24nd August 2008
Beijing (CHN)


A few days ago Doug Beal, US Volleyball Association CEO, said: “It's hard to believe”. It happened just after the US Volleyball Women's victory against Cuba in the semi-final.
Today he wasn’t able to describe his emotions after the gold medal won by the men’s team.


U.S.A. – Brazil 3-1
(20/25) (25/22) (25/21) (25/23)

Hugh McCutcheon’s team lost the first set but it was clear that they wouldn’t give up.
The second set started with five points in a row for Clayton Stanley, who was playing poorly in the first frame. Powerful serves and back row spikes made the US diagonal spiker more confident. The entire team got better, finding again its best rhythm.
Lloy Ball, the setter, smartly distributed alternating quick attacks in the middle of the net and outside sets. The young David Lee dominated in blocking, getting in the way of plenty of balls and spiking effectively. Riley Salmon fought as usual, improving his level of attacking.

But the secret of this team isn’t the individual performances but the team spirit.

The same team spirit which was the Brazilian winning characteristic up to now. Giba and his team-mates have been tightly bound together and succeeded in gaining many victories because of their friendship and team spirit.

After six years, they found an opponent that succeeded in doing this better. The current Brazil team suffers from some technical  insecurities and moreover they had to use Dante (usually an outside spiker) as opposite during the last set.

Bernardo Rezende ("Bernardinho") for many years tried to line up the same players but today he used all the "available" athletes but Anderson, who was injured and Rodrigao, who was still recovering a knee problem.

As I have written during the World League finals, Brazilians behaved well in Rio de Janeiro in defeat. A few week later in Beijing they continued with their sportsmanship, fighting till the last ball and kissing their medals, although silver, during the awarding ceremony.

I believe that the wonderful Brazilian team, which has dominated the Volleyball world since 2002, deserves the most sincere congratulations for their performances and for their extraordinary conduct, while the US team also deserves the plaudits after again winning the gold Olympic medal for the first time in 20 years.


Russia – Italy 3-0
(25/22) (25/19) (25/23)


The Russians played a great tournament improving many of their weakest points: they fought each point with the right emotional approach, they were focused on digging, they organized a modern blocking system and were more stable than ever.

Two days ago, the Russians lost 3-2 in the semi-final against USA in the most exciting Volleyball match of the Olympic Games. They were two sets behind but playing with unusual patience and concentration as they stretched the match to five sets.

Today in the bronze-medal final, they kept playing with steadiness despite their many young players, such as  Volkov, Mikhaylov, Grankin. If Russia succeed in stabilizing their improvements, they definitely will be one of the favorite teams for the 2010 World Championship and 2012 London Olympic Games.


The Italians, in winning their quarter-final against Poland, achieved their main aim. After that match, the Italian players seemed less resolute and strong minded. They kept on playing at their best but without that deep motivation necessary to win in a tough competition like the Olympic Games.

Moreover, the Italians were aimless in the humble fundamentals (usually digs and cover are considered humble) and no one team can hope to win playing in that way.

In 2010, Italy will host the World Championship and this team will mature. Andrea Anastasi, the Italian coach, can place his trust in some of these athletes, but to compete with the world’s top teams an attitude “revolution” will be necessary.  

Bye bye andrea zorzi

23rd august 2008
Beijing (CHN)


BRAZIL – U.S.A. 3-1 (25/15) (18/25) (25/13) (25/21)


Some defeats are painful like wounds and the only way to heal is winning.
Women’s Volleyball Brazilian team had many scars like the defeats in the previous semi-final Olympic Games and the final of the last World Championship. Today in Beijing, they had the last chance to recover. Probably, the awareness that this was definitely the last chance made them more resolute.
From the technical perspective the match was not terribly impressive, as it often happens in the finals. In the first set USA played poorly, in the second Brazil was missing and in the third the US team disappeared again. Only in the last set did both teams played together until the twentieth point. Then Fabiana and Sheilla blocked the opponents (attacks) twice in a row and the match was over. The Brazilian blocks were the key of the match (they got 16 blocks and the US players 5 only) forcing the opponents to spike softly or to tip.

After Logan Tom´s last hitting mistakes, the Brazilian players joined a big collective hug. A few seconds later all the players, Ze Roberto and the staff, went one by one to Fofao, the Brazilian captain, for a long lasting quiet hug. She is the leader, the mind of the team and she is going to quit the national team.
That was the perfect end for the long awaited victory, which made Ze Roberto the only coach ever winning a Gold Olympic medal with men and women.




CHINA – CUBA 3-0 (25/16) (21/25) (25/13) (25/20)


Just before starting the the bronze medal match, China and Cuba were disappointed and frustrated because they had both expected to play for the gold medal. These two teams considered the medal bronze more a consolation than a success. I think that this approach is always wrong but I can understand their reasons: the Cubans, after a perfect Preliminary Round, unexpectedly stopped to playing. The Chinese athletes, performing at home and being the former Olympic winners, felt it was a of duty winning the gold medal.

Today, the Chinese team won because its standard performance level is higher than the Cuban one. The Caribbean performance range is very wide. On occasion, the athletes can play wonderfully if motivated and resolute but they can even play very badly if they are aimless and sluggish. Each time they play without a strong motivation, they lose their most important quality and the performance is strongly affected.

Otherwise, the Chinese athletes have significant limits in attack but their excellent individual technique in other fundamentals makes them more steady and consistent. The Chinese team performs fine also when their emotional approach is neutra.
Today they won the bronze medal, which is of course one of the three most important acheivements, but if the Chinese want to develop their current level they have to work on their attack skills.

The Cubans instead, to get better have to answer a crucial question: is the fourth place in 2008 Olympic Games the best result they could achieve?

I think that the Cuban players always have the ability to compete for the Gold medal but they have to change their system following the modern methods. Changing an their deep-rooted habits is a tough challenge and it takes a long time, but I truly believe that Cuban Volleyball could reach better results according to their unbelievable individual physical and technical talent.

bye bye andrea zorzi

22nd august
2008 Beijing (CHN)

Philip Dalhausser is a long- limb giant; amazingly quick in the sand despite of his 206 cm. He is a fantastic blocker, a good receiver and, obviously, an excellent spiker. His team-mate Todd Rogers, a defense specialist, is smaller (187 cm tall) but with surprising spiking abilities. In BVB, finding the right balance between the two athletes is very difficult: one has to be tall to well perform in blocking but also needs to be technically talented in passing and ball controlling. The second player has to mix the digging skills with the power to kill the ball. This is the secret of the two US gold medalists: both of them are the best in their roles. Moreover, their psychological steadiness, which relies also on their technical ability, is unique. The BVB Olympic tournament final ended 2–1 but the US team seemed to be in control of the match also when the Brazilians won the second set. After a slow beginning Dalhausser found the right timing to block Fabio Luiz and T. Rogers displayed his wide range of attacks. As always, the BVB ambience is very joyful and the athletes are particularly easy going. After the last match, just before leaving Beijing, many players calmly took pictures with the smiling Chinese volunteers achieving the perfect Olympic greeting.

Then, I quickly moved to see the first Men’s Semi-Final. USA-Russia was a long tough struggle played at the highest technical level, with very few errors and without any possibilities to predict the outcome. The US team displayed their usual amazing defense skills, organized blocks and the amazing ability to keep on playing without any drop in attention . They never give up. Not even today, when they were two sets ahead and the Russians suddenly started to get better both physically and emotionally. Many times I have described the Russian players as athletes unable to fully exploit their great talent. Today Alekno’s players performed very close to their best and, although they lost, they can be proud of themselves. I know that players after a defeat don’t care at all about any kind of congratulations. They feel only frustrations, disappointments and regrets. Thus, do never try to console or soothe an athlete when he is walking out after a bad defeat. Let him alone because those sad moments are very significant in a player´s career and to be experienced in solitude. That’s why, soon after the match I couldn’t even try to stop the Russian players to get a comment. Only 20 or 30 minutes later the athletes can take on their public duties, speaking with the journalists. The winners instead can immediately show their joy with the team-mates, fans and also reporters. The victory is exciting and electrifying and can be shared.

The second semifinal was a tense and nervous match for both teams. Up to now, the Brazilian performances in the Olympic tournament haven´t been as excellent as in the last six years. They are perfectly aware that the attacking and defense automatisms, which made them “the best team”, are a little jammed. However, they use this difficulty to improve even more their emotional approach. Their energy, their determination and their willpower were and still remain the secret of their successes. Technically speaking, they can be defeated but emotionally they are still a wonderful team. The Italians instead, were doubtful due to some successless years successless. They started very good but, in the second set when the Brazilians raised their level, the Italians failed responding to support the technical pressure. This can partly be understood as I have to recall that Italy from the beginning played without the Libero Mirko Corsano and from the third set without L. Mastrangelo, who got injured in the ankle. Missing of two important players affected the Italians` confidence, but they kept on playing strong-minded . Yet the Italians aren’t stable enough to overcome the opponents´ challenges and a adverse destiny.

Bye bye andrea zorzi

21st august 2008
Beijing (CHN)


Since when I decided to attend to the Women’s Beach Volleyball final, I was wondering how I should have to dress (or undress) to protect myself from the unbearable heat and humidity in Chaoyang Park. This morning as soon as I opened the curtains, I discovered that was heavily raining and the heat wouldn’t be a trouble.
The Beijing’s roads were cars jam-packed and it took almost one hour to arrive to the Beach Volley Ball (BVB) venue.
Luckily, I get there just before the beginning of the final match played by US May-Treanor and Walsh and Chinese Tian Ja-Wang.
In the journalists´ stands I met Karch Kiraly, three gold medals winner (two in VB and one in BVB) now commenting BVB for NBC.
I asked if the rain can badly affect the game. He said that the biggest difficulty is the ball slipperiness due to the rainwater. The players have to be very careful in controlling each touch. During the match, the court assistants accurately keep on drying the balls but obviously, it isn’t enough. All the players in these conditions set the ball with underhand passing because the overhand set is too risky.
Another difference depends on the wet sand, which is more compact making easier jumping and moving. Lastly the rain drops can seriously disturb the players’ eyes when they look up to follow the ball.
In conclusion, the BVB players technically more skilled can take a small advantage playing in a rainy day.

The skillful Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh’s won easily the final with a double 21-18.
I think that they would have won even with any kind of weather because their superiority is so clear.
I don’t dare to analyze tactically nor technically the match because I’m not a BVB specialist, but I enjoyed very much their excellent technical ability and their surprising quickness in the sand.

After the BVB final, I went back to the Capital Gymnasium (the VB venue) when Women’s US team was overwhelming Cuba. In only three sets the North-Americans got the right to play the Olympic final after 24 years (the last final was in 1984 in Los Angeles Olympic Games).
Cuba made one more time the same error relying only on strong serve and attack. When those fundamentals don’t work out they are in trouble, bad trouble. After the great preliminary round and the effortless quarter-final, suddenly the Cuban players stopped to play.


A few hour later the Brazilians reached the finals winning easily in three sets.
Ze Roberto’s players exploited their back row attack, jump serve, quick set to outside position. They are the best so far.

In the press conference after the match, Ze Roberto admitted for the first time since a long time, that his team performed well in serve, attack, block, counterattack and dig. Usually he prefers to point out the weakest point of his team, but today it was really difficult to find any one.


Bye bye andrea

In this post you find the video interview with:

Ze Roberto

BRA coach

RECORDED DURING THE 2008 WORLD GRAND PRIX FINAL ROUND

Brazil performed wonderfully one month ago and Ze Roberto was worried about the risk of a possible performance drop.

Given that Brazil is the best team in the Olympic Games so far, it will be curious listen his answers to my questions.

I asked the following questions:

1). Who is the favourite team to win in Beijing Games?
2). Brazil played wonderfully one month ago in WGP. Is it tricky?
3). How many Olympic games have you played?
4). Is the Olympic Games the most important tournament?
5). How many Olympics games have you played? and which was the best?
6)  Would you give a comment on the second libero?

To watch the video click HERE or on the picture above
Bye bye andrea zorzi

20th august 2008
Beijing (CHN)



RUSSIA–BULGARIA 3 - 1

(20/25) (25/16) (25/22) (25/21)

From the technical point of view, this match followed a predictable pattern. Both, Russians and Bulgarians have similar technical characteristics: strong serve, powerful attack and good block.
Today, the Russian performed much better than usual in the defense and block organization. They succeeded in switching the players’ block position according to the opponents hitting characteristics. Moreover, they were successful in managing the serve risk level and they displayed the right defense attitude.
From the emotional perspective both teams tried to improve their weakest points.
In the Volleyball world, Bulgarians are considered litigious and Russians spiritless. Therefore, Bulgarians kept on excusing each other with an unusual politeness and Russian always gathered to celebrate together. Both behaviors seemed to me a little studied and unnatural but, on Russian side, it helped a lot.


ITALY–POLAND 3–2

(25/19) (25/22) (18/25) (26/28) (17/15)

Italy-Poland was the most thrilling Volleyball match since the beginning of the Olympic Games. Italian team won the first two sets playing accurately and with few errors. In the third frame the match abruptly changed rhythm because of the Polish defense improvement.
In the fourth game, Poland quickly leaded 8-2 but Italy tied. Then, the two teams advanced together until 22-22, when Poland gained a double set point.
In the first one, Zagumny set to Wlazly, who failed hitting out. The polish setter insisted, setting again to his diagonal spiker who made the same error (24-24).
Lozano called a time out and everybody was asking where Zagumny would set.
He did the most unpredictable , setting for the third time in a row, to Wlazly, who scored.
Did Zagumny act courageously or was just crazy?
In this condition the difference between courage and craziness is extremely thin and no one should judge the player’s choice after the action is completed, as reporters are often used to do.


BRAZIL–CHINA 3-0

(25/17) (25/15) (25/16)

The match against China was just a “good test” for Brazil. It could be wrong defining an Olympics quarter-final game as “a good test”, but the gap between the two squads actually are too wide.
Take a look at the numbers of the game: Brazilian got 12 blocks and Chinese 0 (zero!). Also the attack percentage was incomparable 61% versus 39%.
Bernardinho’s players exploited the match to recover their astonishing speed and they were successful, though they wasted some opportunities attempting the impossible.
However, it might be useful to recall that in the last six years, the Brazilians succeeded in making possible what was commonly considered not possible.
The next step for Brazilian athletes will be the semis against Italy and it definitely won’t be a “test”.


SERBIA–U.S.A. 2-3

(25/20) (23/25) (25/21) (25/18) (12/15)

Only a few hours later, Italy-Poland lost the right to be “the most thrilling Volleyball match since…”. The match between Serbia and USA was emotionally as exciting as the previous one and technically played slight better.
Serbian players were fully active from the beginning while US team needed an entire set to completely switch on. Serbians are naturally competitive and the game against the US players puts even more stimulus on them. Us players instead, don’t need any special motivation to struggle each point, they always do it.
And the match was a tough struggle: just a small drop of Serbians players in the last points was decisive to give the victory to US team.


Bye bye andrea zorzi

In this post you find the video interview with:


Jaqueline Carvalho
BRA spiker

(in Spanish)

I asked the following questions:

1. When and where were you born?
2. When did you start playing Volleyball?
3. Any other members of your family were sportsmen?
4. Would you describe your city?
5. Where are you living now?
6. You have played in many countries, have you any preference?
7. Have you any favourite food?
8. Do you feel under pressure being a favourite in Beijing?
9. You are engaged with a Brazilian Volleyball player. Is it difficult?
10. Is there is competition between you two?
11. What about the kids?
12. Have you any idol in Volleyball (a player that inspired you)?
13. How is Ze Roberto as a coach?
14. Which was the worst period of your career?
15. You haven’t ever played in the Olympic Games?
16. Which is the favourite team to win Beijing Games?
17. Brazilian Women team always failed to win WC and OG. Do you feel the pressure?
18. How do you spend your spare time off the Volleyball?
19. Have you any favourite writer or actor?
20. Would you try to imagine yourself in 20 years?


To watch the video click HERE or on the picture above
Bye bye andrea zorzi

19th august 2008
Beijing (CHN)

In all tournaments, the quarter-finals day is actually a special day.

Although the semifinals and finals are more exciting, from the players’ perspective, nothing is more tense and thrilling than quarter-final matches.



CUBA – SERBIA 3–0 (26/24) (25/19) (26/24)

This match tells the story of two opposite psychological conditions.
Cuba, after the remarkable performances in the Preliminary Round, kept on playing with confidence and enthusiasm. Serbia instead, had to overcome the negative sensations accumulated over five poor games.

At this point, all the teams restart from scratch and it’s crucial to stop thinking about the previous matches. Those teams coming from encouraging matches have to avoid being overconfident and those, who played badly, have a unique opportunity to suddenly shift their destiny.

The morning match, played between Cuba and Serbia, with Cuba’s athletes having to put in a big fight to win the first set, , proved that the motivations coming from steadiness is more stable than that of relying on hope.
When facing the crucial points of the first set, the Cubans did the right things in the right moments.
On the other side, the Serbian players paid for their psychological uncertainties.
The victory in the opening set gave the steady Cubans more confidence, and they won effortlessly also the second one, and made the doubtful Serbians even flimsier.

The third set followed exactly the same pattern of the first: it was played point by point until the last point, when the Serbian spiker Nikolic was blocked by Nancy Carrillo, the Cuban middle blocker.
After the defeat, the Serbian players’ expressions displayed their deep feeling, which can be summarize in a few words: “we strived for the best but Cubans deserve this victory”.

By the way, the Caribbean athletes totally agreed with this opinion.


BRAZIL – JAPAN 3-0 (25/12) (25/20) (25/16)

Volleyball is a sort of arithmetical game: almost always, the stronger team wins against the weaker one. After the introduction of RPS, this peculiarity is less effectual but still resists. Nowadays, some matches which would have otherwise been trouble-free, turn to be balanced due to the new scoring system.

In the second quarter-final match, Brazil easily topped Japan and no one ever thought that the match could have ended differently.
The Brazilian athletes are too resolute, too prepared and too skilled, both technically and physically, to lose such a match. In the first set, the South American athletes started fast to make their superiority clear and the result (25/12) reflected such state.

They slowed down in the second set, due to the unavoidable relaxation that comes out from the predictability of the match and the third one was the copy of the first with only one actor in the court.

Now the Brazilians have to face China and it will be another kind of game.

We say goodbye to the Japanese players, who left the Olympic tournament happy despite the defeat. They succeeded in their biggest expectation just by qualifying for the quarter final.


CHINA – RUSSIA 3-0 (25/22) (27/25) (25/19)

On 22 –22, the block of Zhao, Chinese player, was the crucial point of the first set.
That frame confirmed the usual characteristics of both teams. China performed excellently in defense succeeding in 18 digs over 32 attempts (Russia achieved only 9/25 defenses). Although the Chinese team has only one spiker who can kill the predictable sets, their setter fully exploited the quick attack as much as possible.
The Russians represent the other side of the coin: slower and less motivated in the back rows fundamentals and more efficiently in attacking thanks to their distinguishing height and power.

The second set was decided by 13 errors of Russian players. They gained a “double” set point and, before they wasted the first chance failing an attack, they squandered the second easy opportunity because of a unforgivable inaccurateness in “second touch”. Gamova had to spike a ball too close the net and was stopped by a Chinese block.
To point out how significant the Russian mistakes were, consider that Chinese attack percentage was very poor (20%) and no one team can win playing in a such a way without the “help” of the opponent.
Moreover, China also won the last game and the match counting again on the unintentional Russian help.
The Russian athletes have to blame themselves and the Chinese can take a deep breath having overcome the trickiest Olympic tournament phase.


ITALY – U.S.A. 2-3 (25/20) (21/25) (25/19) (18/25) (6/15)

The first two sets, won one each, were substantially balanced. Both the teams played focused and were able to execute well in any phase of the game. There were a lot of long lasting rallies which made the match very exciting.
In the third set the Italian block and the US errors were decisive.

Then the match changed suddenly. At the beginning of the last two sets, Berg, the US setter, serving achieved two very long winning streaks, 8-0 in the fourth and 5-0 in the last one.
The amazing beginning improved the US performance and the athletes turned out to be unstoppable effortlessly overcoming the spiritless opponents.

I think the the Italians, after the victory in the third set, lost a great opportunity to reach the semi-final but the result was totally right.

Bye bye andrea zorzi

18th august 2008
Beijing (CHN)


Also the Men’s Preliminary Round is finished and below you can see the quarters final matches and the comments on those eight teams.

1) U.S.A. - Serbia

2) Italy - Poland

3) Bulgaria - Russia

4) Brazil - China



U.S.A. (1° POOL A) 

Three excellent players: the setter Ball, the diagonal hitter Stanley and the wing hitter Priddy. Two standard middle the blockers, Millar and Lee, and Salmon and Lambourne, two hardworking players, totally committed to digging and passing. All of them joined by a common strong will, able to support the unavoidable ups and downs of any match. This is the basic portrait of the amazing North American team. They make simple Volleyball focusing only on “the good Volleyball playing, nothing else”.
It seems easy but this is the secret to succeed in Volleyball.

ITALY  (2° POOL A)

The Italian team got the second place in Pool A tough Anastasi had to deal with many injures: Fei (sprained ankle), Mastrangelo and Corsano (knee problem). The Italian coach in the five matches started with many different lined up and I don’t know if it was a choice or a necessity.
The best Italian performance so far was against Bulgaria and the worst against USA and China.
Given that Italy “could be” a good team in attacking and blocking, to try to win against Poland they need to play with a totally different defense attitude.
By the way, since the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, Italy was always considered one of the favorite teams to win the gold medal. Here, many reporters are repeating that this condition is a big advantage because the Italians can play without any pressure. Being a former player I can assure that those kind of matters interest journalists much more than players.

BULGARIA  (3° POOL A)

The Bulgarians had to manage the thorny situation of their captain Konstantinov, who missed the first four matches due to his return to Sofia to test some weird values. Reassured by the results, which excluded the assumptions of any illegal substance, he flew back to Beijing to play the last match (not decisive) of the Preliminary Round. His team-mates have already achieved the qualification to the quarter final but they had to deal with many problems in reception because Konstantinov is their best receiver. The missing of consistent passers and the consequent drop in general efficiency, was the biggest issue of Martin Stoev, the Bulgarian coach.
Now, the team is complete but they could pay for the few matches played together.
Yesterday I described Cuban Women players as “historically unpredictable”. Well, this definition suits perfectly to Bulgarian Men’s team too.

CHINA  (4° POOL A)

I cannot explain why Chinese players are skilled enough in individually but they don’t succeed in playing good as a team. They are endowed of a discrete technique but during the game they make a lot of simple errors.
In the sport we use two terms to describe different phases of the training: analytical and global. The analytical drills aimed to improve the individual abilities while global exercises help to combine together those skills.
Chinese are asymmetric: too analytical and less global.


BRASILE  (1° POOL B)

The Brazilian team is fighting hard because they want to close this cycle with the second Olympic gold medal. Hugh Mc Cutcheon, the US team coach, after the US team victory in the 2007 World Cup defined Brazilian as players “not that better to explain their longest winning streak. The Brazilians worked harder than any other team, thus they deserve a special esteem”.

Now they are trying to deal with Giba’s injury and though their performances aren’t the best ever, they got the first place in the Pool B. They have lost the distinguishing rapidity and smoothness in attack and Gustavo, one of the best blockers in the world, is less efficient than usual. However their willpower is the strongest and I consider Brazil the favorite to win the gold.


RUSSIA  (2° POOL B)

The Russian team was performing well. Grankin, the Russian setter, succeeded in the quick set, which has been considered his weakest point. The correlation with both the middle blockers, Volkov and Kuleshov, was much better than usual. Moreover, the atypical enthusiasm displayed by all the Russian players in the previous matches seemed the proof of their new attitude.
Today Russian players partially wasted what they achieved in the last days.
From the beginning, Poltavskiy replaced Mikhaylov as opposite and, after the first set won easily, they played following their old patterns (no quick attack and weak defense) losing confidence.
After today’s defeat against Poland, I wonder who will be the starting players in the next crucial match against Bulgaria: Poltavskiy or Mikhaylov?
Will Grankin succeed in playing quickly?
Will the Russians recover the confidence they had?
These issues would have been useless if the Russians had played as they did in the last matches.

“The speedy train hard to stop” we have seen so far, is slowing suddenly down.  


POLONIA  (3° POOL B)

I think that Poles have dreamed to be in this conditions. They worked hard to peak at the Olympic Games and since the victory in the first tricky match against Germany they played consistently. Only once (in the match against Brazil, after the first set lost 30-28), they gave up. Lozano, their coach, wants a determined and resolute team. He’s looking for a team able to overcome the tough moments during the game. The Polish players are talented but sometimes they suffered the lack of results.
In the Preliminary Round Wlazly and Winiarski were excellent in sharing their confidence with the other team mates. Poland is a team which can perform well in all the fundamentals, relying on a good mix of psychical strength and technical skills.
The quarter finals are always the most complicated match in all the tournament because the defeat in this phase is a kind of failure. That’s why the pressure is really heavy.

SERBIA  (4° POOL B)

The Serbians seem relaxed despite two victories and three defeats. N. Grbic said that their only concern is the level of their own performances. Serbians aren’t playing as good as they did in Rio de Janeiro a few weeks ago during the World league Finals. They will encounter a squad, USA, that technically speaking is similar. I think that the US team has more probabilities to reach the semifinals because it is playing more steadily than Serbia.

However, I know pretty well I. Miljkovic - the Serbian diagonal hitter - who is a wonderful player able to change alone the destiny of a match, thus the match could be more balanced than expected.


Bye bye andrea zorzi

In this post you find the SECOND PART of the video interview with:

Nikola Brbic
SRB setter



I asked the following questions:

Part two

The 2000 Olympic gold medal was the best victory, what about the worst defeat?
Serbians are excellent in many team sports. Why?
After the wonderful performance in the WL Finals, is Serbia favourite in Beijing Games?
Could you give a comment about the new ball?
You are married and you have a son. What about your future?
Will you leave the national team after Beijing?
Would you like to be a coach in the future?



To watch the video click HERE or on the picture above


Bye bye andrea zorzi