RUSSIA
Russia
make only two changes
June
26, 2003 – Russian coach Guennady Chipouline named a
virtual full-strength line up on Thursday for his
team’s top of the table clash with Poland in Moscow
during the final weekend of the $15 million World League
Intercontinental Rounds this weekend. With the defending
World League champions having already confirmed their spot in the World League
Finals with a superb record of nine wins and only one
loss in Pool A, stars like Pavel Abramov, who is the
tournaments leading spiker with a 40 percent success
rate, were expected to be rested for this weekend's
matches before returning for the World League Finals,
which will be held in Madrid, Spain from July 8-13. More
Story by Vladimir Pesnya of the Russian Volleyball
Federation.
Pic: Russian star Pavel Abramov will play this weekend
Rest
time for Russia
June
25, 2003 - With the job of qualifying for the World
League Finals already done the defending World League
champions Russia will be taking the chance to rest some
of their key members of their star team this weekend. More
Pic:
Poland gave Russia their first loss last weekend
Story: Vladimir Pesnya from the Russian Volleyball
Federation
Russia
the ones to beat - Giovane
May 05, 2003 - Despite having beaten Russia in the 2002 World Championship last October, Brazil will be the underdogs going into the 2003 World League
says one of the World Champion's oldest and most experienced players Giovane
Gavio, according to a report on the official
Brazilian Volleyball Confederation website. More
World League champs gear up for title defense
April
23, 2003 - Russia's
defense of their 2002
World League title will start in earnest next month when the national men's side go into camp in their Olympic base in Moscow following the conclusion of their national competition.
More
Pic: Russia beat Brazil in last year's final
in Brazil
POLAND
Poland
prepare well for World League
May 21, 2003 - Poland have beaten Estonia 3-2 in their
final friendly match in Szczyrk on Tuesday night ahead
of their opening World League matches against Spain in
Valencia this weekend. More
Game
one
Poland
for 2003 World League: without Papke and Musielak
It
was not an easy decision for Polish head coach Waldemar
Wspanialy: surprisingly Pawel Papke and Rafal Musielak,
players he would like to rely on, were not included in
his final selection for 2003 World League.
more
-
Spain
set to face Poland without De la Fuente and Gens
May
23, 2003 - The Spanish national men's team will be
missing star receiver Enrique De la Fuente and setter
Jordi Gens for their opening 2003 World League Pool A
match against Poland in Valencia on Saturday afternoon. More
Spanish
version
Story
by Sergio Aguilera, .
Pic: Piotr Gruska spiking during Poland's 3-1 win over
Spain last year
Spain
beaten again in friendly with Brazil
May 07, 2003 - The
Brazilian men's team finished their two-country European
tour with a 3-1(25-16, 25-16, 19-25, 25-15) victory over
Spain in Madrid on Tuesday wrapping up the two-match
friendly series 2-0. The undefeated tour of Spain
follows a 2-1 series win over the Netherlands last week,
signaling that Brazil, who rested some of their big
stars, will be one of the teams to beat ahead of the World
League, which starts on May 23. Match
stats Game
one report Game
one stats
Spain's Pascual returns to the World League after a year's absence
Rafael Pascual, who returns to World League after a year's
absence, is the most outstanding new addition to the 18-man squad named by Spain's national coach Francisco
Hervás to prepare for the 2003 World League. more
Story by Elvira Atanes Sanchez, Madrid
Rafael Pascal is
Spain's star player
VENEZUELA
Venezuela
prepare to host World League champions
May
20, 2003 - The national men's team of Venezuela has
arrived in the little lakeside city of Cabimas, where
they will host defending champions Russia this weekend
in the opening round of World
League Group A matches. Coach Miguel Cambero will be
relying on the passionate home crowd support from fans
from around the lake of Maracaibo and a little bit of
the unknown to take on the No 1 team on the FIVB
world rankings in this difficult encounter in
Venezuela. More
Pic: The venue for this weekend's matches -
Cabimas Dome in Cabimas City, Venezuela
Cambero will replace coach Suárez in Venezuela
April 25, 2003 - Miguel Cambero will replace Cuban head coach David Suárez in the national team of Venezuela during the World League.
more.
Venezuela search for World
League improvement
April
22, 2003 - The Venezuelan
national men's team has targeted small yet significant
improvement as the goal for this year's World
League. More
News for POOL B
BRAZIL
Brazilian
coach conscious of German threat
Despite
a far superior 2003 World League record, Brazilian coach
Bernardo "Bernardinho" Rezende is taking
nothing for granted ahead of this weekend's two
Intercontinental Round matches against Germany in
Berlin. World Champions Brazil are in top spot in Pool
B, ahead of Italy on Set Ratio difference, having won
five of their six World League matches while Germany sit
ahead of Portugal on Set Ratio difference at the bottom
of the Pool with a solitary victory. More
Pic: Bernardinho says German's serve has troubled
his team in the past
Nalbert
rested for Brazilian trip to Portugal
June
4, 2003 - Having split their last two World League
matches with Italy last weekend the Brazilian team has
finished it's final training session in Bologna and will
arrive in Portugal on Wednesday without their captain
Nalbert. More
Portuguese
Story
courtesy of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation
Pic: The two captains Nalbert from Brazil (left) and
Italy's Giani embrace after Italy won the second of two
matches last weekend.
Brazil
men's and women's teams destined for Europe
May 28, 2003 - The national men's and women's teams of Brazil finished their final training sessions in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday
and have departed for Europe. More
Spanish
Brazil
ready for opening World League matches
May
19, 2003 - After six weeks of intense work in Rio de
Janeiro the Brazilian national men's team has arrived in
Sao Paulo, the host venue for their opening World League
matches against Germany this weekend, well prepared and
eager to open their World League campaign in the best
possible way according to the official Brazilian
Volleyball Confederation website. More
Pic:
Brazil celebrate their 2002 World Championship title
Brazil back in camp
May
12, 2003 - Most of Brazil's 2002 World Championship side gathered for the first time last weekend in preparation for the 2003 World League.
With only a couple of stars part of the team that returned
last week from 2-1 and 3-0 series wins over the Netherlands and Spain respectively coach Bernardinho
was able to welcome back a couple of other members of the 2002 World Championship winning squad,
who returned to Brazil from their European club sides. More
Brazil celebrating their 3-2 win over Russia at
the 2002 World Championship
Brazil
finish friendly series against Spain
unbeaten
May 07, 2003 - The
Brazilian men's team finished their two-country European
tour with a 3-1(25-16, 25-16, 19-25, 25-15) victory over
Spain in Madrid on Tuesday wrapping up the two-match
friendly series 2-0. The undefeated tour of Spain
follows a 2-1 series win over the Netherlands last week,
signaling that Brazil, who rested some of their big
stars, will be one of the teams to beat ahead of the World
League, which starts on May 23. Match
stats Game
one report Game
one stats
Russia the ones to beat - Giovane
May 05, 2003 - Brazil will
stll be the underdogs going into the 2003 World League,
despite having beaten Russia in the 2002 World Championship last October,
says one of the World Champion's oldest and most experienced players Giovane
Gavio, according to a report on the official
Brazilian Volleyball Confederation website. More
Brazil
wins final match against the Netherlands
May
04, 2003 - The Brazilian men's volleyball team wrapped
up their friendly series with the Netherlands with a 3-2
victory in the third and final match in front 3,500
spectators in Eindhoven on Saturday. The World Champions
took the first two sets 25-23, 25-18 before coach
Bernardo "Bernardinho" Rezende substituted
some of his players, allowing the home side to come back
and win the next two sets 25-21, 29-27 and force a fifth
set tiebreaker, which Brazil won 18-16. More
Second match report First
match report
Pic:
Brazil and the Netherlands also clashed in the 2002
World Championship where Brazil won 3-0.
Crunch
time for the "Boys from Brazil"
April 7, 2003 - Brazilian national team coach Bernardo Rezende has labeled the next 12 months a year of survival as his team prepares to launch an assault on the World League, the World Cup and the
Olympics. Brazil are coming off the back of their first ever World Championship title in Argentina at the end of last season and "Bernardinho" is hoping his team takes that form into this year's World League tournament, which starts on May 23.
more Click
here for Spanish
ITALY
New Italian coach pleased with spirit
May
23, 2003 - The new national coach of the Italian men's
team Gian Paolo Montali is happy with his side's spirit
ahead of their opening World League Pool C match against
Portugal on Friday night in Perugia, Italy. More
Spanish
version
Story
courtesy of the
New National Coach for Italy
Gian Paolo Montali, presently with the club of Milano has been chosen as the new coach of the Italian National Team. He replaces Andrea Anastasi, who finished the 2002 season with Italy's fourth place in the World League (their worst ever result), and a fifth place at the World Championship in Argentina. Montali has already selected a squad of 22 players from which he will choose those who will participate in the World League, the first tournament for the new National Team. Montali has covered his bases, naming some new faces, while retaining some old and familiar ones, thus while launching a new era for the Italian side, he still can call on the talent and experience of his big stars.
"The Italian Team is now ranked fifth on the World
Ranking," Montali said. "This means that we
have to work a lot, be patient and determined and do our
best to demonstrate what we will be able to reach."
"I don't have a lot to say, we just have to work
and to take care of three important things: attitude,
attitude, attitude!" the new national coach said,
underlining that he expected his players to dedicate
themselves to every competition, match, set and even
rally.
more
(Story by Giada Imperato, Milan, Photo credit to www.volleymilano.it)
PORTUGAL
Big task for Portugal to avoid fourth place finish
June
24, 2003 - Portugal's battle with Germany to avoid last place "the wooden spoon" in Pool B takes on a distinctive Brazilian
flavor this weekend in Week 7, the final round, of the World League Intercontinental Rounds.
Both Portugal and Germany are tied with 12 points but Germany currently sits in third spot on Set Ratio difference having won five more sets in pool play than Portugal. So the almost impossible task of Portugal beating Brazil in South America will be the only way the world number 14 will be able to move off the bottom of the group.
More
Pic: Portugal star Joao Jose contemplates the
big task of beating Brazil away from home.
Silva
lining to latest Portuguese side
June
18, 2003 - Portugal's most experienced player Manuel
Silva returns to Portugal's lineup after head coach Juan
Diaz named his 12-man squad for Portugal's World League
Pool B matches against Germany this weekend in Leipzig.
Twenty-nine-year-old Silva, with more than 130 caps,
missed last weekend's two defeats at the hands of Italy
but returns this weekend in the place of Roberto Reis as
both Portugal and Germany search for only their second
win of the Intercontinental Rounds after they split
their first meeting in Matosinhos, Portugal at the
beginning of the month. More
Pic: Silva returns after missing last weekend's
two defeats at the hands of Italy
Portugal
prepare to host eight-time World League winners Italy
June
12, 2003 - Juan Diaz, head coach of Portugal, unveiled
his 12-man lineup to take on World League super powers
Italy, eight-time winners of the competition, on
Thursday in what will be two testing match-ups on
Saturday 17:00 GMT and Sunday 14:00 GMT in Matosinhos.
After an early morning training session most of
Portugal's squad were given a rest on Thursday afternoon
as they search for only their second victory of the
Intercontinental Rounds this weekend. Italy is in second
place, with five wins, behind Brazil only on Set Ratio
difference. More
Pic: Italy beat Portugal twice in Week 2 by
3-0 in both games
Malveiro
looks ahead to Germany clash
May
30, 2003 - Twenty-three-year-old Joao Malveiro is one of
12 Portuguese players elected to take part in the 2003
World League representing the national team, his fourth
international competition. More
Spanish
Portuguese
Portugal
hopeful of promising World League start
May
22, 2003 - The Portuguese men's team left Wednesday
enroute to Italy where they will contest the first games
of Pool B of the Intercontinental phase of the 2003
World League in Perugia on Friday night and Benevento on
Sunday. More
Spanish
version
Story
courtesy of the
Portugal
and Cuba finish World League preparations
May
21, 2003 - In a tough game lasting nearly two hours, the
Portuguese national men's team beat Cuba 3-0 in their
final warm-up game in Porto on Tuesday night as both
teams finished their preparations for their opening
World League matches this weekend. More
Story by Barbedo Magalhães
Pic: Portugal coach Juan Diaz with his team during the
2002 World League
Portugal
eye key clash with Slovakia
May
9, 2003 - Portugal head into this weekend's final round
of European Championship qualifying anxious for a win in
their first match against Slovakia tonight in Istanbul,
Turkey according to a report on the official site
of the Portuguese Volleyball Federation. The Portuguese,
ranked 14th in the world, are in the precarious position
of having won two of their first three matches in Pool 4
and to guarantee qualification for the European
Championship, which will be held in Germany in September,
they must win two of their three remaining matches this
weekend. More
Pool
4 table
www.cev.lu
for European Championship news and results
Pic: Portugal coach Juan Diaz says his team must win
tonight's match against Slovakia
World League a step towards Olympic Qualification for talented Portugal
Portugal are making their fourth World League appearance at the 14th edition and this promising young team faces a tough challenge in the Intercontinental Round against reigning Word Champion Brazil, eight times World League winner Italy and Germany, the host country for the 2002 European Championship finals. The challenge represents concentrated work for national coach, Cuban national Juan Diaz who was nominated by the FIVB as one of the ten best coaches of the 20th century. Diaz however has already worked intensively with this young team and his clear leadership has already reaped results with Portugal finishing a creditable eighth at the 2002 World Championship in Argentina. "We are in a strong group, but we can only improve if we play high level and with the best teams," Diaz said philosophically. Hi goal for this year is "to improve on last year's performance and to try to win one game against Brazil or Italy", especially at home, where Portugal will play it's matches in the magnificent hall of Matosinhos, in the charming city of Porto.
more
Reporting by Barbedo Magalhães, Portugal. Pic:
Portugal scores against Brazil at the 2002 World League.
GERMANY
Germany
face last opponent of the season
June
25, 2003 - The German team travels south on Wednesday to
face their last opponent, three-time world champion
Italy, in the 14th edition of the World League in the
cities of Trieste and Verona on Friday and Sunday. Both
teams are out to defend their position on the Pool B
table. Italy wants to retain the top spot to put them in
the box seat for the finals in Madrid, while Germany
wants to hang on to third place ahead of Portugal and
pick up another five world ranking points. More
German
Story by Thilo von Hagen from the German
Volleyball Federation
Pic: Luigi Mastangelo on attack. Italy beat
Germany 3-1 and 3-2 in Week 4
German
coach says Portugal match a "must win" affair
June
19, 2003 - Although both teams sit at the bottom of Pool B,
Germany's last home matches in the World League against Portugal
this weekend in Week 6 of the World League Intercontinental
Rounds still have a lot riding on them according to German coach
Stelian Moculescu. More
Story by Thilo von Hagen from the German Volleyball
Federation
Pic: Germany and Portugal split their matches earlier this month
in Portugal
Leifke
puts heart problem behind him
June
11, 2003 - Marco Leifke, the 207cm German giant, has come along
way in the past six months. Since having a heart operation he is
now apart of a national German line up that is preparing to take
on World Champions Brazil in Berlin this weekend in Week 5 of
the World League Intercontinental Rounds. More Spanish
German
Pic: Leifke is hoping Germany will start winning
rather than talking about it
Both
captains missing in Germany-Brazil World League clash
June
11, 2003 - Germany and the World Champions Brazil meet
this weekend in Berlin in Week 5 of the World League
Intercontinental Rounds both playing without their
captains. While Brazil's Nalbert has been instructed by
coach Bernadino to rest up at home, the break for German
skipper Stefan Hübner is of another nature. More
German
Story
by Thilo von Hagen, Germany Volleyball Federation
Pic: Brazil beat Germany 3-0 and 3-1 when both teams
played in Brazil in Week 2
Moculescu hoping to claim Italian scalp
June
6, 2003 - Despite Germany being ranked 16
places behind World League super powers
Italy, German coach Stelian Moculescu is
still aiming for victory when the two
sides meet on Saturday and Sunday in
Munich in Week 4 of the World League
Intercontinental Rounds. Germany are ranked 22nd in the world but are riding on a wave of Volleyball support in their country and recent performances have started to impress.
This weekend's matches, the first time Germany are at home in the World League, against the three-time World Champions will be a true litmus test for a side, which has won one match from their first four in Pool B having played Brazil and Portugal away from home.
More
Pic: German coach Stelian Moculescu hopes
his team plays like the Rolling Stones
this weekend
Brazil taught us a lesson - Moculescu
May
26, 2003 - Germany was handed a lesson by world
champions Brazil on the weekend when they opened their
World League campaign in Sao Paolo with successive
defeats 3-0, 3-1 in front of around 20,000 enthusiastic
Brazilian fans. "We really showed this weekend
where we are at present and we have our feet back on the
ground," German coach Stelian Moculescu said.
"There were those who thought that we were further
advanced but when we don't learn to defend ourselves we
are going to have big problems at the European
Championships. More
German
Spanish
Story
by Thilo von Hagen, Germany Volleyball Federation
Pic: Mark Siebeck celebrates a point for Germany
German coach admits World League Pool is tough
May
23, 2003 - In preparation for meeting Brazil in their
opening 2003 World League matches on Saturday and Sunday
German coach Stelian Moculescu answered some questions
on Friday. More
German
Hübner out of Germany's opening World League matches
May 22, 2003 - The German national team left for Sao Paulo on Wednesday night for their opening World League Group C matches against Brazil this weekend missing their inspirational captain Stefan Hübner.
One of the most experience players in the German lineup, Hübner
has torn a tendon in his knee and has been replaced by Eugen Bakumouski in a line up which has been named to cover Germany's two opening weekends against Brazil and Portugal. However Hübner hopes to return to national duties on Wednesday June 4 in time for when Germany host Italy in Munich on June 7.
More
German
Spanish
Pic: German captain Stefan Hübner in action
during the 2002 World League
Story
by Thilo von Hagen, Germany Volleyball
Federation.
Germany start World League preparations
May
02, 2003 - With the domestic season having finished and
the launch of the World League
only three weeks away, the German national men's
volleyball team went into their first training camp of
the season today in Friedrichshafen. Coach Stelian
Moculescu has gathered most of his World
League squad to begin a rigorous 10-day camp,
including three days of fitness tests, to get them up to
speed before heading to Russia
on May 15 to join the world number one ranked team in
combined training sessions. More
Story by Thilo von Hagen, Germany Volleyball Fed. German
Version
The German team has two training camps with Russia
and the Netherlands.
A solid season ahead for Germany's national
team:
Highpoints are World League and European Championship
Germany's national trainer Stelian Moculescu has a solid year planned for his team with the World League and the European Championship at home his declared
highpoints. more
Story by Thilo von Hagen, Germany Volleyball Federation.
Germany's coach chooses
2003 World League squad
Germany's national coach Stelian Moculescu has named his 18-man squad for the 2003 World League
season, refreshing his side with some new talent and with one eye on the coming European Championship
(September 5-14), also hosted by Germany, according to a report from the German Volleyball Federation headquarters in Frankfurt. From his original 22-man
squad, Moculescu has removed middle blocker BogdanJalowietzki
(VfB Friedrichshafen), saying Jalowietzki was older and needed a break, bearing in mind the coming European
Championship. He has also eliminated outside hitters Patrick Schwaack (TSV
Unterhaching) and Robert Kromm (VC Olympia Berlin), as well as libero Vincent Lange (SCC Berlin).
"I have eliminated Schwaack, Kromm und Lange because other players in the 18-man cadre are simply
better," Moculescu said of his decision. more
Pic: Germany's Marco Liefke goes for the big
hit against Cuba in the 2002 Edition of the World League
News for POOL
C -
UPDATE May 6, Bulgaria replaces China
SERBIA
AND MONTENEGRO
Victory imperative for Serbia and
Montenegro
June 25, 2003 - After two defeats at the hands of Bulgaria last weekend in Varna, Serbia and Montenegro are in a must-win mode ahead of their two matches at home against the Netherlands in Pool C in this, the final weekend of the Intercontinental Rounds, to ensure their place in the World League Finals in Spain next month.
The European and Olympic champions wanted at least one victory against Bulgaria last weekend but were left without any points and with new
problems as they went down 3-1 and 3-2. More
Story by Novica Saric
Pic:
Milan Vasic tries to beat the Bulgarian defence last
weekend
Serbia
and Montenegro out to confirm World League Finals spot
June
11, 2003 - Following two defeats during the first two
weekends of the World League Intercontinental Rounds the
alarm bells were ringing within the Serbia and
Montenegro camp as qualification for the World League
Finals in Spain in July looked shaky. But two victories
(3-2 and 3-1) over Cuba last weekend in Havana did a lot
to stem the concern surrounding the performances of the
Olympic and European Champions, as the "Blue"
team moved into second place in Pool C, level on points
but behind on Set Ratio with first-placed Bulgaria. More
Story by Novica Saric
Pic: Serbia and Montenegro coach Veselin Vukovic
during a timeout in Cuba last weekend
Serbia
and Montenegro aim for improved performance
May
28, 2003 - After a win and a loss in the Netherlands
last weekend, Serbia and Montenegro coach Veselin
Vukovif says his team must eliminate their mistakes when
they host Bulgaria in Pool C this weekend in Week 3 of
the World League. More
Story
by Novica Saric of the Serbia and Montenegro Volleyball
Federation
Serbia
and Montenegro name side for World League opener
May
21, 2003 - Serbia and Montenegro have named their side
for their opening two World League matches against the
Netherlands starting on Saturday in Eindhoven. More
Yugoslavia - A force to be reckoned with
When Yugoslavia made their appearance at the qualifications for the European Championships in 1995, no one expected that the team, emerging from years of sanctions that stopped them from competing at international level, would take home the bronze medal. Since then they have solidified their position as one of the world's best teams and their clear aim for their sixth appearance at the World League is to take the title. The depth of the side is best remembered by recalling that their determination, legendary fighting spirit and skill gave them the biggest prize of all - the gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, a feat they repeated one year later when they took the European title in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Yugoslavia took the bronze medal at last year's World League, their best performance in five appearances, and finished fourth at the World Championship when France denied them a podium place.
more Story
by Novica Saric of the Serbia and Montenegro Volleyball
Federation.
Pic: Yugoslavia Vs Italy at the 2002 World League.
THE
NETHERLANDS
Netherlands
aiming for two wins despite Schuil absence
June
20, 2003 - Despite the absence of star spiker Richard
Schuil, the Netherlands' head coach Bert Goedkoop has
shown confidence in his side and said his team will
still be gunning for two victories over Cuba this
weekend on Friday and Saturday night (local time) in
Havana's Ciudad Deportiva. Schuil, the third best scorer
so far in the World League, was injured during a
training session prior to the Netherlands' duel with
Bulgaria last weekend, when his team lost the first game
0-3, but won the second 3-2. More
Spanish
Story by Lissette Ricardo Torres
Pic: Richard Schuil in action earlier in the World
League Intercontinental Rounds
Goedkoop
eyes World League Final Round this weekend
June
6, 2003 - The coach of the Netherlands national men's
team Bert Goedkoop has singled out this weekend's
matches against Bulgaria in Week 4 of the World League
starting on Friday night as crucial to his team's
chances of making the World
League Finals in Spain next month. More
Pic: Netherlands coach Bert Goedkoop has led his
team to three wins from four games so far in the World
League Intercontinental Rounds
Goedkoop
hopes for clean sheet against Cuba
May
28, 2003 - Netherlands' coach Bert Goedkoop is hoping to
take advantage of his side's performance against Serbia
and Montenegro last weekend, where they beat the Olympic
and European champions in one of the two matches, and
win both matches when the Netherland's host Cuba this
weekend in World League week three action. More
Nummerdor
named in Netherlands lineup
May
23, 2003 - The Netherlands captain Reinder Nummerdor has postponed having his troublesome right shoulder examined and has been named in his national team's lineup for their opening matches against Serbia and Montenegro in World League Group C this weekend.
More
Story
by Rinske Stege
Netherlands
captain to have injured shoulder examined
May
12, 2003 - The Netherlands captain Reinder Nummerdor
will have his troublesome right shoulder examined next
week in order to come to a decision on whether to
undergo surgery. The star player in the Netherlands'
lineup has just finished helping his side qualify for
the European Champion on the weekend but after suffering
with a niggling shoulder injury for a number of years,
the 26-year-old is ready to take some action. More
Story by Arjen
Meijer, CEV
Confederation Press Officer
Pic: Nummerdor will see the doctors next Monday
Belgium
beat Netherlands for a second time
May
08, 2003 - Belgium, ranked 50th in the world, defeated
the Netherlands 3-1 in Vilvoorde on Wednesday night to
inflict a second loss in two games on the 7th ranked
team in the world, who has now lost four of their last
five matches. More
First
Game report
Story by Arjen Meijer, CEV
Confederation Press Officer
The
Netherlands lose final match to Brazil
May
04, 2003 - The Brazilian men's volleyball team wrapped
up their friendly series with the Netherlands with a 3-2
victory in the third and final match in front 3,500
spectators in Eindhoven on Saturday. The World Champions
took the first two sets 25-23, 25-18 before coach
Bernardo "Bernardinho" Rezende substituted
some of his players, allowing the home side to come back
and win the next two sets 25-21, 29-27 and force a fifth
set tiebreaker, which Brazil won 18-16. More
Second match report First
match report
Pic:
Brazil and the Netherlands also clashed in the 2002
World Championship where Brazil won 3-0.
Marko Klok back in Dutch National Team
National coach Bert Goodkoop has called veteran Marko Klok back into the Dutch national squad to contest the 2003 World League to resolve his problems with the ever-important libero role. The now 35-year-old Klok exited the side in early 2000 after a dispute with the then coach Toon Gerbrands.
Klok was the first Dutch player to fill the libero role in the national side after the rule was introduced in the late 1990's. Since then, the libero position has become increasingly important in the configuration of the world's top teams.
Klok comes in to replace Jochem de Gruyter who went to the 2002 World Championship in Argentina as part of the Dutch team. De Gruyter has retired as national team player and will try his luck in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2003.
A veteran of some 203 national appearances and a member of the Dutch silver medallist team from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Klok's return will add stability to the Dutch lineup. He played for a number of years in the Italian league but is now back home at Ortec/Nesselande in Rotterdam.
more
Story by Arjen Meijer, Amsterdam, Pic: Dutch
Captain Reinder Nummerdor in action.
CUBA
Cuba
and Portugal finish World League preparations
May
21, 2003 - In a tough game lasting nearly two hours, the
Portuguese national men's team beat Cuba 3-0 in their
final warm-up game in Porto on Tuesday night as both
teams finished their preparations for their opening
World League matches this weekend. More
Story by Barbedo Magalhães
Young Cuban squad looking to improve on last World League
The Cuban National Team will enter the fourteenth edition of the World League for the second straight year with a very young squad and modest hopes for the coming tournament. Although some of the players already have a season to their credit and the team is hopeful of a better performance than last year, the Caribbean unit may still not be good enough to rejoin the elite positions they held in the late 1990's.
Nevertheless, the team, under the tutorage of Eliseo Ramos since last year, will go to this year's event with something in their favor - one more year of full preparation and the experience of the World Championship in Argentina last October. They have more mature players now, but know the task of qualifying in any pool won't be easy, bearing in mind the evident progress of the established teams and improvement of others already nudging the world elite.
"We know the strength of the other teams in our pool (Yugoslavia, Netherlands and China) and we don't forget that Yugoslavia is the Olympic champion and Netherlands have a traditionally front line squad," said Ramos,
51. more
Story by Lissette Ricardo Torres, Havana, Cuba and Roosevelt Comarazamy, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic .Pic Lofty and youthful Yosleider Cala (2.02cm and 18 years) poised for action.
Click here for Spanish
BULGARIA
No
illusions for Bulgaria
May
28, 2003 - Bulgaria travel to Serbia and Montenegro for
their second round of World League matches this weekend
in what Bulgarian coach Milorad Kijac calls a tough ask.
More
CHINA
China
on track for Olympic gold says women's coach
April
22, 2003. The head coach of the Chinese
women's team Chen Zhonghe says his team will win the
next two Olympic titles, as long as he stays in charge,
according to a report published recently by the People's
Daily Online.
More
Pic:
Chen Zhonghe has his team on track for the Olympics.
China Chooses World League Squad
China Volleyball Association has gone with a core group of 10 players who took part in the 2002 World
Championship, but have propped up the young side by adding two very experienced veterans for the 2003 World
League. The squad are also being groomed for the other two majors this
season, the World Cup (November, Japan) and the Asian Men's Senior
Championship. Head Coach Di Anhe has stuck to his policy of grooming young players. The 18-man squad includes core players wing spiker Shen Qiong and opposite Tang Miao. Eleven of his players are under 23 with wing spikers Hu Song, Wang Zhiteng and Fang Yingchao being just 20. But it is expected that Di will largely stick to his regulars in the World
League, combining experience with youth to try to find the magic
mix. Di Anhe has modest aims for this year's World
League, saying his side is not yet strong and mature enough to achieve excellent
results.
more
Story by Wang Yonsun, the Asian Confederation
Press Officer. Pic: Lu Fei from China Vs Matej Cernic
from Italy at the 2002 World League.
China
Forms a 15-Strong Men's National Volleyball Team
Perhaps also with one eye on the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese Volleyball Association (CVA) has announced that their newly formed men's national team will go all out for a berth in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, as well as a good result at the Asian Championships.
more
(From Wang Yongsun, Confederation Press Officer, Asia).
News
for POOL D
UPDATE May 6, 2003
Czech Republic replaces Argentina
FRANCE
Blain names lineup for
French trip to Japan
June
16, 2003 - French coach Philippe Blain has omitted key
players Frantz Granvorka and Luc Marquet in his latest
12-man team for his side's all-important trip to Japan
for Week 6 of the Intercontinental Rounds this weekend.
France, who sit in third spot in Pool D, must win at
least one of the two matches in Fukuoka to keep alive
any chance of making the World League Final Round next
month. Two losses will hand Greece second place in the
Pool behind the Czech Republic and a possible qualifying
spot for the Finals while bringing to an end an exciting
roller coaster ride for France through the
Intercontinental Rounds. More
Spanish
Blain
names top World League lineup for Greece
June
12, 2003 - French coach Philippe Blain has recognized
the significance of this weekend's two World League
Intercontinental Round matches against Greece this
weekend by naming a full strength 12-man lineup for the
two games in Paris and Dijon. With France currently sitting in third place in Pool D with only two weekends remaining - Pool D started a week ahead of the three other Pools - victory in both crucial fixtures this weekend will keep the World Championship bronze medallists in contention of qualifying for the World League Finals in Spain, which goes to the two top teams in each Pool.
More
Spanish
Pic: France thanks the fans after beating Greece
in Match 1 last weekend
Antiga
on comeback as Blain rings the changes for France
May
28, 2003 - Head coach Philippe Blain has named three surprises in his team of 12, including the recall of star player Stéphane Antiga for France's next two
Pool D World League assignments, this weekend away to the Czech Republic followed by a trip to Greece.
More
Spanish
No
changes for France
May
23, 2003 - French
coach Philippe Blain has retained the same 12 players,
which featured in France's opening two wins over the
Czech Republic last weekend, for this weekend's World
League Group D matches against Japan in Nantes on Friday
and Saturday. More
France
set for opening World League match
May
16, 2003 - Libero for the French national
men's team Hubert
Henno says his team will be relaxed
and ready for tonight's opening match of
the 2003 World League match when France
take on the Czech Republic in Grenoble
according to a report on Sport24.com.
The 26-year-old says after the strain and
pain of qualifying for the European
Championship last weekend the Tricolors
will be a lot more composed outfit
tonight, despite the wear and tear of a
hectic season. More
Hubert Henno in action during
France's bronze medal performance at the
2002 World Championship
France name lineup for opening
World League match
May
15, 2003 - French coach Philippe Blain has named his
team of 12 players for the opening match of the 2003
World League against the Czech Republic on Friday night
with three key players - Stéphane Antiga, Luc Marquet
and Olivier Kieffer - all missing due to injury.
Kieffer missed France's qualification matches for the European Championship matches last weekend while Marquet and Antiga both played. However all have been labeled as possible starters for the second week of matches against Japan on May
23.
More
Pic:
France had tremendous success last year with a bronze
medal at the 2002 World Championship.
Antiga anguish over European
qualifying
May
07, 2003 - With the French men's team heading to a vital
qualifier for the European Championships, Stéphane
Antiga, has singled out this weekend's three
remaining qualification matches as crucial to
France's chances of qualifying
for the Olympics according to a report in l'Equipe. More
France - A genuine force to be reckoned with
April 03, 2003. France's build up to the 2003 World League will step up a gear this month when coach Philippe Blain puts his talented team through an intensive training programme.
more
CZECH
REPUBLIC
Czech Republic
take unchanged lineup in to key matches
June
21, 2003 - The Czech Republic have made no changes to
their successful squad, which has won seven games in a
row, for this weekend's key matches in Pool D against
Greece in Ostrava. This weekend signals the final games
for Pool D after their one-week earlier start compared
to the other three pools and with the Czech Republic in
first place with 17 points, Greece in second with 16
points and France in third on 15 points, one win against
Greece this weekend will confirm that the Chzech
Republic finish the Intercontinental Round in top spot
and gain automatic qualification to the World League
Finals in Spain next month. More
Pic: The Czech Republic won both their games in
Japan last weekend
Czech Republic expecting to seal Finals spot
June 20, 2003 - World League debutants the Czech Republic has surprised everyone to be one step away from qualifying for the World League Finals with only one weekend remaining in Pool D - Pool D started one week ahead of the three other Pools - but their President is expecting more of the same.
The Czech Republic currently holds the automatic qualifying spot in Pool D for the World League Finals, to be held in Madrid next month, in first place with 17 points with Greece, their opponents this weekend, and France on 16 and 15 points respectively.
More
Pic: The Czech Republic captain Ivo Dubs leads
from the front
Czech Republic after World League improvement
May
20, 2003 - Pavel Rerabek, the coach of the Czech
Republic men's team, says he expects his side to be more
competitive against France in their return matches after
losing both opening World League Group D games (3-1,
3-0) to the World Championship bronze medalists last
weekend. More
Pic: Pavel Rerabek (right) gives out instructions
to his team
GREECE
Greece
aiming for World League repeat in opening matches
May 16, 2003 - Greece go into their opening
World League matches against Japan this weekend in Xanthi hoping for a repeat of last year's two opening round victories against the same opposition.
In 2002 Greece got their World League campaign off to a
cracking start with 3-0 and 3-1 victories in their first
two matches, both at home and both over Japan and it's
exactly those results Greece captain Marios
Gkiourdas is hoping for again in Friday's and
Saturday's matches. More
Pic: Gkiourdas blocks a Japanese spike in Greece's
opening World League win last year
Greece stocks up on new talent ahead of the Olympics
The Hellenic National Men's Volleyball team will go to the 2003 World League with the same 12 key players who represented their country at the 2002 World Championship in Argentina, but the 18-man lineup already announced has been refreshed with a brace of young talents players from the junior national team. These include Nick Smaragdis (middle-blocker), George Stefanou (libero), Theoklitos Karipidis (wing-spiker), Stathis Ntonas (opposite) and Kostas Prousalis (setter), as well as possibly Andrej Kravarik. With one eye firmly on the 2004 Olympics at home in Athens, national coach Stelios Prosalikas considers that this year is 'transition' and understandably he wants to rest some of his stars from too much competition so that they are in peak condition for their home Olympics next year. The Greek team is making its seventh appearance in the World League and aim at making good impression, something that should be easy for them as they were already impressing observers at top 2002
competitions. more
Story by George Stefanis, Athens,
Pic: Vasileous Kournetas going up for Greece in World League action.jpg
JAPAN
Japan
prepare to host Greece
May
27, 2003 - The head coach of the Japanese men's national
team, Mikiyasu Tanaka stressed at a press conference on
Tuesday that his team has a lot of room for improvement
when they play against Greece in Week
3 of the World League this weekend in Fukushima,
Japan. More
Japan celebrate their 3-1 win over France last weekend
Manabe
receives World League recall
April
22, 2003 - Veteran setter Masayoshi Manabe has been
recalled in to the Japanese
men's World
League team after 26-year-old Makoto Yamaguchi was
ruled out over the weekend following the news he
requires surgery on his injured shoulder. More
Japan
ready to cause an upset
April
15, 2003. Takahiro Yamamoto, the ace spiker of the Japanese men's team, says his side can upset the form book for this year's
World League competition and qualify for the final round. Very big words considering Japan, ranked 12th in the world, must qualify second in their group amongst France, Argentina and Greece who are ranked 5th, 6th and tenth in the world respectively.
More
Yoishi Kato’s
Postcard from Italy
April
4, 2002 - Japan’s 26-year-old wing-spiker Yoishi Kato is
spending his first season with the Italian League and is
under contract with Sisley Treviso. Kato talks to
FIVB’s correspondent Giada Imperato about his
impressions of playing abroad and his new life in Italy.
GI: What do you think of the Italian
Championship?
Kato: In Italy Volleyball is considered a
professional sport and players are asked to play
volleyball as their work, while in Japan players have
other jobs and volleyball is not at this level, it’s an
amateur sport. As for the players “duties”, like playing
a precise position like setter, middle-blocker etc., in
Japan I was asked to be universal, while in Italy
everyone has a precise role and for me it’s easier to
focus on my precise duties. Finally, in the Italian
Championship, the power of the serve and of the spike
are very important. The game is much more “physical” and
the ball is always very fast. My impression is that the
Italian Championship is the best one all over the world.
GI: How is your relationship with the people
in the Sisley Treviso Team?
Kato: Everybody is very kind to me and this is
very important for me, because it’s the right way to
inspire me during training and in my technical
improvement. Everyone, the other players and the staff
and everyone outside the hall are really very kind and
friendly.
GI: How
is your relationship from the technical point of view?
Kato: I’m in a team with a lot of champions and
this is very important because the training sessions and
the matches are always at a high level. The public is
very competent and passionate and this creates a
wonderful atmosphere. The Treviso sports facilities (see
editor’s note below) is really great, one of the
best in the world, and this is ideal for professional
sportsmen.
GI: Are you satisfied with your Italian
experience?
Kato: I’m very satisfied to have the chance to
train everyday with players of this high level. I hope
to improve so much that I will be able to give much more
of my support during the Championship Matches. This
first year with SisleyTreviso is a very important
professional experience and it has been better that the
preceding years in Japan.
Yoicho Kato in Brief:
Wing-spiker Yoicho Kato, 196cm tall and 26 years old,
made his club debut in 1991 with the Japanese club
Uenogaoka Jnr. High School. He appeared for the first
time in an international match in a series of friendlies
with the Czech Republic in 1997. He then went on to
represent his country at the 1998 World Championship,
the 1999 World Cup, the 2001 World Grand Champions Cup
and has played for Japan in the 2001 and 2002 World
League editions. Kato is a self confessed follower of
Japanese pop music and food, likes Sydney Sheldon books
and also likes to play tennis.
Editor’s Note: When Kato praises the Treviso
Sports facilities, he speaks of the state of the art "La
Ghirada" , which includes a training hall, the Palasport
auditorium and even some lodgings for young players.
Japan's coach focuses on big gun servers ahead of World League
The head coach of the Japan men's national team, Mikiyasu Tanaka, has selected a group of strong-serving players to prepare for the 2003 World League, confident that this will equip the team for a good performance in the Intercontinental Round. Tanaka, himself a legendary former player for the national side, has therefore called up big guns like Takahiro Yamamoto, who is also the best spiker of the team, blockers Nobuhiro Ito and Kota Yamamuro and setter Daisuke Usami who has also more than proved himself attacking from the serving position.
Japan, a former Volleyball powerhouse, did not perform well in the 2002 World League, scoring a solitary win and 11 defeats in the Intercontinental Round. They fortune changed however at the 2002 World Championship two months later in Argentina, when they bounced back to finish a creditable ninth. Yamamoto proved to be deadly in attack and his many spiking points helped propel the Japanese side through the tournament.
" Yamamoto experienced big international matches last year and is still improving his attacking ability. If he is consistent and effective as in the second round of the world championship, Japan will definitely have a better result than last year," said Tanaka.
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