Posts by pinoy_russia

    I agree with your choice of Kulikova. I am not sure about Andrushko. I have not seen her play.


    Does anyone know of nelia ashileva? She is playing for dinamo yantar and from the profile is as tall or taller than gamova or merkulova. Why is she not called by Caprara to the national team? She seems to be performing well in the league based from the statistics. Maybe she can be a potent force of the Russian team in the future and so she must be given now all the opportunities to be trained well by experts and compete in the international competitions.

    Caprara has just announced the 21 players who will be preparing for the Beijing Olympics. I am just curious when I saw Anna Philippova on the list. Who is she? Does anyone know? I tried to look for her name in the list of club players but I was unable to see her name. Maybe someone can enlighten me?


    There are really no surprises as to the list. Everyone is somehow expected, except Philippova. She is the only one who is new to the list. :wavy:


    And who do you think will compose the 12-member team based from the 21-member list?

    if fofao is injured, that is the end for the brazil team. maybe internal conflicts are bothering the team. that is sad. if they want to win the olympics, they should set aside all their personal issues and egos and just think of what is the best for the team and their country. why is it that the brazil players have so many personal issues against one another? is this also similar to other national teams? i hope this is not happening to my russia team.

    did ze roberto explain why she did not call fernanda to the national team? because i think that if brazil really wants to have a strong team, fernanda should be in even if she will just be a back-up setter to fofao. so that when fofao is in the front row and sheila is at the back, mari can replace fofao in the front and fernanda can replace sheila at the back. brazil is heavily reliant on its setter so more than anything else, roberto should get the best setters to the olympics.

    really? that is interesting to know. maybe frustrations are already coming in. or maybe godina is not receiving the good sets from gratcheva. i wonder why dinamo is not playing well when godina, gamova and even borodaokova are there and of course gratcheva who is supposed must be an experienced setter.

    Russia:


    Setters:
    Sheshenina, Akulova


    MBs:
    Merkulova, Borodakova, Alimova


    Hitters:
    Gamova, Sokolova, Godina, Artamonova, Kulikova, Andrushko


    Libero:
    Kabeshova


    Just wondering, how old is Kirilova, the former setter of the Russian team and wife of Caprara? I heard she is one of the greatest setters of Russia. Is it possible for her play again for the team just for this coming Beijing Olympics?

    sokolova may not have performed and played at 100% level but she still got 45% percentage in her attacks. plus the fact that sokolova should really reserve her energy and her skills for the olympics. there is the fear of injuries and others. and that is one thing we do not want to happen. i think artamonova was injured months before the olympics. i do hope there will be no more injuries for the russian players especially sokolova, godina, gamova and arta. russia is doomed if that happens.


    the ones to be blamed are the three other hitters fateeva, safronova and gorchokova. their attack percentages are just terrible. caprara must really think a million times before bringing them to olympics. i do hope there are other possible players aside from fateeva and safronova.

    i dont think that it is a good idea not to bring mari in the beijing olympics. among the brazilian attackers, i think mari stands out. if ze roberto decides to have sheila as the opposite, then mari can either be one of the outside hitters or a subtitute for sheilla. natalia is not so reliable and her height is not so much of an advantage. brazil has a lot of things to be done to reach the olympic podium. i think that russia, italy, china and usa have bigger chances.

    i hope artamonova changes her mind. even if she is not 100% in her physical state, she certainly is better than safronova and fateeva. bringing fateeva to the beijing olympics is certainly disadvantageous for the russian team. instead of following the steps of sokolova or artamonova, she is following the steps of safronova -- being one of the most blocked russian player. i notice that everytime she replaces a player and a ball is set to her, she is BLOCKED, as in the olympic qualification and others. thats the first time she does when she is on the court, being blocked.


    i hope arta really returns.

    for a russia fan, i think this is the best news i have heard for the day. i really hope that artamonova gets to play for beijing olympics. and i think there is a big chance for her to play. caprara has already invited her and perhaps the reason the management of her club did not allow her to play for the national team when it competed in the olympic qualification was because she was not yet ready physically and they wanted her to focus for the club. but now i think she is getting her form back and come the beijing olympics, she will physically be ready to play for the national team.


    i wonder how caprara will maximize the skills of sokolova, gamova, artamonova and godina.