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World League 2011
22nd Edition
 
 SRB / Serbia - Team Composition

 
Team manager LUKAC Laslo
Head coach KOLAKOVIC Igor
Assistant coach BULATOVIC Zeljko
Doctor MARTINOVIC Ljuban
Therapist / trainer JOKSIMOVIC Sasa
Journalist
 
  No.   Name Lastname Shirt Name Birthdate Height Weight Spike Block Club
  1 Nikola Kovacevic KOVACEVIC N. 14/02/1983 193 78 350 340 Gubernia Nizhniy Novgorod (RUS
  2   Goran Maric Maric 2/11/1981 204 87 344 327 Marmi Lanza Verona (ITA)
  3 Novica Bjelica Bjelica 9/02/1983 202 97 343 324 Copra Piacenza (ITA)
  4   Bojan Janic JANIC 11/03/1982 198 83 345 322 Trefl Pilka Siatkowa (POL)
  5 Vlado Petkovic PETKOVIC V. 6/01/1983 198 97 325 318 Umbria Volley srl (ITA)
  6   Milos Terzic TERZIC 13/06/1987 202 88 340 320 Tours Volleyball (FRA)
  7 Dragan Stankovic STANKOVIC 18/10/1985 205 80 343 333 A.S. Volley Lube SRL (ITA)
  L 8   Marko SAMARDZIC SAMARDZIC 22/02/1983 190 82 326 310 Trefl Pilka Siatkowa (POL)
  C 9 Nikola Grbic Grbic N. 6/09/1973 194 91 346 320 Itas Diatec Trentino (ITA)
  10   Milos Nikic NIKIC 31/03/1986 194 79 350 330 Gabeca Pallavolo SPA (ITA)
  11 Mihajlo Mitic MITIC 17/09/1990 201 90 335 320 Crvena Zvezda Beograd (SRB)
  12   Andrija Geric Geric 24/01/1977 203 101 350 323 Panathinaikos (GRE)
  13 Tomislav DOKIC DOKIC 27/02/1986 204 97 355 325 Foinikas SC Syros Isleand (GRE
  14   Ivan MILJKOVIC MILJKOVIC 13/09/1979 206 104 354 333 Fenerbahce Istabul (TUR)
  15 Sasa Starovic STAROVIC 19/10/1988 207 89 335 321 Buducnost PB Podgorica (MNE)
  16   Nemanja Petric Petric 28/07/1987 202 86 333 320 Buducnost PB Podgorica (MNE)
  17 Borislav PETROVIC PETROVIC 6/01/1988 201 96 350 330 Stade Poitevin VB Pro (FRA)
  18   Marko Podrascanin PODRASCANIN 29/08/1987 204 92 343 326 A.S. Volley Lube SRL (ITA)
  L 19 Nikola Rosic ROSIC 5/08/1984 192 85 328 315 VfB Friedrichshafen (GER)
 C=Captain  L=Libero
 
Team profile
Since claiming the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games, Serbia (formerly Serbia and Montenegro, formerly Yugoslavia) has consistently been in the mix when it comes to medal contenders at international Men's Volleyball events.

Big, strong and fast, the Serbian side plays with a passion that is unrelenting and enjoys playing a game that is heavy on the attack.

It is at the Olympics that Yugoslavia really showed what they were capable of over the years. They placed sixth in Moscow (1980), improving to third at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and finally, as a result of the team's hard work under the guidance of the tranquil-natured but steady-handed coach Zoran Gajic, claimed the gold in Sydney 2000.

Veselin Vukovic replaced Gajic just prior to the 2002 World Championship in Argentina, where the Olympic champions finished a creditable fourth. Vukovic continued to lead Serbia and Montenegro through a stunning 2003 World League campaign, when they lost in the final to Brazil, but after failing to come to an agreement with the National Federation, Vukovic quit and was replaced by Ljuba Travica, who guided Serbia and Montenegro to a bronze-medal finish at the 2003 World Cup.

For many years the Serbians were led by the sure moves of the Grbic Brothers Vladimir and Nikola, the fatal services of Goran Vujevic, elected best server in the 2006 FIVB World Championships, the stopping blocks of Andrija Geric and Dula Mešter, and in attack the devastating spikes of one of the best young Volleyball players in the world, Ivan Miljkovic.

In 2005, Serbia and Montengro had the great honor of organizing the World League Finals. In an incredible final in front of 18,140 spectators in the Belgrade Sports Hall, the host was eventually beaten by Brazil.

The year 2007 marked the first year the boys in blue became known as Serbia, and with a new roster and younger players, the team finished ninth place in the World League, its worst-ever result at the event. They made amends somewhat, though, by claiming silver at the 2007 European Championship in Russia.

By 2008, however, Serbia had bounced back with some convincing performances, including a silver-medal finish at the 2008 World League after falling in four sets to USA in the final, and a respectable fifth at the Beijing Olympics after losing again to eventual champions the U.S. in a gripping five-set quarterfinal.
Coach profile
Igor Kolakovic replaced Ljuba Travica on the bench of the "Blue Team" just before the 2006 World Championships, after assisting him for three years.

Kolakovic was born on June 4, 1965, in Podgorica, where he started his playing and coaching career. He played as a setter for VC Buducnost of Podgorica and Partizan of Belgrade from 1979-1997, after which he became head coach of the Podgorica team.

From his playing career, he remembers most fondly the two double crowns (championship and cup) he won with VC Partizan, "because of the way we lived, worked, played, and had fun," Kolakovic says.
His first of two titles won on the bench with VC Buducnost stand out as the most memorable moments of his coaching career so far.

"The quality of the (Serbian National) team is that they all respond when they are called to take part in National Team events. It is obvious that in other sports the excitement of playing for the National Team slowly disappears. Until now, none of my players has ever refused to play for the National Team, so that, together with the players' and everyone else's passion for winning all these trophies, seems to be the greatest quality of the 'Blue Team,'" Kolakovic says.

Kolakovic’s debut as "Blue Team" coach was at the World Championships in Japan in 2006.
 

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