The confident reception of Theodor Salparov, the automatic transmission of Sergei Grankin’s head and the attack of Semyon Poltavsky against a single block before the automatism. The logical conclusion of the episode was to be the 25th Dynamo point in the second set, the score was 1: 1 in the games and the bright prospects of Muscovites for the outcome of the meeting. However, this semi-final resolutely refused to follow the master's logic. Slobodan Boshkan closed our diagonal with one hand, in the next attack Matei Kaziyski blocked in the same way, and after a couple of episodes, Alexander Korneev, punching a pipe on someone else's setball, stepped over a three-meter line. “Tour” led 2-0, and 12 thousand Dynamo fans could only believe in a miracle.
... Moscow was preparing on a large scale for the first in its history “Final Four” of the Champions League volleyball. On this occasion, the matches were decided to be held in the ice Sports Palace on the Khodynka field, the 14-thousand-strong stands of which could accommodate everyone and contribute to the success of Dynamo. The team of Vladimir Alekno was almost unanimously recognized as the main favorite of the tournament. All this very clearly resembled a similar basketball event two years ago, when the main ULEB Euroleague trophy was played in the non-core Olympiysky IC and CSKA had to get it. I really wanted the parallels to end at the preliminary stage, but alas.
Surprises began from the first semifinal, when the strong but starless German Friedrichshafen beat the Italian Macerata. In the five-set match, the wards of Shtelian Mokulesku fully managed to show the patented character and discipline, and at the crucial moments of the tie-break, they also managed to win luck. Thus, the Germans removed Dynamo from their main a priori competitor. Further, the matter was exclusively for Muscovites.
Before the match, Dynamo and Tour had to think hard to find at least a couple of French advantages over our team. In the national championship, the former club of Vladimir Alekno performs badly, during the season he was left without a diagonal status (long-term leader Vladimir Nikolov left the team last year, and Sebastian Ruett, who came to his place, was forced to end his career at the height of his age), the main blocker, Alexandre Sloboda, has just recently served a doping disqualification, and the symbols of the “Tour” - the gamblers Gemmadi and Boscan and the binder Loic de Kergre - have already exchanged the fourth dozen and left the best years behind. Experience is the only trump card of the Tour. And it was his French who played brilliantly.
Dynamo calmly and purposefully prepared for this “Final Four”, spared the hassle of the playoffs as a host. Outgoing Vladimir Alekno got the opportunity to end the season with the club, and it was he who led the team to the tournament. The coach took into account the negative experience of the previous year, tried to save the wards from unnecessary psychological stress and bring them to the peak of form precisely for these matches. On Saturday evening, more than 12 thousand spectators gathered to see how he did it.
Wrong everything went from the very beginning. Dynamo noticeably nervous, made a number of simple mistakes and allowed the French to calmly enter the game. The “Tour” took acceleration after the first technical break and by the second decided the fate of the party - 11:16. The guests who planned and shortened the games over and over again baffled the host Dynamo, the attacks at the first pace rested on the block, and on the edges - the brilliant defense of the French. Boschkan, Gemmadi and libero Frangolacci confidently held the match, but our team did not fly the pitch. The first game was played outright - 18:25. And I wanted to write her off on prelaunch excitement.
In the set number two, the more familiar Dynamo came to the site. Understood the reception, covered the Algerians Gemmadi and Hashemi with a powerful bloc, began to make their own mistakes less. 10: 8, 14:11, 16:13, 19:15, 24:22. And - an inexplicable failure in the end. Much can be attributed to youth, to bad luck, to something else. The fact remains that the scoreboard showed 0: 2, which makes it almost impossible to win back against a team like Tour.
In the course of the third game, it seemed that everything would end in it - the guests led 5: 8. However, Dynamo managed to mobilize, and by the second technical timeout the score was already 16:12. The hall regained hope that was lost, the wards of Vladimir Alekno played in the mood, Salparov raised several difficult goals in defense, Volkov and Korneev woke up. Seth remained with the Russians. Now it could have seemed like a turning point had come, but this impression was false.
The fourth set, perhaps, became the practical embodiment of the French experience. “Tour” slowed down, returned the game to a viscous, comfortable channel. The main role in the success of the French, of course, belongs to their connecting Loic de Kergré. At his game, it is quite possible to teach volleyball not only to children, but also to masters. A man sees everything, understands everything, and that he does not see and does not understand, he feels. Well, the transfer of de Kergre with one hand behind his head can be considered volleyball masterpieces. At the beginning of the match, he practiced a quick game with edges, sometimes forcing a huge Hashem to shoot the ball at shoulder level, but without a block. As soon as the Dynamo got used to it, the pipes and the game went at the first pace. The fourth installment of the “Tour” ended almost exclusively with attacks by the central blocking Sloboda and Ardi-Dessurs, under which neither Volkov nor Kuleshov had adapted.
1: 3 - and Dynamo was left without a dream on the first day of the Final Four. Alekno has repeatedly stated before the start of the tournament that he would be satisfied only with victory, and did not leave a chance to interpret the result in two ways. The causes of failure can be found in great numbers, and psychological among them will probably prevail. The farewell European tour of Vladimir Alekno, despite everything, did not turn out to be triumphant. Dynamo fans, however, may well hope to develop an analogy with the CSKA basketball, which a year later after the Moscow collapse still won the Euroleague. It remains to find your Messina.
Well, on Sunday there were decisive meetings. In the match for 3rd place, which was supposed to be the final, Dynamo and Macerata converged. Thanks to the fans, the game did not look a formality at all, although it was such in fact. The hosts managed to tune in and thank the devoted audience. In two of the three sets Dynamo looked much stronger than the opponent, and in the most stubborn second installment they pulled out the ending from Italians who were simply poorly prepared for the tournament. 3-0 - the apology of the team of Vladimir Alekno for the semi-finals, in the light of this victory, which seems even more offensive.
The main awards were played by Tour and Friedrichshafen. The French, it seems, simply did not have the “physics” to withstand the young athletic German team. The wards of Shtelian Mokulescu entered this tournament with a dark horse and took full advantage of the advantages of this status. In the final, they played liberally, on courage and in anticipation of unprecedented success. Especially good was the diagonal team Johan Sheps, in front of his eyes becoming a world star. In a duel with “Tur”, the German scored 27 points, making 3 aces (remember how many Dynamo players combined together the day before) and attacked with a percentage of 64, which is simply a grandmaster indicator for his role. Significant contribution to the success of the “Friedrichshafen” team captain Jose João, the central blocker from Portugal, and two Slovak play-players - Lukas Divis and Robert Hupka. The first of them was particularly successful in the semi-finals, the second - the final. But the main component of the victory nevertheless became a brilliantly streamlined team game, thanks to which the German star was lit in the Moscow sky. Friedrichshafen prepared better than others for the first of April.