Russian Superleague 2017/2018

  • Even though current season isn't over yet there are some big news regarding the next one. According to sport bussines gazeta there will be a new club in Superleague. Gazprom will create club in St.Peterburg under name Zenit and should continue tradition of Motorist St.Petersbug, the first Russian champion. They will buy place in Superleague from Dynamo Krasnodar because they are going to keep only women team. There are several strong names linked to Zenit St.Petersburg like Oreol Camejo but so far there isn't any official transfer.


    New team


    It's known NOVA left Novokuybyishevsk and went to Samara but that won't be only change as club will change name. In season 2017/2018 they'll perform as Kryl'ya Sovetov or Novaya Samara

  • Even though current season isn't over yet there are some big news regarding the next one. According to sport bussines gazeta there will be a new club in Superleague. Gazprom will create club in St.Peterburg under name Zenit and should continue tradition of Motorist St.Petersbug, the first Russian champion. They will buy place in Superleague from Dynamo Krasnodar because they are going to keep only women team. There are several strong names linked to Zenit St.Petersburg like Oreol Camejo but so far there isn't any official transfer.


    New team


    It's known NOVA left Novokuybyishevsk and went to Samara but that won't be only change as club will change name. In season 2017/2018 they'll perform as Kryl'ya Sovetov or Novaya Samara


    This is till a gossip, no official confirmation. I read that there is going to be some influx from Zenit (Kobzar, Sivo) into the New-Zenit.

  • http://sport.business-gazeta.ru/article/190407


    Last club on this list is St.Petersburg, Dynamo Krasnodar is missing :whistle: I'm almost sure it's a done deal :call:


    Dinamo Krasnodar is very much present in the table and they have registered for next season. Which means that a new superambitious project from St Petersburg is going to cost slightly more to the generous money-launderer sponsor. Another option is of course to marry up with another Dinamo, Dinamo LO. It is pretty clear that there can be only one OK team in St Petersburg and the neighborhood so if the newcomer manages to jump straight into the Superleague as an independent outfit, the poor Dinamo LO would automatically drift towards the relegation.

  • How about more information about Zenit St. Petersburg? They won their first match against Dinamo Moscow.


    St Petersburg looked like an OK team overall with decent team spirit. Apart from the obvious heroic characters, I was impressed by the setter Pankov and the libero Komarov. They look as a solod top 5 team but who knows how it goes? The game is stored here, welcome to watch if curious :
    http://tvstart.ru/en/streams/d…mpionat-rossii-muzhchiny/

  • Ok, so I opened the stats sheet from Belogorie's game, played a day later than the rest, and I was shocked to find out that Grankin had signed with Shipulin's team :huh: How, when, and why? powsoff, we need you. I am wondering how I missed probably the biggest internal transfer in Russia this summer. I saw both Antipkin and Strilchuk in action for Dinamo against Zenit SP and thought that Grankin had been given a few days rest. Although all the other NT members seem to have played over the weekend. Which leads us to the second question - where is Berezhko? Is he still a Dinamo Moscow player or is he only enjoying a few days off? He is the only only missing from the golden ECH starting team.

  • Ok, so I opened the stats sheet from Belogorie's game, played a day later than the rest, and I was shocked to find out that Grankin had signed with Shipulin's team :huh: How, when, and why? powsoff, we need you. I am wondering how I missed probably the biggest internal transfer in Russia this summer. I saw both Antipkin and Strilchuk in action for Dinamo against Zenit SP and thought that Grankin had been given a few days rest. Although all the other NT members seem to have played over the weekend. Which leads us to the second question - where is Berezhko? Is he still a Dinamo Moscow player or is he only enjoying a few days off? He is the only only missing from the golden ECH starting team.


    Grankin moved in June, the key reason being the conflict he has been having with Marichev since the 2016 cup. Apparently the issue was the amount of workout Marichev expected Dinamo players should do. The other important transfer from Dinamo to Belgorod was Bakun. Dinamo has also sold Biryukov to Belgorod but Biryukov got injured whilst at the NT so he's off till February. Berezhko stays with Dinamo - yes, he was given some rest.


    The bottom line is that Belgorod and, possibly, Novosibirsk are in clash for gold with Kazan. Moscow and SPb compete for CEV cup spot. On the paper, Belgorod has the strongest roster. It's been long since Belgorod had a setter of Grankin's level - I guess Khamuttskikh in his golden days was a comparable asset. The two "newsomer" OHs they used in the opening game (Semenov and Spodobets) looked nothing but superb with Grankin's sets. Muserskiy had 17 out of 19 in attack. Bakun is obviously not weaker than Grozer, Obmochaev is a top notch libero. Don't know, this can be the end of Zenit's Gazprom funding dominance. There's also a goss that Belgorod is in talks with some Polish OH. Who would that be?

  • Grankin moved in June, the key reason being the conflict he has been having with Marichev since the 2016 cup. Apparently the issue was the amount of workout Marichev expected Dinamo players should do. The other important transfer from Dinamo to Belgorod was Bakun. Dinamo has also sold Biryukov to Belgorod but Biryukov got injured whilst at the NT so he's off till February. Berezhko stays with Dinamo - yes, he was given some rest.


    The bottom line is that Belgorod and, possibly, Novosibirsk are in clash for gold with Kazan. Moscow and SPb compete for CEV cup spot. On the paper, Belgorod has the strongest roster. It's been long since Belgorod had a setter of Grankin's level - I guess Khamuttskikh in his golden days was a comparable asset. The two "newsomer" OHs they used in the opening game (Semenov and Spodobets) looked nothing but superb with Grankin's sets. Muserskiy had 17 out of 19 in attack. Bakun is obviously not weaker than Grozer, Obmochaev is a top notch libero. Don't know, this can be the end of Zenit's Gazprom funding dominance. There's also a goss that Belgorod is in talks with some Polish OH. Who would that be?

    Thanks! I fully agree about Grankin. He is one of the overlooked setters in the game, even some people here don't have a super high opinion of him. To me, Grankin is surely one of the world's top setters and one of this generation's best. I would put Butko in that list, too.


    I would surely love to watch Belogorie's opener, as well as their next games. Mostly, I want to see Konstantin Semenov indoors :) Where I would slightly divert is Belogorie's roster being the best. What bothers me is their OH selection. I think Tetyukhin missed the perfect time to retire, he can't just be super useful for a whole season. Unfortunately, I don't see how Spodobets, Semenov, and Iereshchenko would challenge Zenit for the title. Biryukov is no monster, but with him things could've been a bit brighter indeed. In my opinion, among all real title contenders, Belogorie has the weakest OHs. And I put the newly created Gazprom project in SP in that list immediately because of the players they gathered. They won't become champions probably, yet I think they have more class than this year's Dinamo Moscow. It was a bad timing for them to meet already in the opening round, the return game (hopefully, with a fit Berezhko) will show whether they are better indeed.

  • Grankin moved in June, the key reason being the conflict he has been having with Marichev since the 2016 cup. Apparently the issue was the amount of workout Marichev expected Dinamo players should do. The other important transfer from Dinamo to Belgorod was Bakun. Dinamo has also sold Biryukov to Belgorod but Biryukov got injured whilst at the NT so he's off till February. Berezhko stays with Dinamo - yes, he was given some rest.


    The bottom line is that Belgorod and, possibly, Novosibirsk are in clash for gold with Kazan. Moscow and SPb compete for CEV cup spot. On the paper, Belgorod has the strongest roster. It's been long since Belgorod had a setter of Grankin's level - I guess Khamuttskikh in his golden days was a comparable asset. The two "newsomer" OHs they used in the opening game (Semenov and Spodobets) looked nothing but superb with Grankin's sets. Muserskiy had 17 out of 19 in attack. Bakun is obviously not weaker than Grozer, Obmochaev is a top notch libero. Don't know, this can be the end of Zenit's Gazprom funding dominance. There's also a goss that Belgorod is in talks with some Polish OH. Who would that be?

    According to World of Volley, THE Polish OH is likely to be Mateusz Mika. If he does come, Belogorie would be more crowded and competitive. Given there are already two oversea players in the club, Mika would surely put someone onto the bench, but I am sure Nikolay Nikolov would be fine.


  • Thanks! I fully agree about Grankin. He is one of the overlooked setters in the game, even some people here don't have a super high opinion of him. To me, Grankin is surely one of the world's top setters and one of this generation's best. I would put Butko in that list, too.


    I would surely love to watch Belogorie's opener, as well as their next games. Mostly, I want to see Konstantin Semenov indoors :) Where I would slightly divert is Belogorie's roster being the best. What bothers me is their OH selection. I think Tetyukhin missed the perfect time to retire, he can't just be super useful for a whole season. Unfortunately, I don't see how Spodobets, Semenov, and Iereshchenko would challenge Zenit for the title. Biryukov is no monster, but with him things could've been a bit brighter indeed. In my opinion, among all real title contenders, Belogorie has the weakest OHs. And I put the newly created Gazprom project in SP in that list immediately because of the players they gathered. They won't become champions probably, yet I think they have more class than this year's Dinamo Moscow. It was a bad timing for them to meet already in the opening round, the return game (hopefully, with a fit Berezhko) will show whether they are better indeed.

    Well, obviously Belgorod is not in possession of the likes of Leon and Anderson (and Biryukov was supposed to be a big part of their plan) but things are not that bad. Tetyukhin and Yereshenko carried them through last season pretty OK in terms of reception. From what I could see, Semenov and Spodobets can work against teams like Dinamo LO or Ural. Theoretically, the opposite Danilov can receive too. The two big pros are that Belgorod is by far the best team in the middle and the firepower from the service line should be pretty colossal. This obviously depends on various factors, they wasted 26 serves in the first game but in theory they can bring tons of trouble. The weakest link of Belgorod - as for me - is the same as it was last year. They are being coached by Bogomolov this year who is being assisted by Kazakov so there's great chance of various idiocy going on and opportunities being missed, just like it happened a year ago. I can't believe it: the guys signed essentially a NT squad but failed to employ a pro coach!


    The matches are recorded and available at tv start if you're curious:
    http://tvstart.ru/en/lists/calendar/




    According to World of Volley, THE Polish OH is likely to be Mateusz Mika. If he does come, Belogorie would be more crowded and competitive. Given there are already two oversea players in the club, Mika would surely put someone onto the bench, but I am sure Nikolay Nikolov would be fine.

    AFAIC, the other overseas player, Yereshenko, is not an overseas player anymore. Mika makes sense as they may want someone tall (replacement for Khtey). Unclear though how healthy Mika is - Belgorod clearly doesn't need someone as sick as Khtey.

  • St Petersburg looked like an OK team overall with decent team spirit. Apart from the obvious heroic characters, I was impressed by the setter Pankov and the libero Komarov. They look as a solod top 5 team but who knows how it goes? The game is stored here, welcome to watch if curious :
    http://tvstart.ru/en/streams/d…mpionat-rossii-muzhchiny/

    I thought Pankov looked familiar, he's the setter of Russia's U23 team. He's pretty good.


    Btw, why is Poletaev bench-warming for Kuzbass? Is he injured or it's the coaches decision?

  • Although he got appointed as an assistant to Gennagy Shipulin (as all his recent ancestors in Belgorod), Gheorghe Cretu sat on the bench as a head coach for today's match versus Zenit St. Petersburg. We know how it goes over there, powsoff described the situation pretty well. It means that Belogorie hired a full-time, experienced coach. He may not be a big name, but it is an upgrade to the experiment that had been going for some time.


    I could only watch the last set of the match tonight and I saw some very troubling mistakes from the visitors. That must've been the worst set of volleyball played by Camejo, the guy looks like a shadow of the player we know. Maybe he will need some time to adjust to good, old European volleyball after the Korean adventure. Yeah, I will watch the previous sets also, they were probably more intensive and I can't generalise from an excerpt only, but mistakes are mistakes, no matter whether in the opening or in the last set.