The Russian men's volleyball team continues to prepare for the hardest marathon in the League of Nations, where the teams will play 15 matches in a month. Main coach our team last year won the European Championship on the first try, but now a new cycle has begun, where it is necessary to set serious goals, taking into account the autumn world championship. Two friendly matches with Bulgaria (open and closed) were won, ahead is the start in the League of Nations.
The coach of the Russian national team told the "Championship" how the preparations for the new tournament are being organized, as well as about when the volleyball players of Kazan "Zenit", who won the Champions League a week ago, can join the team.
Sergey Konstantinovich, can you share your impressions of the sparring sessions with the Bulgarian team in preparation for the League of Nations.
- Firstly, these test matches were very important for us in order to better understand what we are doing today and what is not working. We received information on what needs to be done in the near future. Of course, this was done in order to better prepare for the League of Nations that kicks off next week. A tall team with a strong serve was chosen as a sparring partner. We really wanted just such an opponent, so it's good that they met us halfway. We also have matches planned with the Bulgarians on the road already before the preparations for the World Cup.
The first match, which was open to spectators and the press, ended with a score of 3: 0 in favor of the Russian national team. There was also an additional set, which the Russians lost. What conclusions did you manage to draw on this game?
- The team was ready for this match, and the first game showed that when we are as concentrated as possible, we succeed in the game. The first set was very convincing. Then the team lowered the level of concentration a little, so we got a nervous ending. There were many mistakes that we then had to heroically level out with the help of character. But it is for this reason that control matches are needed, which help to identify the problem areas of the team. The third game also ended in our favor, but we already played the fourth set with an experimental squad to see all the players involved in the training camp.
- Were you able to find any other problem areas following the results of this match?
- If we talk more about problems, then this, of course, is a technique that determines how much we will develop our attacking potential. We have great potential, but in order to realize it, this element is very important. We will work on this in the future. It also affected that in the position of the diagonal player, we did not have everything as we would like. Romanas Shkulevicius is part of the rhythm of the work of the national team, he is still invited to the team for the first time. He needs time to adapt. Kostya Bakun was healing his injury, so we are taking care of him now and letting him in only for a short time, so that he can feel his partners, and his partners. As for the closed game, I can only say that we won 3: 2. That is why it is closed ( smiles). It is important that we win against the backdrop of loads. I deliberately did not let go of the load, because we have a long competition ahead of us, so we were not in optimal shape.
Russian volleyball players beat Bulgaria in a friendly match
The decision to play the second match behind closed doors is due to the fact that you try the options of the game without prying eyes?
- In general, yes. Plus, we ourselves were interested in playing in Novogorsk and not traveling far, because, again, the guys are under serious stress. We wanted to play in the usual conditions. In addition, here at the base we have a gym, opportunities for recovery. There is a swimming pool and a sauna, which is very important in order to minimize the time we spend on the road.
- What plans does the team have before the start of the League of Nations in Poland?
- On Monday the team has a day off, and on Tuesday we resume work. On Wednesday, we will fly to Poland directly for the first stage of the League of Nations.
- Have you managed to sort out the rivals in this round of the tournament - the teams of South Korea, Poland and Canada?
- Now we are collecting information. Many teams these days hold test matches in Europe. This applies to both Canada and Poland. We collect data and process it so that after the weekend we already have an idea of the state of our rivals. So far, this information is not enough. This is especially true for the South Korean national team, but with them we will have last match in Poland, so there will be more information on what Koreans are.
The League of Nations is a real volleyball marathon, where teams have to play 15 matches per month. How will you build your preparation based on this, and when will the guys from Zenit Kazan and Pavel Pankov from Zenit Petersburg join the team?
- We expect that Pavel Pankov will join us on the 22nd. He will fly to the League of Nations, because we really need him as a setter. He heals his injury, and we went to meet him, giving him time to recover. We are waiting for him in the national team. We hope that he will help the team. As for the Zenit Kazan players, we understand that they had a tense championship, and they played international tournaments. We see that Maxim Mikhailov bears an enormous load in his club. The same goes for Artyom Volvich. If the situation develops in such a way that we have a good chance of making it to the final of the League of Nations, then these guys will be ready to help us. We are also counting on Alexander Butko in preparation for the World Cup.
How to find the right balance in the League of Nations in order to try the maximum number of players in the national team, but still achieve the result?
- At this stage, our task is still to get into the Final Six of the League of Nations. At the same time, I would like to check the nearest reserve. You can see how many newcomers we have at the training camp. We need to understand whether we can count on them in the future. The League of Nations is really a very tense tournament, where you have to play 15 games in a month. It's difficult to play such a tournament with one squad, that's why we expect to give the guys a chance. All this will allow us to draw the right conclusions in preparation for the World Cup.
The composition of the golden Russian team is significantly different from that that represented the country a year ago at the Olympics and even from the one that coach Sergei Shlyapnikov experimented with in the World League last summer. “SE” has chosen the golden six of young and not spoiled by performances at big tournaments players who should shine in the current Olympic cycle and will claim medals of the 2020 Olympics.
Age: 22
Command:"Torch" (Novy Urengoy)
Amplua: outplayer
At the tournament in Poland, he proved himself to be a real team leader along with Maxim Mikhailov, who has been leading our team for many years. Volkov got into the symbolic team of the European Championship as the best outplayer. Dmitry always draws attention to himself on the court with his very emotional behavior, which, according to the volleyball player, helps him to feel the game better. In his youth, he almost ended his career due to congenital back problems. He spent part of the 2016 season in a cast due to a hand injury.
Age: 22
Command:"Torch" (Novy Urengoy)
Amplua: blocking
The 212 cm giant played for the national team at the 2015 European Championships, but did not make it to the Rio Olympics. The coach Vladimir Alekno had questions about the dedication of the young volleyball player. However, Sergei Shlyapnikov returned Vlasov to the squad, and Ilya proved himself to be excellent at the preliminary stage of the World League. On the eve of the Final Six, he suffered a leg injury, which is why he missed the decisive segment of the World League and the Wagner Memorial. But he managed to recover by the European Championship.
Age: 26 years
Command: Zenit-Kazan
Amplua: blocking
He became famous for the phrase: "Whoever comes to the Russian national team and does not want to play can be burned at the stake." He made his debut in the national team while still a player of the Novosibirsk Lokomotiv in 2013 and immediately became the European champion. In the spring of 2016 he moved to Zenit Kazan. Looked great at the Rio Olympics, where he got into the symbolic team. At the European Championship in Poland, he was remembered for his selfless play in defense and reliable attack.
Maxim ZHIGALOV. Photo by Fyodor USPENSKY, "SE"
Age: 28 years
Club:"Belogorie"
Amplua: diagonal
In almost all matches of the European Championship, Sergei Shlyapnikov released Zhigalov for substitutions at the end of the games, and Maxim justified his trust by making the most important aces. For 35 innings of Zhigalov in Poland, there were 10 aces with 7 mistakes. In 2014, Maxim was disqualified for six months and missed part of the Belogorie season for not showing up for the national team's training camp, but then realized his mistake and was forgiven.
Age: 22
Club:"Torch" (Novy Urengoy)
Amplua: outplayer
Hero and anti-hero of the European Championship at the same time. Before the start of the tournament, the 22-year-old Spiker of Fakel was injured and even risked missing the tournament. However, the coaching staff still decided to take the volleyball player to Poland. Klyuk did not have time to get the ideal form, so he sometimes made mistakes that aroused emotions among the fans, the coaching staff, and Yegor himself. In one such episode in the finale, he threw a bottle of water in frustration. The throw was unsuccessful: the lid fell off, water spilled over the site, and the match had to be paused to wipe the floor.
Age: 23 years old
Club: Lokomotiv (Novosibirsk)
Amplua: blocking
The player of the Novosibirsk “Lokomotiv” with enviable regularity achieves success in the national team. In 2013 he won with her youth championship world, and two years later celebrated the victory at the Universiade. By the way, it was then that Vladimir Alekno invited him to the main team of the country to the World League matches. At the European Championships, Kurkaev mostly came out as a substitute, but did not spoil the overall picture and established himself as a person you can rely on.
SYMBOLIC TEAM EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP-2017
MVP (Most Valuable Player):
Maxim MIKHAILOV (Russia)
Binder: Sergey GRANKIN (Russia)
Diagonal: Georg Groser (Germany)
Blocking: Srechko LYSINAC (Serbia), Markus BOHE (Germany)
Wing Spikers: Denis KALIBERDA (Germany), Dmitry VOLKOV (Russia)
Libero: Catch STUER (Belgium).
The head coach of the country's men's volleyball team, Vladimir Alekno, a month after the Olympics in Rio, where the team was left without medals. The national team coach has held this position three times. "AiF-Kazan" tells about Vladimir Alekno.
Vladimir Alekno. Photo: AiF / Ruslan Ishmukhametov
Vladimir Alekno was born in Belarus, in Polotsk, in 1966. His mother is Belarusian by nationality, his father is Lithuanian.
He started playing volleyball at the age of 10, at the age of 14 he entered a sports boarding school in Minsk, and four years later began playing for SKA Minsk, then moved to CSKA. With this club, he twice became the champion of the USSR twice in a row in 1985/1986 and 1986/1987, won the SSR Cup and the European Champions Cup. Among his titles is the champion of Bulgaria with Levski and the winner of the French Cup.Coaching career
Alekno spent 13 years in France and it was there that he began his coaching career. In 1999, he first became a playing mentor in the French Tour, and after the team's success in the national championship, he focused on coaching. Five years later, Touré became the champion of France. In the same 2004 he was invited to work in the Russian Super League, in 2005 he became a coach of Dynamo. In the same season, under his leadership, the club won the Russian championship (for the first time since 1951).
In 2007 he headed the Russian men's volleyball team. And in 2008, volleyball players won bronze medals at the Beijing Olympics, thereby repeating the success of Athens. In the same year Alekno's contract with the national team expired. He went to work at Dynamo Tattransgaz (Kazan), where he continues to work to this day. Now the team is called Zenit-Kazan. In Kazan, he repeats his success - in the 2008/2009 season, Zenit became the champion of Russia, and Alekno became the first coach who managed to win the championship with different clubs. Zenit-Kazan was the champion under his leadership for three seasons in a row - from 2010 to 2012, in 2011/2012 the club won the Champions League.
Successes and failures
From 2010 to 2012, Alekno again heads the Russian men's volleyball team. With him, the team becomes the champion of the 2012 London Olympics. On the eve of the new year, Vladimir Alekno announced his intention to leave the national team. On July 17, a year before the start of the Rio de Jainero Olympics, he returns to this post for the third time. However, the reigning Olympic champions remain without medals in Brazil. In the semifinals of the competition, they lose to the Brazilians with a score of 0: 3, and in the match for third place they are inferior to the US team.
At the end of September 2016, Vladimir Alekno He will focus on work at Zenit Kazan. For the last three years, the citizens of Kazan have - this year they have repeated his 20-year-old son Laurent is also playing for the club. 29-year-old daughter Ekaterina lives abroad.
Coaching achievements
- Olympic champion (2012).
- World League Winner (2011).
- World Cup Winner (2011).
- Bronze medalist of the Olympic Games (2008).
- Three-time Champions League winner (2011/12, 2014/15, 2015/16).
- Eight-time champion of Russia (2005/06, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16), silver (2006/07) and bronze (2012/13) medalist of the Russian championship.
- Four times winner of the Russian Cup (2006, 2009, 2014, 2015),
- Four times winner of the Russian Super Cup (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015).
- Champion of France (2003/04)
Awards and titles
- Order of Honor (February 2, 2013) - for winning the 2012 London Olympics.
- Honored coach of Russia and Tatarstan since 2012
- Honorary Citizen of Kazan since 2012.
Head of the Moscow Region club "Zarechye-Odintsovo".
The corresponding decision was made at the presidium (VFV). The second candidate for this post was the head coach of Kazan “Dynamo”.
Vacancy in the main team of the country
The post of head coach of the Russian women's national team became vacant at the end of November, when Konstantin Ushakov was dismissed. Under him, the Russian national team performed unsuccessfully at the 2017 European Championship, losing to the Turkish team in the quarterfinals and failing to win the tournament for the third time in a row. Vladimir Kuzyutkin, who was appointed head coach in February, began to prepare the Russian national team for the European Championship, and Ushakov then became the head coach.
Under the leadership of Kuzyutkin, the Russian team qualified for the 2018 World Cup, finished ninth out of 12 at the World Grand Prix, and finished fourth at the World Champions Cup, where six teams participated. Before the European Championship, the WWF announced a reshuffle in the coaching staff - Kuzyutkin and Ushakov changed places. Both coaches were dismissed in November.
According to the President of the All-Russian Federation Stanislav Shevchenko, both Pankov and Gilyazutdinov were worthy contenders. "I want to say that both candidates deserved the best words. After long debates and dialogues, they decided to appoint Pankov. The exact plan for the preparation of the national team has not yet been drawn up. The same coaching staff will remain to help (Pankov). We signed a contract with Pankov for two years," - Shevchenko told reporters.
Gilyazutdinov believes that he will still have the opportunity to lead the national team.
"Working in the Russian national team is very responsible. I think that I will still have the opportunity (to lead the national team). We will wait and see. I appreciate this decision of the All-Russian Federation. Vadim Anatolyevich is an excellent candidate for the post of head coach of the Russian national team. I have known him for a long time. For a long time, I understand the decision of the VFV, I fully accept this decision. Pankov has more experience, he has already worked in the national team, "Gilyazutdinov told RIA Novosti.
New coach waited 10 years for a chance
Pankov became a contender for the head coach of the women's national team back in 2008. Then, after the resignation of Italian coach Giovanni Caprara, Pankov led the national team in the qualifying tournament for the 2009 Grand Prix. At the beginning of 2009, he nominated himself, but the VFV presidium then made a choice in favor of Kuzyutkin.
After that, Pankov, whenever the position of the head coach of the national team became vacant, put forward his candidacy, but he was not given preference. In 2014, VFV appointed Pankov, who has established himself as a specialist in whom young players are making progress, as the head coach for preparing the reserve for the national team.
Pankov, after his appointment, spoke about the main tasks of the national team. "The task is to prepare for Olympic Games and connect promising youth. At the 2018 World Cup, the task was to enter the final part of the tournament. It means getting to the semifinals and fighting for medals, "he told reporters.
The coach noted that it is too early to talk about who will be part of the national team.
"Everything will depend on the health of the players. Now we are not talking about the roster. Our task now is to track how the candidates are playing, whom to invite. The preparation plan is the same: the championship ends, the Champions League, and then the Nations Cup begins. Every time there will new team (line-up), we will look at the players, "he said.
"We will trust young players"
Famous Russian coach, two-time Olympic champion Nikolay Karpol, head coach of Uralochka-NTMK (Sverdlovsk region), told RIA Novosti that he expects good results from the women's team with a new head coach.
“Vadim Anatolyevich has been working as a coach for a long time. And he became the champion of the country, and won the European Cup. good result from the Russian national team (under Pankov). Moreover, not everything depends on Pankov alone. The result also depends on the clubs, on the work of the federation, "Karpol said.
According to the President of the VFV, new coach will combine work in the national team and in the club.
“During the presentation, Pankov focused on attracting young players. That is, before the Olympics, in three years we will have the opportunity to run the youth in. It sounded in Pankov's program, we will trust the young,” Shevchenko said.
Blue-white-blue won the traditional St. Petersburg Memorial Vyacheslav Platonov and continue to prepare for the official season. Among the newcomers to the team of Alexander Klimkin is 22-year-old St. Petersburg pupil Sergei Pirainen. Last season I spent the diagonal in the ranks of the poverty-stricken VC Ugra-Samotlor, which did not have enough money for plasters and air tickets. Now he is preparing to play in the Champions League. Pirainen told Sport Day by Day how difficult it is to be a young player in a very experienced squad.
- You made an abrupt transition- from a hopeless outsider of the Super League to the location of the silver medalist of the Russian championship.
- Yes, last season I played in Nizhnevartovsk. Zenit came to our game. After the game, I went to the hotel where the Zenit team lived. I was going to meet with friends, acquaintances. With Denis Chereisky, for example. I came, and Andrei Tolochko (the senior coach of Zenit - “Sport Day by Day”) came up to me and said that they wanted to see me at Zenit. I was very happy to spend the next season in my hometown, and immediately agreed. It's nice to return to St. Petersburg. It's interesting to debut in the Champions League. This is a very prestigious tournament. He will give invaluable experience. There are such teams! It's interesting to meet everyone. I really like Italian volleyball. It would be interesting to play against Italian clubs.
- “Ugra” had serious financial problems. Was it difficult for you last season?
- Yes, it was not easy. There was no money for commonplace things. On the plasters. The season ended completely exhausted. Although Samotlor has a good club president. I hope he can regain lost ground.
- Zenit has a different position. There is only gold above silver.
- I think Zenit is able to fulfill the highest goals in the new season. The team is well chosen. I like everything very much. Staff. Organization. The team is very experienced. Partners always suggest what needs to be done. A very good coach. I was lucky with the team! How to beat Kazan - I don't think so. These are questions for the coach. My thoughts now are about getting in shape. I cannot judge in percentage how ready I am, but I need to pick up my condition. Before the Platonov Memorial, Zenit held several training cycles with balls. The memorial itself has become an enticing tournament. The coaching staff regulates when to pick up the load and when to slow down.
- Isn't it hard for you and Pavel Pankov among the older players of Zenit's "base"?
- On the contrary, it's interesting. We are prompted and helped. The whole team can help, and everyone suggests their own action. If something doesn't work out for me, then, for example, Zhenya Sivozhelez comes up to me after the end of the training and calmly explains what needs to be done. We repeat the exercises together. So I sometimes linger after training. This is very good for me.
- What do you need to work on?
- Above everything! Above the block, say. In the attack, you need to play with the ligaments. Probably over attacks along the line. Nothing, everything will work out soon. The most important thing for me is to prove to myself that I can remove my shortcomings. And then we will see.
Soon Georg Groser will join Zenit, who should become the main diagonal of the St. Petersburg team.
- It will be interesting to play with such an athlete. I think you can learn everything from him. And the whole team can learn something new from him. Personally, I especially watch the lefties playing in my position. I'm left-handed myself. We don't have that many left-handed diagonal players in the Russian Super League. Sometimes I watch the games of Maxim Zhigalov and Denis Zemchonok.
by the way
Tomorrow, September 12, the Russian men's team will start at the 2018 World Championships in Italy and Bulgaria. This is the seventh attempt by the Russians to win the enchanted tournament. As one of the strongest teams in the world, the national team has never won gold in post-Soviet history. In general, Russian men have only one medal set in six draws. This silver in 2002, won with the participation of Sergei Tetyukhin, Vadim Khamuttskikh, Pavel Abramov and other stars.
At the World Championship, Russia is one of the favorites. Hurricane attack and physical strength have always been her trump cards, but in the League of Nations - 2018, Sergey Shlyapnikov's team surprised with an excellent reception.
The tournament started on September 9 with matches of two host teams - Bulgaria and Italy. However, the main events begin on September 12, when the bulk of the participants enter the fight.
In the "best" volleyball traditions, the formula for the world championship was found at the end of a chemistry textbook. Three group stages at once, one after the other! Moreover, the giants are forced to go through all the rounds on a par with the outsiders, and the placement in the third group stage is determined by drawing lots. But the playoffs consist only of the semi-finals, the final and the match for the bronze, that is, this is the “Final Four”.
The Russian national team will start in the first group round on September 12 with a match against Australia. Four strongest teams from each group will come out of the first stage. This is an easy task for Russians. If Shlyapnikov's charges take one of the first two places, they will probably get a good toss in the second group stage.
In the final application of the Russian national team - not a single player of the St. Petersburg "Zenith". The country's champion Zenit-Kazan dominates, having delegated four.
The composition of the Russian national team at the 2018 World Cup
Binders
Alexander Butko. Zenit-Kazan
Sergey Grankin. Dynamo Moscow
Diagonal
Maxim Mikhailov. Zenit-Kazan
Victor Poletaev. Kuzbass, Kemerovo
Blocking
Ilya Vlasov. "Dynamo"
Artem Volvich. Zenit-Kazan
Ilyas Kurkaev. Lokomotiv, Novosibirsk
Dmitry Musersky. Suntory Sunbirds, Japan
Wing Spikers
Yuri Berezhko. "Dynamo"
Dmitry Volkov. "Torch", Novy Urengoy
Yegor Klyuka. "Torch"
Alexey Rodichev. "Locomotive"
Libero
Alexey Verbov. Zenit-Kazan
Alexander Sokolov. "Yaroslavich", Yaroslavl
Head coach: Sergey Shlyapnikov
