely throughout the event or partially in some games, favourites failing and probably way too many mistakes. From a technical point of view, this ECh wasn't spectacular, but let me take your attention somewhere else for a while. Take the last 4 editions, for instance, and you will find a lot surprises, interesting results, long matches, and overall very nice (in my opinion, at least) tournaments. This has slowly evolved from a trend to a standard in Europe. It doesn't necessarily mean that when teams like Italy, Serbia, France, and Poland fail to reach the semifinals/finals or are not always in top shape (the latter can hardly be the case when the time span is that big) and lose to supposedly weaker teams, the ECH is definitely weak. Yes, Belgium disappointed against Russia, so did Bulgaria, partially Slovenia, and probably a lot of other teams that played/could have faced Russia, but Belgium has improved volleyball-wise a lot and also under the guidance of Heynen, one of Europe's top coaches. Besides, this was the first ever semifinal appearance for Belgium and I am sure even Heynen got nervous. And they had to face a historically tough opponent against which they hadn't won a set in I-don't-know-how-many years. The Czech Rep. also got criticised for their level, but it was a huge improvement in comparison to their previous one. Yes, this comes as a result of a probably (slightly) lower level by big teams, no question about that, but also as a result of the expanding European volleyball geography and I am quite enthusiastic about the latter. In fact, I do look forward to an ECH with 24 teams, which although not necessarily quite successful at the beginning, should prove to be nice in the long run.
My thoughts since that epic comeback by Germany on Saturday have been with Giani and his team. Our Italian friends might have a better perspective about him as a coach and a person than us, I am sure he still has a long way to go as a coach (be it for the aforementioned failures at different clubs or whatever), but just imagine how two consecutive finals with Slovenia and Germany (!) would look on his CV! And how much it says about his capabilities as a coach. I am sure Heynen whom we all admire has had those doubts and failures, too. No coach is safe against taking the wrong team or picking the wrong time, but it is exactly achievements like his that make a volleyball specialist precious. Correct me if I am wrong but Giani spoke only Italian during the time-outs, we saw there wasn't always a translation of his words, and yet he motivated his team in a way that local coaches couldn't do with their lads (my favourite reference - Plamen Konstantinov). Giani's situation with Germany reminds me of an older discussion about how important it is to be able to communicate with your team and whether a foreign coach who doesn't speak your language can get the job done. Thank you, Andrea Giani, for your example! I guess a coach's personality and volleyball knowledge are enough then, language should not necessarily be a hindrance. What is also inspiring is the condition of this German NT in comparison to where they stood just 2 months ago.
I am pleasantly surprised, just like you all, from the integration to senior volleyball of Volkov and Krick, probably the championship's two revelations. And whereas Volkov has been taking his time in order to make it to the first team and stay there permanently, Krick enjoyed a much faster process. I missed the beginning of the final yesterday, I can't talk much in details, but I really liked Lukas Kampa's display and distribution from a certain point on. You could say the captainship brought out more leadership skills from him and he seems to be dealing great with it. He may have been playing the game of his life, actually. Boehme is also a silent hero for Germany, one of their best and most important players. I couldn't explain the mistakes of Mikhaylov, most of them were unforced. He is my number 1 opposite in this volleyball generation and helps a lot even when he has a bad day. In fact, I think last night was as close to a bad match as Mikhaylov could get, yet he was there for Russia (at the end of) in the tie-break and from the service line. It is, to me, the diversity in attack (including the high-jumping MBs and the generally good contribution by the OHs) the Russian setter has which decided not only the tie-break but a lot of the Russian games. Yes, their transition often looked ridiculously ineffective, they were really challenged for the first time during the ECH and I am not saying they played like monsters, because this is neither the best Russian line-up nor their best match, but their performance didn't give me any signs they would lose the tie-break even when they were trailing or when they were 10 points behind in the 4th set. I am slightly disappointed by Grankin who was superb/great/good enough in the previous games. Butko may have saved his a** yesterday, the wonderful cooperation between the Kazan duo (with Mikhaylov) could be seen. Still, Grankin got the Best Setter award, maybe mostly based on his overall performance, but it should've been given to Kampa if we look at the final only.
Last but not least, I didn't like the Serbian sportsmanship at all during the elimination phase, especially Uros Kovacevic and Lisinac. Lisinac got beyond the limits in each of the matches and his behaviour, although probably vital for the Serbian team and their popular confidence, irritates neutral spectators which, maybe just like me, enjoyed watching them get beaten by Germany.
There are a lot of points worth a response in your post. 
I will start here:
Correct me if I am wrong but Giani spoke only Italian during the time-outs, we saw there wasn't always a translation of his words, and yet he motivated his team in a way that local coaches couldn't do with their lads (my favourite reference - Plamen Konstantinov). Giani's situation with Germany reminds me of an older discussion about how important it is to be able to communicate with your team and whether a foreign coach who doesn't speak your language can get the job done. Thank you, Andrea Giani, for your example! I guess a coach's personality and volleyball knowledge are enough then, language should not necessarily be a hindrance. What is also inspiring is the condition of this German NT in comparison to where they stood just 2 months ago.
I remember we once had a conversation on the "language topic". I still do believe that there has to be found a way for an effective communication and that it is not a good solution if you need a player to translate your instructions. I still remember the time outs during WCHQ and WL when the team got thrashed by France, Spain (2x), Austria! and Belgium. Watching time outs during these matches were almost painful to watch.
That being said, yesterday it was rather about how you say things than what you say. It was interesting to see how Shlyapnikov always kept composure and talked calmly to his guys, even when there must have been big temptation to shout and scream.
But in the end, most important thing is that we saw a great development with the german team in almost any volleyball related aspect and it is obvious that good work had been done in the training gym. This, in the end, is what defines a good coach more than his language skills. I think we completely agree on this.
EDIT:
Did someone check the official score sheet?
I already wondered whether i watched a different match, when i saw these 22 Blocks, 14 aces and 24 mistakes for the russian team.
