pesazi

What?! Skinny players don't have power? Juantorena, Samica, Dante, Maiyo... It's about technique and how fast you can swing your arm, not about how big it is. Actually I think Jassasfa is right. Only few players are as chunky as Grozer.

@4:47 Ignaczak speaks some german. He says "ein Frühstück bitte", which means "one breakfast please". The only thing I could understand...

Seems like I missed something. Why is Hierrezuelo back in the NT? I thought he was banned as Simon, Leal and the rest was.

@raylight: In theory, the top clubs should be better than NT's, because they have a bigger playerspool to choose from. But in reality no club can afford something like a dreamteam. The other problem is that in club volleyball, players always come and go. That means, that players don't identify too much with their clubs, and it's hard to reach the same level of understanding on the court as in NT. Thats why great NT are always better than great clubs.

It's not the fault of the brazilian guys, that the european clubs, even the top clubs, play a slower game. Their strength gets worthless which means, that in club volleyball height and power gets more important. It's like driving a Porsche in the city.
Still, the fast playing style is more successfull. Otherwise Bulgaria wouldn't have failed in every tournement.
Like I said, Kaziyski is the best spiker on his position, due to his height and strength. But his decent reception and bad defense will always make him a limited player. Giba and Murilo will never be as dominant in attacking, especially in club volleyball. But when we are talking about pure skills, they are way ahead.

@raylight: Seriously, you can't say Brazil HAD to play fast. This squad was gifted with several all time best players on every position (Giba, Ricardo, Sergio, Gustavo). Those players made it POSSIBLE to play that unique way.
The reason Bruno Rezende changed his Philosophy a bit, is that most of these players retired or got old.
Btw the only team that was ahead of Brazil in the last WCC was Russia. Now guess how Russia changed their game: Players like Poltavskiy, Kosarev, Bereszko and Kazakov had to leave, Mikhailov, Grankin, Khtey, Apalikov, Spiridonov and Biryukov came.
Would you still say Russia had to change their game due to lacking athletic abilities? I would rather say they finally understood why they didn't win anything the last decade...
ps.: I had to laugh hard when you mentioned the Netherlands '90 in comparison to Brazil.

It's indeed a question of system and volleyball philosophy. Kaziyski is probably the best spiker on the wing-spiker position these days and one of the best of all time.
Nevertheless, the best team in history, which I think was the brazilian national team during 2000-2008, woud not have been as strong with Kaziyski instead of Giba or Dante (or Murilo now). This is because he doesn't fit in a team that identifies itself over its defense, speed and overall teamplay.
On the other hand, he fits perfectly in a team like Trentino, with players like Juantorena, Stokr, Sokolov... Trentino does not play as fast as other teams, but simply dominates with athletism and power.
Personally I prefer the playing style that teams like Brazil, Argentina and asian teams show, because it requires a higher level of skill. When I watch matches of Russia, Bulgaria and Cuba I'm always impressed, but the brazilian NT some years ago provided always something special, magical on the floor.

Gustavo and Hübner in their prime in the same team. It doesn't get any better than this.

Alekno in good shape compared to now...:)

After HD, the super-slowmotion will be the next big step in sports television broadcasting. Besides from the emotions, it exposes many details in sports like volleyball ( basketball, tennis...) which require lots of technical skills. Great movie, the footage makes it one of the best I have seen so far.

Two years ago, Schöps was way better, because Grozer could'nt keep up with Schöps extremely high level of technical skills and volleyball IQ. Since he went to Friedrichshafen, Moculescu tought him how to use his athletism, which made him one of the best opposites out there. He also can motivate his team with his emotional playing style.

@raylight: even if todorov had a 2,43m vertical he could be called for a net violation, if his toes touch the top of the net in a game situation... nevertheless bulgaria deserved that win, because they were able to take the crucial points and germany could not convert their lead in the first set into the win of the set. it would have been interesting to know what would have been possible if grozer, andrae (and in the second match hübner) could have played.