HCLT TOP 1000

@pearl: Do you think Berruto has Saitta on his list or he called Saitta to Eurovolley just because of someone else’s injury? Any other names you think deserve consideration from Serie A? You told me you were a bit disappointed with Steuerwald lately. What happened? I guess it means bad news for Vital Heynen and the German fans. Think about it, Steuerwald oscillating, Kampa driving Modena managers mad, and Tischer… Where’s he? In Lyon, France, right?

@dessitea: LOL

@Kjeldhor: I think you didn’t get my point. Dunno where you saw me saying a team necessarily needs “the best setter” to thrive, though anyone would prefer to have the best. When I said Arjona is probably the best in the world TECHNICALLY, I was talking about a specific game aspect. Overall, Bruno is better than him. No one can deny Arjona, just like De Cecco, has a fantastic hand for the sport. So, if you thought I was saying Arjona would be a better option over Bruno, you got me wrong. If you’re talking about those haters, I couldn’t care less about them, maybe for some laughs – you know I can’t resist torturing or mocking stupid people. Talking about Rapha, though I’m not his fan, he isn’t that predictable. Keep in mind he plays with not so fast guys and his coach is pretty orthodox, almost obvious. Remember that poll with all A1 coaches? More than half would like to have Rapha playing for them. I know some experts that like him a lot. I think he’s okay. Hey man, when you reply try to use the tool that Chrison guy developed. Come on, he put some effort into it, and it helps to keep the discussions organized, don’t you think? Just saying.

@rqr2013: It’s Modena. Here you can find lots of videos of Bruno playing for RJX. I’m sure our Italian friends will help us to watch him playing for Modena. ;-)

@pearl: @Kjeldhor: Serie A is experiencing a great moment as to setting. After all, with Bruno and De Cecco plus some other setters playing well, such as Michele Baranowicz, the fans will have the chance to watch some really nice plays. De Cecco is getting back into shape after two ordinary seasons, Bruno apparently doesn’t need time to adapt to his new team, and Baranowicz, though at lower level, is making Italian fans forget the inconstant Travica. Brazilian commentator Cacá Bizzocchi has been praising Baranowicz improvement this season. As for Bruno, playing for Modena again will be very good for him. Watching the reaction of Italian fans since he arrived at the airport it becomes clear that he’ll get full support, while here half the fans love him, while the other half can’t stand the guy. It’s very common reading on Brazilian forums some Bruno haters saying things like "He'll never be like Ricardo", "Arjona is so much better" or "Rapha deserves a real chance". Well, he doesn’t have to be like Ricardo, and Rapha is just our third setter (maybe fourth or fifth). I really like Arjona, technically he’s perhaps the best in the world, but being a top level setter also requires things like fast thinking and smart distribution, and Bruno beats him on both, besides being taller – Arjona is too short. Serie A playoffs will be great, without a doubt.

@pearl: "...a bit of magic by Il Mago De Cecco". He was the MVP, played like his best days. Hope to see De Cecco playing great this whole season.

@pearl: Hahaha… You rock, bella! Lega Pallavolo Serie A è la migliore. Onestamente, non me ne frega un cazzo di tutto il resto. Luciano De Cecco is awesome, I heard his old friend William Arjona loved this one. Brazilian TV replayed this fast tempo bump set over and over. Please, let’s give Simon some credit too, for such a huge kill. Great vball moment. Thanks, Kjeldhor!

@NightFox: No need to get so defensive. I know it’s your opinion, unless you’ve been doing some psychography lately. Calling you a “Matey freak” was just a joke, I know you were never like certain people, but you’re crying like a little girl now. Nice talking to you. P.S.: No more movies? Nah, we can’t… You know the rest. :-p

@hen: Él sigue siendo muy irregular, lo que debe atribuirse a la falta de experiencia. Espero que sea más firme en las próximas temporadas. Su impulsión y su fuerza son fenomenales, un monstruo.

@NightFox: I remember you used to be a “Matey freak”, now you became a “Tsvetan freak”. No doubt, Sokolov is fantastic, but why this childish urge to label him as the best? How many first-class opposites we have? I can easily remember five or six. Regarding Mikhaylov, he lost his unstoppable status since the 2011 World Cup, when Russia’s main opponents started to neutralize him. Maxim was never the same ever since. The other teams learned how to stop him, and he hasn’t found a way to take his game to a higher level. Guess why Voronkov, with the possibility to have only one naturalized player, brought 31-year-old Pavlov to be their starter on the right side, having to let go such a brilliant setter like Butko? The coach knew Mikhaylov couldn’t deliver. P.S.: We can’t live without your movies. ;-)

@Michal: At least our friend Hanes is safe. Run, Hanes, run! We gotta be careful when we deal with Wlazly fans, they can be more aggressive than kurkofans. Remember @Zyta saying a few days ago she didn’t wanna discuss about Wlazly? It’s because she used to be a big Wlazly fan. Here’s her reaction when she discovered Anastasi wasn’t going to call her fave opposite for the London Olympics. Please observe Zyta is very patriotic, she was wearing her “Polska bialo czerwoni” outfit just to check the NT roster. She got really mad!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kw2i4NXV7s

@Michal: Come on, Michal, can’t you see this is pointless? Just like Kurkofans, the ones who worship Wlazly will never see or admit he’s just an ordinary player. This volley123 guy probably thinks Wlazly is great because he’s a high jumper and hammers the ball. Typical... I saw Wlazly playing so many times, including live matches, there’s nothing about that player that justifies calling him world-class. I guess some of the kids here use this expression without knowing the meaning, it’s the only explanation for naming Wlazly or Kurek world-class. Wlazly smashes the opponents in PlusLiga, which is nothing but an average league, and his fans go nuts thinking he’ll solve all the problems others couldn’t on the NT. Please, notice this volley123 is a bit delusional. I decided to read his version of the Bible and couldn’t stop laughing. Here you have the best parts: “…dear pizza ANASTASI had his personality in his own italian ass”. Our boy is quite aggressive! “They (Serbs) are strong, small, ambitious nation, born with unusual talent for the sport”. We all thought determinism and fatalism were nothing but BS, then our friend volley123 decided to bring them back. The 21st Century says “hello” to him! “And who saying in world medias about volleyball or clubs?” Google Translate sucks! LOL “About Fonteles... Hm you're Brazilian so you fanatical fan about your players”. Spot on! I’m a huge fan of Fonteles, Vissotto, Marlon… I spend all my time praising Brazilian players. Yes, I’m fanatical. Says who? A Polaco that despite his team is a joke in the vball world he firmly believes they’re powerful. :-p “Hanes, good that you admitted I'm right it shows you're honest”. See… If you agree with him, you’re honest. hahahahahahaha “… it's the best example what playing in national team gives big popularity. Compare the Simon Robertlandy and Muserskiy”. This is fantastic! Our little Polaco friend inferred Wlazly gets rejected by some people because he’s been out of NT, and goes further daring to compare that ordinary opposite with nothing less than Robertlandy Simon, the Cuban showman. Can’t get any better.

@volley123: Dear colleague, I noticed that you wrote a novel, and I started to read it, but I stopped in the first line when I saw this sentence: “Wlazły is still world class player”. I realized I’d be wasting my time. Happy New Year!

@handan: “...bringing Halkbank to take cheap shots”, “…you answered how desperate Halkbank is”, “I'm just questioning your irrelevant Halkbank answer”. Hahaha… Now we know the reason for your aggressiveness. You’re a freak that forgot to take your pills! Handan, please, I NEVER said anything bad about Halkbank. Read again (and again, and again…). Long life and success to Turkish vball! Naz Aydemir for president! YOU NEED TO IMPROVE YOUR READING SKILLS ASAP. I only said you are “a former-Trentino-freak-turned-Ankara-freak”. That’s all. You started everything with anger and got lost. I’m very sorry for you. Once my parents told me to avoid discussing with lunatics, I’ll leave you alone, wishing you a happy 2014 and a prompt recovery. Oh, one more thing: Halkbank is the best!

@handan: “I know very well who Kubiak and Lanza are”. Excellent! Apparently you didn’t know a few hours ago. I hope we have helped you. lol “I 'm trying to find what is their connection with Halkbank in this subject”. Oh, poor Trentara freak… Sweetcheeks, we’re using this thread to build a discussion on something else that started as we talked about Kubiak (dunno if you noticed, but the video is about him), and as you probably know discussions are pretty rare around here, where most of the so-called fans are able to write only one or two short sentences to praise a video or to show how excited they are about a strong hit. “Maybe you must understand that you're not the only one writing in this topic. Not every comment is an answer to you”. Really? Hahaha... I thought... Well, if you look to the other comments in this thread you’ll see I’m involved in a single discussion with other four or five people. I gave you a “hello” because you decided to be cynical and criticized us without adding anything. Have a nice day!

@Michal: “PlusLiga is a highly overrated commercial product”. Maybe for Polacos. Believe me, here in Brazil or in Italy, two countries where vball is popular, just to mention two examples, nobody gives a damn about PlusLiga. I watch the Italian and the Champions League live on TV, but the sports news never bother to even mention PlusLiga. It’s simply hilarious when I see some Polaco kid trying to compare PlusLiga to the strong leagues. Take Fonteles as an example. He’s a good player, no doubt about it, but he played for several years in Italy and in Brazil, without ever standing out. Not that he lacks talent, but because there were too many guys better than him. When he played for Zaksa he was one of the best players (if not the best) of the season in Poland. It made me laugh. Let’s think about the leagues as products. Tell me, which real star plays in Poland? Nobody. Anyway, if those in the backstage targeted the local audience, they’re very successful. The problem, like we said, it’s making the sport a cash cow. The Serbs are certainly very smart when it comes to their vball structure. Japan, with all their money, stopped being competitive 30 years ago, and we can’t say it’s because they have short players – Zorzi wrote about this false Japanese alibi during the World Grand Champions Cup, it’s worth reading. You mentioned Cuba. Okay, they absurdly insist on a communist regime and it shapes the sports over there. Every sport is a propaganda vehicle and they take athletes at such a tender age to serve the nation. It doesn’t matter if the economy is falling apart, the effective propaganda must go on. It was okay as long as the Soviets were sending money. After the collapse of the USSR, the Cuban budget shrank, but obviously they had the talents that were already being polished. However, in recent years, after two decades of short budgets, you can clearly see vball (and other sports) going downhill in the Island. The talents are escaping and the government that is slowly opening the economy was forced to review their sport policies and admit the “foreigners” back. Why they still have so many talents? Because in every part of the country sports are given a lot of attention, it’s part of their culture. It’s probably one of the few good things about that collapsed regime. From now on we’ll see strong Cuban teams again, but this time using talents that are polished abroad. Fair enough. Sometimes, Michal, a certain sport doesn’t have to be popular in the country to get good results. I’ll take handball as an example. It’s an amateur sport here, nobody cares about it. Ten years ago our girls finished 20th in the world championships. As the federation thought they had potential, they developed a plan, attracted some sponsors and sent some athletes to the best leagues – after all, it’s an amateur sport here. Two weeks ago the girls won the worlds in Serbia – against the home team, playing in the same packed arena where we saw the “Belgrade Battle” in the 2009 WL final. Why our girls succeeded? Planning, investment and patience, mainly. From the 20th place to the top in 10 years is quite impressive. This sport will certainly become more popular here. I’m sure there are lots of boys and girls willing to play vball in Poland, but is PZPS giving attention to them? The guy who was the main responsible for the vball boom in Brazil is Carlos Arthur Nuzman – now he’s the president of our Olympic Committee, and was the guy behind the plan who made Rio win the Olympic bid. He started at CBV (the acronym in Portuguese for Brazilian Volleyball Confederation) in 1975, when vball was ignored here. First thing he did was getting rid of those who were there for a long time doing nothing for the sport, but neglecting the talents and any kind of promotion. Six years later, with a junior squad mostly, he saw our men’s team get the bronze in the adult World Cup in Japan. When he started the acronym CBV was the reason for a common joke among vball athletes. They used to say that CBV meant “coma, beba e viaje” (eat, drink and travel, in Portuguese). He changed that very quickly. The sad part when people like you or Zyta tell what PZPS does is that not only affects vball in Poland, but globally. Vball struggles to become more popular in several places. If it fails in a place where it’s popular, it’ll obviously have an effect in other places. Just imagine if football started to decrease its popularity in places like Brazil, Argentina, Italy or Germany. It’d be a disaster for that sport. Vball has been attracting a good audience, but it’s practically unknown in some places. Hopefully things will change for the better in Polaco vball.

@handan: I asked you two questions and none of them were answered. Never mind… Don’t you know the connection between Kubiak and Lanza? So easy, both are young left sides with great possibilities ahead of them. As for Halkbank Ankara, don’t get mad just because it’s obvious for us that team is your reason to live. lol About Kubiak and the other young left sides, I wrote the following: “Kubiak got what it takes to be one of the greatest, but we don’t know if he’ll show his talent consistently. Neither do we know if the aforementioned will keep or improve their game level”. Too complex for you? Nobody, maybe Hanes who’s only 14, compared Kubiak to Murilo. Considering our Estonian teen friend once pointed out Kaziyski as the best thing that ever happened to vball, you should be smart enough to know he’s keen on some exaggeration. Point is, you tried to criticize others, but added nothing to the discussion. Why don’t you try to stay on “Trentara” matters? That’s what freaks are for. ;-)

@Michal: @Zyta: You know when Russia, Italy, Brazil or USA will stop having strong teams? Probably not in the next four or five decades. It’s absurd saying never, though I was really tempted to say that. Russia has the highest number of registered vball athletes in the world, which means somewhere in that huge country new Maxims, Tetiukas, Spiriks, Dollfaces, Butkochkas and Mumus are being prepared. Italy, despite the high number of foreigners and a slight decrease due to financial crisis (just temporary), created a structure that allows them to have at least good squads. Here in Brazil our federation created the Vball University (lots of coaches all over the country distributed in several categories) and invest massively in the youth. In USA they probably have the most interesting structure, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), which involves more than 30 sports. It makes me laugh when people seem surprised for the Americans having strong teams despite not having a pro vball league. If anyone analyzes the NCAA, they’d know why USA is so successful in sports. We also have Serbia. It bugs me how such a small country, with only 7 million people, always assembles competitive teams. I haven’t read about their vball environment, but they have always intrigued me. Look how they’ve been performing since the nineties, how many medals they got and you’ll see they’re very successful. Atanablablabla and his teammates aren’t result of lucky, but planning. That episode with McCutcheon is sad, I can only imagine his reaction. As for the fictional scenario, I must say the guys who created this factoid in Polaco vball did a good job. I’m sure you both remember the 2012 season. It was so clear to me Poland had no chance to get a medal in London, but reading the opinions here and looking at your players face we’d believe they were destined to be champions. It was hilarious how some players got fooled – Anastasi himself apparently didn’t have a clue on what was coming. Please… Specialists such as Heynen, Hoag, Alekno and Murilo had put their thoughts about Team Poland before the Olympics, but some people seem blind. Bulgaria, with all their problems before the Olympic Games and with an assistant made coach in the last minute, had more chances. Michal, it’s really sad making vball a cash cow. If we consider how popular vball is in Poland you should have not only 12 top players, but perhaps double, but now I see you guys having a hard time to drop four or five names. Without investment and patience nothing’s gonna change. Observe Iran, their work with the youth started years ago. Those who think Velasco is the only responsible for their good results are terribly wrong. Anyway, as long as Barto Cureque hits in the third meter things are fine for some. Ignorance is bliss!

@handan: Where did you read Kubiak is “most all-round player in the world”? Or that Lanza is “the great”? I know we can’t expect much from a former-Trentino-freak-turned-Ankara-freak, but maybe you’ve seen something we haven’t. ;-)