Izvestia found four reasons why our team failed.
Mistake in the choice of players
Specialists call the main reason for the failure of the Russian national team errors in the formation of its composition. “The players who went to the site against the Serbs and Poles could not compete with them,” says Yuri Furaev, chief specialist for the men's teams of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation. “That's the thing for them to fight with Kazakhstan and Tunisia. We won and are pleased ... “Volleyball authorities cannot understand by what principle Zoran Gayich completed the team. After all, those who were sitting in their clubs on the bench were invited to the national team.
Poor physical fitness
In decisive matches wards Gayicha desperately lacked physical fitness. Say, in a duel with the Poles, our guys lost the endings of the third and fourth sets, and then lost in a tie-break. Experts unanimously say: this happens when a team runs out of strength. But there was no one to replace the leaders - the trainers did not have a strategic reserve.
Lack of fighting qualities
“Honestly, at times I just didn’t recognize our team,” Yuri Furaev is excited. “Where is the excitement, where is the will to win?” Fighting qualities, which were always so famous for the Soviet and then the Russian teams, were clearly not enough in Japan. This may be due to deficiencies all in the same physical fitness. When there is no strength, it is difficult to set yourself up for the fight. But the Poles found an opportunity to turn the tide of the match, and after two lost games to achieve victory.
Mistake with the choice of captain
Specialists were immediately skeptical of the choice as captain Semyon of Poltava. Those who know him well declared amicably: this is not a leader. The game of Poltava too often depends on mood swings: if he is not in the spirit, then he will not fight. In addition, the Moscow Dynamo does not know how to lead partners. Yes, and he has problems with discipline: just remember how he was caught during the training camp with a bottle of beer. According to experts, the connecting captain Sergey Makarov would have been quite suitable for the captain of the national team, but Gayich got around him.
Gayich’s fate will become clear in December
The defeat in Japan called into question the further work of Zoran Gayich in the Russian team. After all, his two-year contract expires by the New Year, and his extension for another two years was made dependent on the performance of the team in the Land of the Rising Sun. “Our team will return to Moscow on December 5, and the All-Russian Volleyball Federation conference will be held on December 26. It will summarize the Japanese team’s voyage and decide the fate of Gayich,” Izvestia was told in the VVF.
Maria Kuznetsova