HCLT TOP 1000

Pretty bad form and poor technique. In the other video (Noliko vs. Trentino), you can see his technique improved, but he's just okay.

Nightfox, as Pearl already informed, I have my own collection, but you can find those aforementioned matches (almost full VT) on YouTube. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH1IJYN_cFw&feature=related Netherlands 3:2 Italy, 1996 Atlanta gold medal match

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK-aus_1OY0&feature=related Brazil 3:0 Netherlands, 1992 Barcelona gold medal match

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbqbwyKtm9w http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YADYdJvVg9E Netherlands 3:2 Italy (divided in two parts), 1992 Barcelona quarterfinals

Pearl, certainly something was missing, but I wouldn’t blame Julio Velasco for that. He put Italy on a level “il tifosi” could only dream before him. I remember the team before him, it was a huge change.

Pearl, all teams have their bad moments. Remember the Dutch squad that won Atlanta 1996, they were fighting among themselves in the final match – you may remember one of the young guys trying to punch Zwerver. Watching Team Italy in Barcelona 1992 again, make me think they were also exhausted, which reinforces the idea of bad preparation. If they were physically well, they could overcome other issues. Just my opinion. Maybe in the end they were not that tough mentally, as they arrived three times at the Olympics as the main favourites and never reached the gold.

Fantastic player! I remember his days in Brazil, playing at Superliga for Suzano. His quarrels with coach Ricardo Navajas were so funny – later they became friends. Vlad, his bro and Vujevic put Yugoslavia back on track after a bad beginning in Sydney 2000 to capture the gold in the end.

Pearl, IMO Italy made a wrong preparation. If you remember well, Italy had won the two first editions of WL (1990 and 1991) and was the main favourite for Barcelona Olympics in 1992. However, the 1992 WL had a different schedule, totally crazy. The pool play was scheduled before the Olympics and the finals would be held after Barcelona Games were over. A real mess! IMO, Italy made a huge preparation mistake as they focused on the WL, thinking they could sustain the level for the Olympics. The other teams (Brazil, Netherlands, Russia, Cuba and USA) had Barcelona on their minds. When the Olympics started, we saw an unbalanced Italian squad. Remember the results? Before falling short in quarterfinals in one of the most amazing clashes I ever saw, against the Dutch, Italy had lost 1-3 to USA, and struggled to beat France and Canada. Saying of that match against Netherlands, I just saw again that tie-break (this topic made me want to watch it again). Remember the rules back then? The game had to finish at 17, so when Vullo served at 16-16 we all knew that was the last play. His serve was a gift to the Dutch, who won the match – Selinger was teasing the Italians after that. At 14-14, when Bernardi missed an easy float serve, I remember thinking, “the Dutch will win”. Other teams were victim of bad preparation, too. We have several examples, like France in Athens 2004. It’s even worse when a strong squad is victim of some food poisoning, like Serbia in 2004. Oh, later in 1992 Italy won its third title at World League, but nobody cares. Everybody was focusing the Olympics and I think that title had a bitter taste for Italians, as the other teams were playing with almost no interest, still recovering from Barcelona. It was like, “we took the wrong route”.

What a fantastic surprise! Raylight, I must say THANK YOU in capital letters, you made my day. I don’t care about rating movies, but if I could I’d give you not only 5, but 50. Real vball fans should appreciate this movie, it’s historical – I’ve been looking for this match for ages. That Soviet team made history remaining unbeaten for five years (from 1977 to 1982) – yes, back then NTs played much less games, but it’s still impressive. The Soviet squad was led by coach Viacheslav Platonov, considered one of the best ever. Here we can see legends like Zaitsev (jersey #2) and Savin (#3) playing for USSR. On the Bulgarian side, fans should pay attention to Zlatanov (#3) in his third and final Olympic appearance, finally getting a well-deserved Olympic medal he got so close eight years before in Munich 1972. Those guys deserve a lot of respect for what they brought us. Although we can see only the end of third set and the fourth of this match, it’s still a fantastic gift. For those interested in vball history, 1980 Moscow Olympics marked the end of Eastern European dominance in this sport. Notice the semis had four Eastern European teams (USSR, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland). In the early eighties things started to change. If you have more Moscow Olympics matches, Raylight, please share with us. Thanks once more.

Roninho, you know how much I like Kubiak. He’s a solid all-around player. Once Winiarski’s health was affected by those injuries he suffered at A1, it’s important Poland having a substitute. IMO, Kubiak can go even further. Players like him bring balance to the team, consistency. In Portuguese we have a volleyball expression called “volume de jogo” that can’t be translated into English, but means a player or a squad who can deal with all kind of game situation, having a sophisticated repertoire and lots of ball control. That’s Kubiak, my favourite Polaco player. Czilikd, I’m from Iceland – I play bass in Björk’s band. Yes, I know you’re not a kid. Again, don’t trust every stats you see. I had a good laugh recently at some useless topics about wing spikers and setters based on irrelevant stats.

Very good movie, Roninho. Smart left side. I like that play against Egypt, when he makes a passing mistake but fixes everything with a nice tip.

Comparing Poles’ vertical to Cubans’ is nonsense. No other team average vertical can be compared to Cuba, and if that was a solution Cuba would be multi-champion. Congrats, Michal, you just proved you’re not a Polaco kid – maybe a teen. lol I saw Wlazly playing live several times and, though he’s a high flyer, that number claimed by our colleague Czilikd is unreal. BTW, hope we can see more of Kubiakaaaaa soon here on v-movies. Great player! Congrats on the attempt to the movie maker, but this one is really short.

Hey, thanks for the movie. It’s good to see what’s going on in different leagues. I hope to see the Dutch volleyball back on track soon, like in those good old days. Some of the best players I ever saw are from Netherlands.

Badass Zyta! Hahahaha I hope Rado doesn’t read this page, otherwise his anger towards you will just increase. Too bad Bartman checks v-movies and maybe he’ll be upset with you for saying the truth about this movie. I bet Bartman will join Michal Ruciak on the “Zyta Haters Club”. Hey girl, you make a lot of enemies, eh!

Thank God it’s reality here in Brazil. ;-)

Gavin is a strong and efficient opposite hitter, but duelling against Korean blocks is a piece of cake. He’s 2,08m tall and his spike reach goes up to 3,70m (attention kids, it doesn’t mean he reaches that all the time). With such a big advantage against small blockers, it’s easy to score. Okay, 57 points are impressive, no doubt about it, but I’m far more impressed with Fei’s 40 points during a ChL match. Gavin, who already had offers from stronger leagues, should think seriously about making a move to keep improving. Last year his game was more consistent than at 2010 worlds, but he has potential to play even better.

Pearl, at the age of 18 Fei was an opposite.

Zyta, Ivan Miljkovic got a silver medal at 1998 worlds. BTW, Ivan and Fei started on their NTs that year. Many people think Fei started as a middle, but he was an opposite, moving to play as a MB in the early 2000s.

Wow! This is awesome. Three great players – Papi is a legend, one of my all time favourites.

Welcome to my world! When you deal with kids who can barely understand that 2+2=4, you’ll definitely have to repeat yourself. ;-)

None of them is bad, only a lunatic would say that seriously, but Zlatanov is another kind of player. Perhaps, as you suggested, we should discuss about him in private.

Perfect! When you analyze passing, for example, you must consider the size of the covered zone and teammates, among other aspects.

Although he’s a libero, Marra’s passing isn’t very reliable. He’s a better digger than receiver. Zlatanov learned to pass around 10 years ago when he saw he needed that to reach a spot on the NT for Athens Olympics, which didn’t happen due to his quarrel with coach Montali. He had improved a lot in his best years and became a better passer. I remember him at 2003 WL, when sometimes he had a bigger zone than Giani, who was an all-around player.

Okay, Pesazi, you found a new enemy. From now on I’ll leave Polaco kids in peace and I’ll also stop bugging those annoying Matey freaks. How can you say a bad word about Hristo Zlatanov? You must be talking about some recent matches. Did you see him on his best days? I started watching him when he was young, still trying to learn to pass. He became a very good player. Zlatanov is one of those guys who give his team some balance. Dunno how he’s playing lately, but he was someone to be respected last decade. Pearl, I knew that and I was just being mean for a change. ;-)

Didn’t you see that silly conversation about what “Butko” and “Kurek” mean in some other language? Butko wouldn’t like that for sure. I just phoned him to know if he’s okay with our thoughts and he said we can go on. He also told me he wants more information about Cameroon. It’s so rare a good discussion here with more than three people involved that I’m enjoying this one.

Pearl, obviously there are some weaknesses. Sometimes the Italian reception falls to a bad level. Also, we can see too many ups and downs on serving, for example. Anyway, every team has weaknesses. Sorry, but stop saying sorry. lol

Hey Pesazi, I really don’t know how Zlatanov has been playing lately, I know he left the NT after Beijing, but if you wanna find an enemy, just say a bad word about him and we can start a fight. I felt bad for him when he had a quarrel with Montali back in 2004 and he couldn’t play at Athens Olympics. Going to Beijing was a late compensation, and I knew, after beating Poland and advancing to the semis, Team Italy couldn’t get a medal, but it was nice to see Zlatanov being given an opportunity. Hristo Zlatanov is one of my favourite Italian players. You’re right, man, finally Italy set up a team who can fight for medals since the end of the first Olympic cycle of this century. Unlike Pearl, I believe Italy is strong and very consistent. Making the middle stronger and taking advantage of Zaytsev and Lasko improvement was essential for this rise. BTW, we discussed a lot about Butko (Kate must be happy), the change was interesting as we’re discussing about NTs with some good people sharing their thoughts. Pearl, where’s your faith? You gotta believe. I see Italy very close to Russia and Brazil. I’m sure Berruto is working on the serve and reception, so we should see an Italian squad even stronger in 2012. Some people here say they’re good enough to reach the podium, but not for gold. Well, they’re NOT the favourites for sure, but sometimes the gold comes because of details, and maybe Berruto is chasing them. You say Mastro and Fei are old, but remember we’re talking about London 2012. Paparoni is good and deserved a real chance on NT. Bari and Marra can’t deliver. Brazilian players love Marra, same way they love Sokolov. ;-)