11th August 2008
Beijing (CHN)


The second day of the Volleyball Preliminary Round played in Beijing offered many interesting matches excluding Serbia-Algeria and Italy-Kazakhstan, that were clearly unbalanced.

In this article I write about Cina versus USA and Brazil against Russia because those two matches have a peculiarity. Cuba and Russia rely on the pure physical strength, the US team and Brazil, instead, exploit the game organization and the players' collaboration.
The results of the two matches were opposite: the bouncing and brisk Cuban team overcame the US squad while in the other match, the Russians' power was completely vain against the concentration, accuracy and willpower displayed by the Brazilian athletes.

Personally, I prefer by far the teams playing with few errors following good tactical plans.
I also respect and, on occasion, I truly enjoy the astonishing physical performances but I’m frustrated when those performances aren’t supported by technical and tactical improvements.

Regarding my personal style preferences, do you remember the “Chunk theory” I tried to explain during the World Grand Prix Final in Yokohama?

If you want to know more (WATCH HERE)  and HERE

In that post, following "Chunk theory", I placed the US team in the third position although they got the fourth place in the official one. Moreover, I put the Cuban team in the last position despite they were deservedly second.

Today that "personal" opinion changed a little because the Cubans players performed very well playing with great smartness, making few errors in attack, serving wonderfully in the crucial frame and blocking efficiently.
Regarding the block: I think that they succeeded in stopping the US attacks due to an accurate technical ability ” more than to an “advanced tactical strategy".

On the other side, the US players seemed slower than usual and unable to perform at their standard level. Totally useless was their typical ability to keep on playing also when the match is very tough. The Cuban players, after the victory of the second hard fought set, kept the match easily under control till the end.

It was even easier for the Brazilians to triumph over a dull and sluggish Russia. Brazil displayed the best Volleyball since the beginning of the Olympics games. All the players moved precisely, hesitated less and reacted quickly choosing the best solution.
Today, I watched the match from the Media seats of the Capital Gymnasium which, differently than usual, are far from the court and very high. From that perspective, I fully enjoyed the team’s movements, putting in the second place the single players actions.
Usually, I follow the match from the ground, two meters off the court and from that position, the individual movements catch my attention.

Today, I saw the yellow Brazilians' shirts moving much faster than the Russians’ blue ones. In one side the yellow creature (I mean the six players seen as a single unity) was distinguished by a smooth, quick and dynamic motion, while the opponent appeared awkward, loose and totally unable to face the South Americans' well organized rapidity.

Today, the challenge between PHYSICAL STRENGTH against TECHNICAL SKILL ended in a tie: 1-1

Bye bye andrea zorzi