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RUS / Russia - Team Composition

Team manager	Makarov Sergey
Head coach	Caprara Giovanni
Assistant coach	Kirillova Irina
Doctor	Fedorov Alexander
Therapist / trainer	Prut Sergey
Journalist

	No.	Name	Lastname	Shirt Name	Birthdate	Height	Weight	Spike	Block	Club
	1	Maria	Borisenko	Borodakova	8/03/1986	190	80	301	297	Dinamo-Kazan
	3	Natalia	Alimova	Alimova	9/12/1978	192	78	315	308	Leningradka
	4	Olga	Fateeva	Fateeva	4/05/1984	190	72	310	303	Atom
	5	Liubov	Shashkova	Sokolova	4/12/1977	192	72	315	307	Dinamo Krasnodar
	6	Elena	Godina	Godina	17/09/1977	196	72	317	310	Dinamo
	8	Evgenia	Estes	Estes	17/07/1975	191	75	315	306	Uralochka-NTMK
	11	Ekaterina	Gamova	Gamova-Mukasey	17/10/1980	202	80	321	310	Dinamo-Kazan
C	12	Marina	Babeshina	Babeshina	26/06/1985	181	62	291	289	Uralochka-NTMK
L	14	Ekaterina	Ulanova	Ulanova	5/08/1986	172	61	298	290	Dinamo-Kazan
	15	Alexandra	Pasynkova	Pasynkova	14/04/1987	190	75	313	305	Dinamo Krasnodar
	16	Iuliia	Merkulova	Merkulova	17/02/1984	202	75	317	308	Dinamo Krasnodar
	18	Marina	Akulova	Akulova	13/12/1985	181	70	303	290	Omichka

C=Captain L=Libero

Team Profile

Coach Profile

If statistics are any guide to Womenâ€™s Volleyball, Russia -- and, before, the Soviet Union -- have to be the greatest team ever. They have won four Olympic golds (1968, 1972, 1980, 1988) and five Olympic silvers (1964, 1976, 1992, 2000, 2004), five FIVB World Championship titles (1952, 1956, 1960, 1970, 1990, 2006), three FIVB World Grand Prix titles, one World Cup and numerous gold medals in the European Championships.

Things have not been going so well for the Russians, however, since that last World Championship win in 2006.

The Russians, who looked so awe-inspiring in winning the 2006 gold in Tokyo, surprisingly missed out on the medals at the 2007 World Grand Prix by finishing fourth.

They had flashes of brilliance, notably an epic five-set win against Brazil that was a repeat of the 2006 worlds final. But it was from the sublime to the sorry and the Russian capitulated in straight sets against China.

Russia also missed out on the FIVB World Cup for the second straight time in 2007 after finishing third at the European Championship.

The biggest shock, though, was when the Russians were unable to finish in the top four of the European Qualification Tournament for the World Grand Prix, missing out on a place in the 2008 tournament.

This prolonged absence from international FIVB competition means it is difficult to judge the Russians' chances.

They still have a number of tall, lean and formidable players who have been the trademarks of a team that has dominated over the years.

The lethal Ekaterina Gamova, who stands at an incredible 202 cm, Yulia Merkulova (also 202 cm) and Elena Godina are perhaps the best illustration of Russia's potency and demonstrates the hurdle, both physical and psychological, that other teams must overcome when opposing this team.

The last time Russia won Olympic gold was in Seoul in 1988 and 20 years is a long time for a team of Russia's stature. In the meantime, the likes of Cuba and Brazil have emerged and at times overshadowed the Russians but it would be foolish to rule out the Russians in Beijing.

Italian Giovanni Caprara has had success as a Head Coach at Club and National Team level. He debuted as a coach in the 1998-99 season, when he worked as a second coach in Bergamo, assisting in the team winning the Italian Super Cup, the European Champion's League and the Italian Championships. In his second year at the club, he won the Italian Super Cup and European Champion's League titles.

For the 2000-01 season, he worked as Head Coach in Reggio Calabria (A1) taking first place in the Italian Super Cup, the Italian Cup and the Italian Championships.

He moved to Sassuolo (A2) for the 2001-02 season, taking the team from 13th place in December 2001 to fourth place in May 2002, with the team winning the play-off. He was named Best Coach of A2 that year.

From 2003-05, he was Head Coach for Bergamo (A1) and took first place in the CEV Cup, Italian Championships, Italian Super Cup and Italian Cup.

In 2005, after the Italian Championships had finished, he began his career as Head Coach for the Russian Women's National Team.

His first major tournament was the 2005 European Championships, where he led the team to the bronze medal.

In 2006, his Russian team took second place in World Grand Prix Final and successfully passed through the qualification tournament in Varna, Bulgaria, in first place for the 2007 World Grand Prix.

Undoubtedly the best result of his career was when he guided his charges to World Championship glory in 2006 in Japan.

In 2007 Caprara and his team took fourth place in 2007 World Grand Prix but unfortunately didn't qualify for the 2008 edition.

In the 2007 European Championship, his team took third place which meant Russia wouldn't appear in the FIVB World Cup that year. Things got better for Caprara in 2008, though, when he guided Russia to victory in the European Olympic Qualification Tournament.