Magnificent seven

The Russian national volleyball team took only seventh place at the World Cup. However, our libero Alexei Verbov found a place in the top seven - next to five players and one coach.

1. Zhiba (Brazil)

The diagonal striker Gilberto Godoy, nicknamed Zhiba, was traditionally marked not only by his impressive mustache, but also by his phenomenal game. At the beginning of the tournament, he allowed himself not to give all his best in defense, but he pulled both the serve and the block to the decisive games. However, in his case, “pulled up” means “overtook everyone else”. Zhiba was absolutely deservedly recognized by the MVP Championship.

2. Pavel Zagumny (Poland)

A win-win series of Poles of ten victories is attributed to attackers Vlazhly and Svidersky, however, the real creator of success is the passer Zagumny. Thanks to him, the Polish team added speed to combinations and often attacked at the first pace. Quality mark Zagumny - repeated withdrawal of a partner to a single unit.

3. Matei Kaziyski (Bulgaria)

The best serveer and one of the best strikers of the championship, the leader of the Bulgarian national team Kaziyski almost single-handedly dragged the team to third place. If there were players among the Bulgarians who were ready to support the mood of Kaziiski, the team would not be limited to bronze.

4. Ivan Milkovich (Serbia)

Forward Serbs Milkovich, who buried the Olympic hopes of the Russian national team in 2000, with the help of an experienced passer Nikola Grbych, grinded the parquet of Japanese halls - 205 resultant shots! And yielded in performance only to the leader of Puerto Ricans Hector Soto.

5. Andre Heller (Brazil)

The involvement of the blocking Brazilians in the triumph of the team at first glance seems to be invisible. Statistical indicators also do not give an adequate assessment of what was happening on the site - but with their experience, Heller helped the world champions significantly. And it was he who got the “golden” point.

6. Alexey Verbov (Russia)

The Russian team, which fell as low as in 1994 (7th place), was marked by an unexpectedly good defense game. The best blocker of the championship was Aleksey Kuleshov, and Libero Verbov overtook everyone in terms of statistical indicators of admission, and he was simply the best in our team. Unfortunately, the libero does not gain points.

7. Raul Lozano

The Argentine coach of the Poles brought the team two major victories: in the match with Russia, he was not afraid to replace the unsuccessful leaders, and before the semi-final with the Bulgarians lucidly explained how to neutralize their leader Matei Kaziiski. However, the tactical literacy of Lozano was powerless against the crazy game of the Brazilians.

Ivan Kalashnikov


All Articles