Tuesday, 9 February 2010
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World League 2009
20th Edition
 
 ARG / Argentina - Team Composition

 
Team manager RIZZONE, Facundo
Head coach WEBER, Javier
Assistant coach LEONI, Flavio
Doctor SOLARI, Gabriel
Therapist / trainer BARRIAL, Juan Manuel
Journalist
 
  No. Name Lastname Shirt Name Birthdate Height Weight Spike Block Club
  1 Gabriel Adrián Arroyo ARROYO 3/03/1977 194 90 352 327 Drean Bolivar - ARG
  2   Javier Filardi FILARDI 7/02/1980 190 93 340 318 Drean Bolivar - ARG
  3 Martín Esteban Blanco Costa BLANCO COSTA 16/12/1985 202 98 346 334 La Union de Formosa - ARG
  4   Lucas Samuel Ocampo OCAMPO 20/03/1986 196 100 335 318 C. Medio Ambiente Soria - ESP
  5 Nicolás Uriarte URIARTE 21/03/1990 192 82 346 326 Mendoza Voley - ARG
  6   Gustavo Federico Scholtis SCHOLTIS 16/12/1982 206 87 358 338 Al Ain Club - UAE
  7 Gustavo Federico Porporatto PORPORATTO 7/05/1981 199 94 365 260 Club A. Belgrano - ARG
  8   Demian Javier Gonzalez GONZALEZ D. 21/02/1983 192 81 328 318 UPCN Volley Club - ARG
  C 9 Rodrigo Daniel Quiroga QUIROGA 23/03/1987 190 87 345 245 Edilesse Cavriago - ITA
  10   Alejandro Spajic SPAJIC 7/05/1976 204 95 360 340 Drean Bolivar - ARG
  11 Facundo Conte CONTE 25/08/1989 198 90 350 326 SP Pallavolo Catania - ITA
  12   Leandro Martín Concina CONCINA 4/11/1984 196 94 340 320 Gioia del Colle - ITA
  13 Federico Hernán Pereyra PEREYRA 19/06/1988 200 97 335 325 C. Medio Ambiente Soria - ESP
  14   Guillermo Gabriel Garcia GARCIA 21/09/1983 196 78 345 303 Drean Bolivar - ARG
  15 Luciano De Cecco DE CECCO 2/06/1988 193 89 333 315 Andreoli Latina Club - ITA
  L 16   Alexis Ruben Gonzalez GONZALEZ A. 21/07/1981 184 83 321 300 Dynamo Moscow - RUS
  L 17 Pablo Meana MEANA 10/06/1975 187 86 325 315 Drean Bolivar - ARG
  18   Lucas Matías Chavez CHAVEZ 3/04/1982 199 95 335 318 Entre Ríos Voley - ARG
  19 Sebastian Rodrigo Solé Sole 12/06/1991 202 88 350 328 Rosario Sonder Club - ARG
 C=Captain  L=Libero
 
Team profile
Expectations are very high about Argentina's future under new coach Javier Weber.

The team has strengthened itself in all areas, from personnel to tactics and approach to the game. A renewed sense of belief and ability resulted in Argentina returning to the FIVB World League in 2009 after sitting out last year's edition following an 0-12 record in 2007.

The Men's National Team is made up of crafty veterans and ambitious youngsters. The evergreen Alejandro Spajic and Pablo Meana are back in the blue and white alongside new stars Rodrígo Quiroga (captain), Guillermo García and Luciano De Cecco. The result is a cohesive and well-balanced squad that is capable of competing against any of the world's top teams.

A special bonus for players and fans alike is the return to the historic Volleyball court in Luna Park, Buenos Aires. Argentina will host its Pool B matches against South Korea at the park, where it last played in 2006 prior to the World Championship in Japan against archrival Brazil, playing two matches in a packed auditorium.

Volleyball was introduced to Argentina by the YMCA in 1912. The Argentine Volleyball Federation was created in 1932, sharing the same management as basketball.

The popularity of the sport grew steadily over the years. Currently there are some 30,000 registered players in Argentina, and thousands more who play in schools across the country.
 
The National Team's official debut came at the South American Championship held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1951, where they finished fourth.

Argentina's first World Championship was in 1960 in Rio de Janeiro, where they finished 15th. Since then, Argentina has participated in eight World Championships, with its best showing a bronze in Buenos Aires in 1982. Argentina finished 13th at the last World Championship, held in Japan in November 2006.
 
The team first qualified for the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984, finishing sixth. Four years later in Seoul they won bronze, followed by a sixth-place finish in Atlanta in 1996, fourth in Sydney in 2000 and fifth in Athens in 2004. They advanced to the second round at each Olympics.

Argentina first participated in the World League in 1996 and hosted the event in 1999, where it qualified for the final six. Two years ago, Argentina put in its best performance at the World League, winning seven straight games, four of which came on the road.

Closer to home, Argentina has claimed one gold and three bronze medals at the Pan American Games.
 
As further proof of Argentina's growth as a Volleyball nation, several coaches are now working with great success at the top levels internationally, including Daniel Castellani (Poland), Raúl Lozano (Germany), Marcelo Méndez (Palma Volley), Julio Velasco (Spain) and Jon Uriarte (Italian Serie A1).
Coach profile
After a very successful career as club coach, Javier Weber finally got the opportunity to lead the most important squad in Argentina: The Men's National Team.

The 2009 FIVB World League will be Weber's debut as head coach of the team he belonged to as a key player in the 1990s.
 
Weber, a setter, took part in some of the greatest successes of Argentine Volleyball, including the bronze medal at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 and gold at the 1995 Pan American Games.

Weber, who first suited up for Argentina in 1985, played a total of 613 international matches for Argentina, including three appearances at the Olympics and five at the World Championships.
 
As coach, Weber was an immediate success in the strong and very competitive Brazilian Superliga, coaching Unisul. In his first season, the team qualified for the Final Series, and a year later it captured two titles: the 2003/04 Superliga and the 2003/04 Champion Super Cup.

Greece was Weber's next port of call. With Panathinaikos, he won the local league and was a finalist in the league cup. In both competitions he was named Best Coach.
 
In 2006 he returned to Argentina to take the helm of Bolivar, a team consistently in the running for silverware. Together, Bolivar and Weber won two consecutive national league titles, went undefeated for the first time in the history of the league, lifted three ACLAV Cups, and triumphed at eight international competitions, including the 2008 World Challenge Volleyball Cup.
 

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