Posts by JoanaBG

I guess we'll find out soon enough if Terzić is staying. He says he's still motivated to continue, but at the same time he's fully aware that most of "his" players are on their way out and that perhaps the new crop of players coming in would work better with another coach who could build a new team from the scratch. He'll announce his decision shortly, but if he does step down, he has no idea who will succeed him and by the look of things, it won't be anyone from his circle.

There have been a lot of interviews with him lately and it's obvious how much he's mellowed down over the years (as indicated in the (in)famous "You're the best team in the world for me, screw them" timeout, which would have NEVER happened 10 years ago). And most of them have a certain melancholic undertone to them, which could indeed mean the end is near.

Also, he clearly says Italy is the best European team at the moment (even though it may anger his players or the Turks ) because they have the most depth and we clearly lack someone like Pietrini who he admires a lot.

Quote from Mycaptain

Just a question, because I really admire the Serbian NT but I don't now anything about the behind the scenes. Why isn't Jovana Stevanović part of the roster? Did she quit the national team or there is some other reason? She's an absolutely fantastic player and I cannot see many other MBs stronger than her around.

Basically she got upset that she lost her place in the starting line-up at WCh '18 and decided not to play on NT anymore.

Quote from Sisko

It was a really good watch, thanks JoanaBG

My favourite part was probably his conversation with Brakocevic, it's nice that even though they clearly had their problems they have moved on and are able to laugh about it now I also like the part about Citakovic getting pissed at all the Polish players.

Yeah, those were the highlights for me too!

I can totally imagine Vesna doing that I vividly remember that semi against Poland and she played like her life depended on it, I guess we now know why.

Quote from Bogdan

Beside all volleyball related things which i won't commented, let everyone who have interest to watch it without "presumption", but evolution of Maja's hairstyle it's iconic non volleyball realted thing from this movie.

I completely forgot about that goddamn awful hairdo from mid-00s I'm sure she's like "WTF was I thinking??!" when she looks back at it, but I can definitely tell I know how it feels

And Matthias, if you're going to watch it, beware that *the serve* is featured

OMG, this brings back SO many memories. I teared up a little. It's good! Watch it.

The movie "The first 20 years", about Terzić's two decades as the NT coach and the rise of Serbian women's volleyball in general. With English subtitles!

Meh. I was sure they were going to lose to Turkey so reaching the final was a nice surprise already. But it still hurts to lose when you had a good chance to go 2-0 up, however, Italy simply played a better match and their victory was more than deserved. All things considered, they did display better volleyball than Serbia at this tournament and hats off to them.

I still insist the supposed home advantage was anything but and they might have as well played anywhere else. They would have probably even been better off.

It's hard to say much about individual performances when in reality it all came down to a single player. Everyone else has had a rather forgettable tournament, flashes of brilliance here and there and tons of mediocrity or downright bad play in between.

Still, I must say I'm particularly disappointed in Mina Popović. Her performance was significantly worse than two years ago and she was rarely a factor on court, especially when it mattered the most. And her nonchalant attitude is not exactly helping the team either. Veljković's energy was sorely missed. Rašić actually did better than I expected, but this tournament has really confirmed that indeed it's the time to say goodbye.

Moving forward, I'm being cautiosly optimistic. I don't think Serbia's level will drop THAT much, because most of the players who are leaving are shadows of themselves already and could have been easily replaced by others. Brankica is a big question mark, if she regains her shape it's a complete game changer, if not, we have to invest all we got into Lazović and hope that some of the youngsters who show promise come good.

I think we have all learned by now it's pointless to speculate about Maja's future on NT, so I'm not gonna even get into that

Assuming Belgium lose to Italy, what does it do for their chances of qualifying for the WCh?

Aaaaand... WOW!

So, Italy's path to the semis is now Belgium, Russia. I don't think they'll like it

That would really shake things up quite a bit

Uhm, if France wins 3-1, do they actually finish 3rd in the group and Belgium 4th?

I'm afraid Lazović won't be of much use anymore. She's barely played since what, early June, so expecting her to just step onto court and find her groove just like that simply isn't realistic. And the worst thing is that Terzić had enough confidence in her two years ago when she was just a rookie to bring her in to serve against Poland at the OQT, at the end of a VERY tense and tight fourth set with so much at stake, and it paid off. Why she's being ignored right now when she's a much better player (and her competition for the spot in the starting line-up is much weaker in Brankica's absence) is just inexplicable.

Also, I'm questioning just how much they're enjoying playing at home. Of course they're saying they are, because duh, but it really doesn't look to be the case. And it was exactly the same 10 years ago when we had a team that should have barely dropped a set en route to the title and instead we witnessed them struggling against the likes of France and Romania and then of course those epic battles in the semis and finals. Terzić openly admitted later that he didn't know how to relieve the pressure of playing at home and it seems he still hasn't learned it.

Honestly it's kinda hard to watch this team at this point. It's obvious most of them are just too drained and are simply trying desperately hard to squeeze out the little bit of energy they have left just because they're playing at home. Maja looks scary, she's visibly unwell and I'm just praying she's not going to mess up health in the long run.

In a way it sucks that ECh is played in Belgrade, I can understand it was supposed to be the farewell of this generation and no better place to do it than in front of your own crowd, but with COVID pushing the Olympics back a year this tournament is literally the last thing this team needed. They should have pulled a Russia and sent a young squad mixed with some more experienced players, but it's not possible this way. At the very least there really was no need for the A team to play every single match against the likes of Bosnia and Azerbaijan, but with Terzić's stubborness reaching new heights I don't even know what to say anymore.

Maja apparently has "a minor health issue" that kept her out of the game. Terzić also didn't give any statement after the match, which is unusual. I thought the atmosphere in the team looked a bit weird. I wonder if everything is alright.

I'm really looking forward to BEL vs RUS today! Also FRA vs BIH should be interesting as it's essentially a battle for the 4th place in the group.

Greece looks to be the flop of the tournament so far.

The real issue is that Bošković had no business playing this match in the first place, but I guess she needed to because it was hyped as "the battle of the sisters" in our media. Also Kocić should have played instead of Rašić, Lazović should have played more and I wanted to say that Maja should have also been spared but then again Mirković on court is never a good sight.

She was actually supposed to join Fenerbahce before she got pregnant.

There was another interview with her and she says she's not counting out continuing her career IF she can live and play in the same city with her husband.

Obviously, chances of that happening this season are almost none, but we can cross our fingers for the future.

I do believe it will be the condition, in theory at least.

As usual, the national volleyball federation is doing a miserable job marketing wise, I believe most people here are completely unaware that ECh is about to start in a couple of days. And it really should have been played in Pionir instead of Arena, the atmosphere is going to be ghastly.

Unfortunately, this tournament will have to go on without my presence. The COVID situation here is not great and getting worse by the day and the immunosuppresive therapy I'm undergoing has probably rendered the vaccination from almost 6 months ago useless by now, so I can't take any chances.

I'm not ready for this

THE ultimate fave of mine of all times and there will never be anyone like her again. God dammit, she could have easily played until Paris. I mean, I totally understand her decision, but I'm still devastated

And now she simply has to play the ECh, I don't even care what sort of shape she's in. She missed out on playing the Euro at home once already, she deserves to have this kind of farewell. If Terzić doesn't select her after bringing Brankica to Tokyo to be a cheerleader, I'm gonna throw eggs at him.

Well, it looks like Terzić isn't going anywhere. He said in an interview yesterday that he'll remain the NT coach "as long as he has the drive and motivation". I can't really imagine him ever getting fired, so it's all up to him basically.

He said he wanted to step down after the fiasco at ECh '09, but the people from the national federation convinced him to stay. He also said he had the offer to take over the Russian NT at some point, but he declined because he cannot see himself coaching a team other than Serbia, although Russia is the closest thing in his eyes.

And in another non-news, we still don't know the ECh squad.