FAVORITE
Last season, Moscow Dynamo crowned the first championship victory in the history of the revived club. In the epic five-match final series there was a bit the main and most important rival of the blue and white - Belgorod Lokomotiv. But in the season, the current wards of Vladimir Alekno are already taking on the role of the sole favorite: in Belgorod there is now a new team, and Dynamo is not afraid of anyone else. Muscovites not only 90 percent retained the composition, fully fit in the Russian team, but also strengthened it. A trio of young talents came under the leadership of Alekno from the Luch farm club that had died in the Bose, among them connecting Sergey Grankin, who, despite his tender age, is already a player in the national team's starting six. Trying on blue and white colors and libero Theodor Salparov - one of the most talented defenders in Europe, replacing Hubert Enno in Moscow. However, the game in defense remains the only weak point of Dynamo. In all other components, blue and white are unparalleled not only in Russia - in Europe. At the same time, Muscovites remain a very young team, which has yet to realize the true extent of their own potential.
RIDDLE
In the offseason, Belgorod Lokomotiv left five of the seven major players. Vadim Hamutsky, Sergey Tetyukhin and Alexander Kosarev went to Kazan. They will no longer see in Belgorod the unflappable Alejandro Spayich, whose interaction with the Khamutsky was the object of envy of psychics. From now on, the glorious traditions of Lokomotiv will have to be supported by young people, most of whom have been brought up by the club itself. At the positions of the binder and the replayers - players 19-20 years old; the leaders were Sergey Baranov, Alexander Abrosimov, and, of course, Alexei Verbov, but even with all the desire they could not be assigned to veterans. The only major acquisition was the famous American central blocker, Thomas Hoff. But they didn’t find an experienced player for Loko: the Brazilian Dirceu turned out to be a "pig in a poke" (almost the official wording of the expulsion), and the Cuban with a beautiful surname Juantorena got into an ugly history with doping at the World Cup and now he will not forget for two years only about "Belogorye" - volleyball in general. It is difficult to say what exactly should be expected from the new Lokomotiv - however, both talent and character have already been brilliantly demonstrated in the Champions League.
INTRIGUE
Kazan Dynamo TTG has long been one of the leading Russian clubs, but recently it has become more and more content with supporting roles. In the offseason, management decided to put an end to this unpleasant trend. The transfer campaign was staggering in scope: the real world stars arrived at Dynamo TTG, whose titles were higher than the roof of the famous Syuyumbeki tower, the architectural emblem of Kazan. But even with such a configuration, the lack of teamwork of individual links (for example, the Americans Ball and Stanley with Tetyukhin, Egorchev or Kosarev) can become a problem. The average age of the collective also causes concern: it is well over 30. Well, it’s not entirely clear how the wise Khamutsky and Ball will share the position of the main binder. And so the starting combination of Dynamo looks almost perfect. So far, however, only on paper.
Newbies
This season, unexpectedly in the Russian Super League there were not two, but as many as three newcomers. The fact is that instead of the disbanded Moscow Luch, a completely new team, Dynamo Yantar, was established by the “willful decision of the leadership of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation”. Moreover, the club immediately took a place in the elite. Stanislav Dineykin himself came to revive the Kaliningrad volleyball, Olympic champion Yuri Panchenko became the coach, and the Lukoil oil company became the general sponsor.
Two other, ordinary, newcomers are Prikamye (Perm) and Lokomotiv (Novosibirsk). The railroad almost completely changed the composition, inviting a lot of volleyball players with experience in the Super League. Among them stands out Alexander Berezin, who was once considered the most talented player in Russia. As for the Perm, they have so far surprised only with their coach - Vladimir Putin. True, Stepanovich.
COMPOSITIONS
“SPORT Today” provides the most important information about the top six Russian top teams that will almost certainly play all the trophies of the season.
Dynamo (Moscow)
They came : Theodor Salparov (libero, ZSK-Gazprom), Alexey Ostapenko (blocking, Luch), Sergey Grankin (binder, Luch), Pavel Kruglov (diagonal, Luch).
Gone : Hubert Enno (libero, Olympiacos), Andrey Egorchev (blocking, Dynamo TTG (Kazan), Pavel Zaitsev (binder, NOVA), Stanislav Dineykin (diagonal, Dynamo Yantar).
Approximate composition (“SPORT today” option): Kaziyski, Korneev - Volkov, Kuleshov - Grankin, Poltava - Salparov (l).
Foreigners (maximum 2 per application): Salparov, Kaziyski (both - Bulgaria).
Trainer : Vladimir Alekno.
Lokomotiv-Belogorye (Belgorod)
Came : Thomas Hoff (blocker, Iraklis Greece), Maxim Shulgin (binder, Ugra-Samotlor), Konstantin Lesik (binder, Dynamo Belogorye), Dmitry Musersky (blocker, Lokomotiv Belogorye-2) , Dmitry Krasikov (follower, Dynamo Belogorye).
Gone : Alejandro Spayich (blocking, Argentina), Sergey Tetyukhin (follow-up player, Dynamo TTG), Alexander Kosarev (follow-up player, Dynamo TTG), Vadim Hamutsky (binder, Dynamo TTG).
Indicative composition (“SPORT today” option): Danilov, Krasikov - Abrosimov, Hoff - Lesik, Baranov - Verbov (l).
Foreigners : Hoff (USA).
Trainer : Gennady Shipulin.
Iskra (Odintsovo)
They came : Vasa Miyich (libero, “Tour” France), Taras Htey (after-gamer, “Oilman of Bashkortostan”), Gabriel Radich (blocking).
Gone : Guido Gertzen (follower, Ortek Holland), Velko Petkovich (binder, Olympiacos Greece), Alexey Kazakov (blocker, Bashkortostan Oilman).
Estimated staff (option "SPORT today") : Abramov, Htey - Radich, Khoroshev - Arkhipov, Beketov - Miyich (l).
Foreigners : Mijić, Radic (both - Serbia).
Trainer : Sergey Tsvetnov.
"Torch" (Novy Urengoy)
They came : Alexei Yezhov (blocking, ZSK-Gazprom), Matei Chernich (follower, Iraklis Greece), Ruslan Olihver (blocking, Dynamo TTG), Marco Klok (libero / replayer, Ortek Holland).
Gone : Yasser Portuondo (player), Evgeny Ivanov (blocking, SKRA Poland), Artem Ermakov (libero, Bashkortostan Oilman), Andrey Aschev (blocking, Lokomotiv Novosibirsk).
Estimated staff (option "SPORT today"): Latyshev, Chernich - Olikhver, Yezhov - Ushakov, Yakovlev - Klok (l).
Foreigners : Chernich (Italy), Klok (Holland).
Trainer : Boris Kolchin.
The Oilman of Bashkortostan (Ufa)
They came : Artem Ermakov (libero, Fakel), Andrey Zhekov (binder, Levski Sikonko Bulgaria), Todor Aleksiev (after-game player, Levski Sikonko Bulgaria), Alexey Kazakov (blocking, Iskra).
Gone : Nikolai Ivanov (binder, “Jascembsky Vegel” Poland), Taras Htey (dokrovyshchik, “Iskra”), Osmani Huantorena (dokazirik)
Indicative composition (“SPORT today” option): Aleksiev, Mochalov - Kazakov, Ryzhov - Zhekov, Tereshin - Ermakov (l).
Foreigners : Zhekov, Aleksiev (both - Bulgaria).
Trainer : Yuri Marichev.
Dynamo TTG (Kazan)
Came : Lloy Ball (binder, Iraklis Greece), Clayton Stanley (diagonal, Iraklis Greece), Andrey Egorchev (blocking Dynamo M), Sergey Tetyukhin (replayer, Lokomotiv-Belogorye), Alexander Kosarev ( follow-up player, Lokomotiv-Belogorye), Vadim Hamutsky (binder, Lokomotiv-Belogorye).
Gone : Kleber Junior (do-it-yourselfer / diagonal), Raphael (binder), Dmitry Fomin (diagonal, completed his career), Ruslan Olikhver (blocking, “Torch”).
Estimated staff (option "SPORT today"): Tetyukhin, Kosarev - Egorchev, Bogomolov - Ball, Stanley - Babichev (l).
Foreigners : Ball, Stanley (both - USA).
Trainer : Victor Sidelnikov.