Wednesday, 19 June 2013
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World League 2009
20th Edition
 
 FIN / Finland - Team Composition

 
Team manager LAURILA Jaana
Head coach BERRUTO Mauro
Assistant coach BROGIONI Andrea
Doctor
Therapist / trainer PANU Marko
Journalist FLINK Toni
 
  No. Name Lastname Shirt Name Birthdate Height Weight Spike Block Club
  L 1 Jesse Mäntylä Mäntylä 24/03/1987 176 70 321 289 Hurrikaani-Loimaa (FIN)
  2   Joni Markkula Markkula 10/02/1983 192 84 330 311 Vammalan Lentopallo (FIN)
  C 3 Mikko Esko Esko 3/09/1978 198 89 331 319 Nizhni Novgorod (RUS)
  4   Olli-Pekka Ojansivu Ojansivu 31/12/1987 197 90 344 325 Kokkolan Tiikerit (FIN)
  5 Antti Siltala Siltala 14/03/1984 193 90 348 330 Sora (ITA)
  6   Tuomas Sammelvuo Sammelvuo 16/02/1976 192 90 341 315 San Giustino (ITA)
  7 Matti Hietanen Hietanen 3/01/1983 199 93 350 320 Gdansk (POL)
  8   Jari Tuominen Tuominen 11/09/1986 200 89 345 320 Cantún (ITA)
  9 Kalle Määttä Määttä 4/10/1984 191 78 328 310 Team Lakkapää (FIN)
  10   Joni Mikkonen Mikkonen 13/06/1986 194 86 348 320 Saimaa Volley (FIN)
  11 Janne Heikkinen Heikkinen 11/04/1976 202 102 348 330 Belchatow (POL)
  12   Olli Kunnari Kunnari 2/02/1982 197 85 342 315 Vammalan Lentopallo (FIN)
  13 Mikko Oivanen Oivanen Mi 26/05/1986 198 92 360 320 Paris Volley (FRA)
  14   Konstantin Shumov Shumov 15/02/1985 205 101 351 331 Generali Haching (GER)
  15 Matti Oivanen Oivanen Ma 26/05/1986 198 90 355 320 AZS Olsztyn
  16   Urpo Sivula Sivula 15/03/1988 195 100 350 330 Kokkolan Tiikerit (FIN)
  17 Anssi Vesanen Vesanen 21/02/1980 201 105 360 326 Tampereen Isku-Volley (FIN)
  18   Jukka Lehtonen Lehtonen 22/02/1982 197 90 346 325 Lugano (SUI)
  L 19 Pasi Hyvärinen Hyvärinen 22/11/1987 184 80 320 300 KyKy-Betset (FIN)
 C=Captain  L=Libero
 
Team profile
The National Volleyball Team of Finland achieved the biggest success in Finnish Volleyball history when it took fourth place in the European Championships in Moscow in September 2007.

Before that, the best achievement of the team was a seventh-place finish in 1983.

Finland has participated 12 times in the final round of the Men's European Championships and finished four times among the 10 best teams.

The Finnish team has taken part in the World Championships six times, the last time in 1982 when it finished 17th.

The team's helmsman is top Italian coach Mauro Berruto, who started training the Finnish team in 2005 and has developed the young group into one of the best teams in Europe.

Many of the players in the National Team have moved abroad to play professionally in different European Leagues.

Setter Mikko Esko plays for Italian A1 League team Montichiari, which is coached by Berruto. Esko has also played in Padova, Italy, Maaseik, Belgium and Unterhaching, Germany.
 
Other Finnish players in Italy include Tuomas Sammelvuo and Konstantin Shumov at Vibo Valentia, and Matti Hietanen at Pineto.
 
Three national team players now ply their trade in Poland: Janne Heikkinen Belchatow, Mikko Oivanen Rzeszow and Olli Kunnari Olsztyn.
 
Other Finnish players abroad are Matti Oivanen in Beauvais (France), Antti Siltala and Jukka Lehtonen in Aris Thessaloniki (Greece), Henri Tuomi in Cesu (Latvia) and Urpo Sivula in Galatasaray (Turkey).
 
The rest of the National Team is made up of players from the Finnish League clubs.

At the European Championships, Finland’s best showing was a fourth-place finish in 2007. Previous results were: 1997 (11th), 1993 (9th), 1991 (8th), 1983 (7th), 1981 (9th), 1977 (11th), 1971 (13th), 1967 (17th), 1963 (14th), 1958 (14th), 1955 (11th).
 
Finland are also six-time participants in the World Championships and have made four appearances in the World League, finishing 10th in 2008, seventh in 2007, 10th in 2006 and 12th in 1993.

Finland won silver in the 2005 European League, played in Kazan, Russia.
Coach profile
Mauro Berruto has been a professional volleyball coach since 1990 and has worked for National Teams, top club sides in Europe and at top events such as the Olympics, World Championships, World League and European Championships.

He is concurrently the head coach of the Finnish National Team and Italian A1 League team Montichiari.

In 2007, Berruto coached Finland to a seventh-place finish in the World League and fourth at the European Championships. His sterling accomplishments during the year earned him a nomination as 2007 Coach of the Year by the Finnish Sports Journalists' Association.

The team finished 10th in the World League in 2008.

Berruto first coached Finland in the summer of 2005, and guided the team to 10th in the World League the following year. In the winter of 2006, Berruto hooked up with the Italian Men’s National Team as assistant coach to Giampaolo Montali, and helped the Italians to a fifth-place finish at the 2006 FIVB World Championships in Japan.

Berruto has had a successful career on the Italian Volleyball Club circuit. Before joining Montichiari, he coached Giotto Padova, Lube Banca Marche Macerata (where he won the CEV Cup), UniMade Parma and Copra Ventaglio Piacenza.

He also enjoyed stints during major international events as assistant to Montali with Italy and with the Greek Men's National Team in 1999.
 

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