14th august 2008
Beijing (CHN)


Has a new era begun?

Yes, it seems that in the third day of the Olympic tournament, after the Russian victory over Brazilians, the Volleyball World definitely lost the dominator of the last six years and is waiting for the new one.

I would like to analyze this match in a bigger frame remembering the last three games played between Russia and Brazil.

During the 2008 World League Finals held in Rio de Janeiro, in the first Pool Play match, South-Americans effortless overwhelmed Russians. That was the last match which can be considered belonging to the recent past, when Brazil was unbeatable.
Four days after, the two teams played the matches for the third place. In that occasion Russia succeeded in winning, although before the match, the Alekno's players appeared doubtful and not very resolute. Relying on that unexpected success Russians became more and more confident, while Brazilians turned to be unsure for the first time after many years.

Today’s match was the first crucial test since Brazilians lost the image of the invincible team .

The first note concerns the Brazilian coach, who was less frantic than usual. His guys were playing smoothly and efficiently so far and Bernardinho have leaded every match screaming, limping and scolding. Today, being aware of the insecurity of the players he was much more quite and tranquil. He knows that in these conditions he has to be more temperate.

Brazil blocked worst that usual, served and attacked with less efficiency also because Giba (usually the most important player in this fundamental) played only in the third set due to a shoulder injury. Now, Brazilians have to deal with some poor performances and they aren’t used since long time.

On the other side, Russia got more and more confident finally exploiting its huge talent. The proof was the disciplined digging performance supported by the distinguishing powerful attack -Mikhailov, who replaced Poltavsky, played wonderfully-. Surprisingly, they were successful using quick spikes (mostly with Volkov) and the sturdy block put a lot of pressure on Brazilians hitters.

The third set (ended 31-29) was crucial, as many time it happens when the frames are balanced and fought until the end, and the fourth game confirmed the Russians' superiority.
Last but not least, the players displayed a truly unusual emotional approach: Mikhailov, Volkov, Verbov, acted like what Brazilians have done for many years forgetting, for one day, their distinctive sternness.

It might be too early to say that a new era has begun but the Russian team seems a train speedily running, hard to stop.

Another team definitely got rid of the psychological pressure and found the right rhythm.
Today, the Polish squad performed very good winning a tough match against Serbia and securing the qualification to quarter final. The unselfconfident team seen in the last months disappeared, achieving the victory thanks to a great play in the crucial moments.

All the others teams but USA, are searching for the right pace: Bulgaria and Italy are still a puzzle, Venezuela, Japan and China are performing at their level but they cannot aim at any medals.

Bye bye andrea zorzi