truebluefan

Brazil, USA, Russia, Bulgaria, France get off to perfect starts as fans flock to start of 2008 FIVB World League

Defending champions Brazil, USA, Russia, Bulgaria and France produced excellent starts in the 2008 edition of the FIVB World League with two straight wins for all of them on the first weekend of Intercontinental Round action.

The Brazilians, chasing an eighth World League title and sixth in a row, were pushed all the way in Sao Paulo against Serbia, with both matches going to five sets before the home side prevailed in the Pool A encounters watched by 10,999 fans on both nights.

Bulgaria cruised to two comfortable victories over European champions Spain, dropping just one set in the second Pool C match in front of a combined crowd of 9,750, which included Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

USA similarly dropped just the one set, in their first Pool C match against Finland away in Espoo. Russia had a harder time away to Korea in Suwon, edging the first match 3-2 and the second 3-1 in Pool B.

A huge number of fans were at the Poliedro de Caracas in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, where partisan crowds of 11,500 and 7,000 watched France win 3-2 and 3-0 over Venezuela in Pool A.

There were closer affairs during the weekend as well. Egypt pulled off a huge shock to down 2006 FIVB World Championship runners-up Poland in five sets in Alexandria before the Europeans came back to win the next match in four sets in Pool D. In the same Pool, Japan edged China in five sets in Hangzhou before China returned the favour with a 3-2 victory the following night.

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UFC 112: Invincible

truebluefan

The second Intercontinental Round in the 2008 FIVB World League starts Friday, with some of the big guns in Volleyball on their travels this weekend as competition heats up in the annual showcase for the world's finest Volleyball players competing for more than USD 20 million in Prize Money.

World No. 1 Brazil, 2006 FIVB World Championship and 2004 Olympic Games winners, are being hosted by France in their Pool A match, while the mighty Serbia travel to Venezuela in the other match of the group. Russia head to Cuba and Italy to Korea in Pool B, while Bulgaria are in the USA in Pool C. The other match in that Pool sees Spain host Finland. In Pool D, 2006 World Championship runners-up Poland are in China, while Japan, recently qualified for the Beijing Games, are playing fellow Olympic qualifiers Egypt.

In Pool A, Paris is definitely the city of Volleyball this week. In addition to the SWATCH FIVB World Tour event taking place on the Champ de Mars right under the Eiffel Tower, Bercy Sports Hall will welcome two fantastic World League matches as France entertain eight-time World League title winners Brazil. Last year, France welcomed Italy to Bercy with spectacular success as 10,000 spectators attended each game of the weekend. After winning their first two games abroad versus Venezuela, Philippe Blain's team is first in the Pool, thanks to a better-set average than Brazil, who won their two first games in Sao Paulo in five sets versus Serbia.

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UFC 112: Invincible

truebluefan

A double victory over Cuba in Havana granted the Russian team the top standing in Pool B, the only team unbeaten among the 16 nations competing in the FIVB World League 2008. Brazil in Pool A, USA in Pool C and a surprising Egypt in Pool D are leading the other standings after the second weekend of the flagship annual event in Men’s Volleyball involving the world's best players competing for more than USD 20 million Prize Money.



Pool A
While the SWATCH FIVB World Tour was attracting the Beach Volleyball fans under the Eiffel Tower, Bercy Sports Hall in Paris welcomed the Volleyball challenge between France and Brazil. The first match was won by the new group prepared by coach Philippe Blain 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-13). In the second game, with Samuel Tuia back on the bench with an injured ankle, France could not stop the Brazilian strikeforce. Samuel Fuchs and Murilo Endres did their best to win the match 3-0 (31-29, 25-21, 25-17).

Thanks to Ernardo Gomez’s 21 points, Venezuela got its first victory in the 2008 World League, beating Serbia 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22). The second match was another story: Serbia hushed the fantastic audience in Caracas by beating the host team 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-18).



Pool B
Russia lost just one set in Havana, Cuba, closing the second weekend as the best team of the 2008 World League. After the first 3-1 win (21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21) in front of 14,000 spectators, Vladimir Akekno’s team earned another straight victory (25-17, 25-21, 25-22), while Cuba showcased the youngest player ever on a World League court, 14-year-old Wilfredo Leon.

Thanks to a double 3-2 in Ulsan, Korea, Italy confirmed its second place in Pool B. In the first match (25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 17-25, 11-15) the performance of Sung-Min Moon (29 points) was not enough to stop the “Azzurri," while the strong Italian block (16 points) was a key factor for the second win (23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 15-9).



Pool C
A better point ratio gives USA the leadership in the standings of Pool C, after the double challenge in Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. USA was firing on all cylinders on Friday to defeat Bulgaria 25-23, 25-16, 25-16. The second match lived up to its billing as it came down to a fifth set, which Bulgaria won 12-25, 25-16, 25-20, 12-25, 15-13 on Saturday.

U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon said: "We missed seven served in the fifth set. When you give away seven points in a set that ends at 15, it is hard to win."

It was a weekend to forget for Finland after the double loss against Spain in Valladolid. Spain achieved its first victory in World League 2008 after beating Finland 3-2 (21-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-20, 15-10). The Spanish fought very hard to make their way in the game, and were forced to come back after trailing 0-2 in order to win the disputed match on the tie-break.

The second match was even easier for Spain (25-18, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22), the local squad proving too hard to handle for Finland. "We are very happy for the outcome of this weekend, since we achieved our goal of winning the two matches," said Miguel Angel Falasca, Spanish setter and captain.



Pool D
"Now we are trying to qualify to the finals if we continued the same performance," said Egypt Head Coach Ahmed Zakaria. Egypt is the most impressive team after the second weekend, topping Pool D. Japan had no chance against the host team, losing both matches 3-1. Egypt fought for 108 minutes to breeze past the solid Japan team (30-32, 25-21, 25-22, 25-21) in their first match, then rebounded from one set behind to edge the Asian Olympic qualifiers Japan (21-25, 26-24, 25-18) in 99 minutes of stunning action watched by about 5,000 spectators.

Hangzhou hosted the matches between China and Poland ending 1-1. China won the first game (26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18), then Poland recovered to beat China 3-2 (24-26, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12). "Our solution for the second match was to reduce mistakes in dig and serve," said Poland Head Coach Raul Lozano in the press conference. "We still have a long way to go."



The organizer (Brazil), the winner of each pool, plus one wild card chosen by the FIVB, go through to the Final Round in Rio de Janeiro from July 23-27, 2008.

__________________
UFC 112: Invincible

truebluefan

The 2008 FIVB World League, the 19th edition of the annual event showcasing the world’s best men’s players who are competing this year for more than USD 20 million in Prize Money, sees the third Intercontinental Round contested this weekend.

World No. 1 Brazil, 2006 FIVB World Championship and 2004 Olympic Games winners, play away to Venezuela and France host Serbia in Pool A, Korea travel to Cuba and eight-time World League winners Italy host Russia in a big clash in Pool B, USA welcome Finland and Spain play Bulgaria at home in Pool C, while Japan faces Poland at home and Egypt play away to China in Pool D.

Pool A
France play at home again after a fair weekend against Brazil, where they beat the South American giants in five sets in front of 7,200 fans in the opening match before going down in straight sets in the second. Venezuela performed well against Serbia, too, last weekend, winning the opening match in four sets in front of 9,000 fans before dropping the second, like France in straight sets.

Both Brazil, looking for their sixth straight World League title and eighth altogether, and Serbia were seemingly stung into action last weekend and they’ll both be hoping to get off to better starts in the upcoming matches.

Pool B
Russia, the only unbeaten team left in the World League, face a tricky trip to Italy. The 2002 winners and last year’s runners-up, who dismantled the Cubans last weekend over two matches in Havana in front of a combined crowd of more than 25,000, head to Florence for the first match to face an Italian side bolstered by the inclusion of Mirko Corsano. Alberto Cisolla, Alessandro Fei, Luigi Mastrangelo and Valerio Vermiglio are also back in the team.

The second match between the two in Rome on Saturday, June 28, at 16:30 (18:30 local time) is the FIVB “Match of the Week,” free-to-air for all television channels.

Cuba host Korea in the other Pool match, with the Asian outfit still to get off the mark with a win, despite pushing the Russians all the way on the opening weekend.

Pool C
USA face a winless Finland after sharing the spoils against Bulgaria last weekend. U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon doesn't like to lose, but admitted that there was a positive side to losing in five sets to Bulgaria in the second match, USA’s first loss of the competition.

"We forgot the importance, in the international arena, of taking care of your side of the net," McCutcheon said. "Every year it takes something like this to remind us of what it takes to win at the international level."

Spain will meet Bulgaria in two matches to be played in Madrid and in Pinto. The Spaniards will try to avenge the two defeats suffered against the Bulgarian squad in the first leg of the competition.

Two main disturbances agitate the Spanish squad. The first concern lays on the physical condition of some of the key players. Opposite Guillermo Falasca remains injured and his participation against Bulgaria is unlikely.

Wing spiker Israel Rodriguez is recovered but not in tip-top condition, as proved last weekend with his cameo performance against Finland.
"We must not forget that we arrive here as European champions, and we will play against Bulgaria as such," said international setter Miguel Angel Falasca, who defined Bulgaria as "a very strong team, one of the best in the world."

Pool D
Japan host Poland, having won only once in 16 meetings with the Europeans since 1996. The last time Japan and Poland met each other was at the FIVB World Championship in 2006, where Poland won in straight sets.

Japan's key players Takahiro Yamamoto, Yusuke Ishijima, and Yu Koshikawa, all of whom played at the recent World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Tokyo, will return for the tie.

China host Egypt with the two teams having met each other three times since 2003, with China winning two of the three matches.

"Egypt has made great progress in the past few years, and are performing very well at present. We must pay more attention to the match and try to learn from them well to prepare for Beijing Olympic Games," said China Head Coach Zhou Jianan.

Television
The "Match of the Week," which is free for use by television channels, is available to the World League's valued Host Broadcasters and other TV channels on each weekend of Intercontinental Round action and amplifies the interest in the World League among TV viewers. TV channels interested in finding out about broadcasting a "Match of the Week" free of charge are requested to contact the FIVB at tv.marketing@fivb.org for further information.

Besides the “Match of the Week,” Italy against Russia, another outstanding match is scheduled: Spain against Bulgaria on Sunday, June 29, at 12:30 local time will be broadcast by Eurosport International, with one semi-live broadcast plus three repeats in 55 European countries to 112 million TV homes, with up to 240 million potential viewers and in 20 languages.

Furthermore, the match will be broadcast in Poland on Polsat Sport, Bulgaria on BNT, in Russia on RTR, in the Middle East/North Africa on Al-Jazeera Sport and in East-Asia on Planeta Sport. That means, the second match between Spain and Bulgaria will be broadcast in more than 80 countries with up to around 500 million TV viewers.

For all the latest news on the 2008 FIVB World League go to the official FIVB website at 2008 World League

__________________
UFC 112: Invincible

truebluefan

Brazil, Russia, USA and China lead their respective pools after the third weekend of Intercontinental Round action in the FIVB World League, the flagship annual event in Men’s Volleyball involving the world's best players competing for more than USD 20 million Prize Money.

The Brazilians, chasing an eighth World League title and sixth in a row, beat Venezuela 3-1 twice in Caracas in front of 12,000 fans both nights in Pool A to improve to a 5-1 win-loss record. Russia lost for the first time in this year’s World League to Italy 3-1 on Thursday, June 26, but came back to win 3-1 on Saturday in front of 7,900 fans in Rome in Pool B. USA cruised past Finland 3-1 both nights at home to improve to 5-1 in Pool C and China downed Egypt 3-1 and 3-0 in Pool D to improve to 4-2.

Pool A
On both nights in Caracas, Brazil came back from one set down to beat Venezuela. The first game saw them win 16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-19 and the second night 23-25, 31-29, 25-13, 25-20.

"A game similar to yesterday: Venezuela did well the first two sets, but then after they did not play with the same pressure and with the same voltage,” said Brazil Head Coach Bernardo Rezende. “Brazil played a third set with more tranquillity, as the first and second sets were very uneven. Now we have to continue working and preparing to travel to Europe to face Serbia.”

France also came from a set down in their opening match at home to Serbia to win 17-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20, but a strong Serbian side turned the tables in the second match and came back to win 16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-19. France stands 4-2 with Serbia 2-4 in their respective win-loss records.

Pool B
Eight-time World League winners Italy, looking for their first title since 2000, handed 2002 winners Russia their first defeat with a 27-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-21 win in Florence. Russia salvaged a win in the second match 26-24, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20 in the “Match of the Week” (FIVB’s free-to-air match for all television broadcasters) in Rome. Italy stands at 4-2 with their win-loss record.

“It is important this victory more for the points in the table than for the style of our playing,” said Russia Head Coach Vladimir Alekno after the second match.

Italy Head Coach Andrea Anastasi said: “There are no secrets in sports. The winner is always the one who plays the better. Our block-defense worked reasonably well. But I am not satisfied about our attacking combination.”

Cuba made quick work of Korea, winning 25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15 in the first match and 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 in the second. The Cubans are 3-3 and the Koreans yet to get off the mark at 0-6.

Pool C
USA, bronze medallists in 2007, won 25-20, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20 and 25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 25-18 at home in Green Bay, Wis., against Finland. European champions Spain won their opening match against Bulgaria 25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 25-16 but lost a rollercoaster five-setter, Bulgaria winning 17-25, 29-27, 15-25, 25-23, 15-10 in 2 hours, 18 minutes.

“Overall, I’m happy with the match but there are still things we need to work on, said U.S. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon after the second U.S. match against the Finns, who have yet to win a match. “I thought we were forcing too many swings in transition. Our blocking was still below standard. We especially need to work on adjusting to the location of the set. Finland is a strong team, a physical opponent and capable of winning matches.”

Pool D
Japan won a remarkable match 3-2 against 2006 World Championship runners-up Poland at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo Bay on Sunday afternoon. After being swept in straight sets on Saturday (25-14, 25-12, 25-22), Japan bounced back to split the weekend series by winning 29-31, 18-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-11 in 2 hours, 24 minutes. Japan improved their win-loss record to 2-4 and Poland dropped to 3-3. It was Japan's first win against Poland since May 2000, and ended a run of 14 straight defeats at the hands of the Europeans.

China down Egypt 25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23 and 25-21, 26-24, 25-19.

The organizer (Brazil), the winner of each pool, plus one wild card chosen by the FIVB, go through to the Final Round in Rio de Janeiro from July 23-27, 2008. The Final Round is now open for press accreditation applications, with the application form available on the official FIVB website at FIVB Federation Internationale de Volleyball Homepage

The "Match of the Week," which is free for use by television channels, is available to the World League's valued Host Broadcasters and other TV channels on each weekend of Intercontinental Round action and amplifies the interest in the World League among TV viewers. TV channels interested in finding out about broadcasting a "Match of the Week" free of charge are requested to contact the FIVB at tv.marketing@fivb.org for further information.

For all the latest news on the 2008 FIVB World League go to the official FIVB website at 2008 World League

__________________
UFC 112: Invincible

truebluefan

The excitement and competitiveness of the 2008 FIVB World League so far is underlined by the number of fans flocking to watch the matches and the fact that the tournament enters its fourth weekend with every team having been defeated at least once in the Intercontinental Rounds.

Cheered on by more than 13,000 fans last week, Italy flung the doors of Pool B wide open with their victory over Russia in the first match between the European giants, with the Russians the last to experience a loss. They still lead Pool B, though, with a 5-1 win-loss record, while Brazil (5-1 win-loss) head up Pool A, USA (5-1) lead Pool C and China (4-2) stand at the top of Pool D.

The organizer (Brazil), the winner of each pool, plus one wild card chosen by the FIVB, go through to the Final Round in Rio de Janeiro from July 23-27, 2008. If the Brazilians win Pool A, the second-place team (currently France with four wins, two losses) advances to the Final Round.

In the fourth weekend of matches in Pool A, Serbia (2-4) host Brazil in Belgrade and Novi Sad, with the latter - Sunday, July 6, at 18:30 GMT (20:30 local time) - the FIVB “Match of the Week,” free-to-air for all television broadcasters. In Toulouse, France host Venezuela. In Pool B, Russia face Cuba (3-3) in Kazan and Italy (4-2) take on Korea (0-6) in Trieste, in Pool C Finland (0-6) host Bulgaria (4-2) in Tampere and Spain (3-3) welcome USA in Madrid, while in Pool D Poland (3-3) host China and Egypt (3-3) travel to Japan (2-4).

Pool A
The Sports Halls in Belgrade and Novi Sad are expected to be packed out with fans with tickets hard to come by when Serbia and world No. 1 Brazil come together. Brazil, chasing an eighth World League title and sixth in a row, and Serbia have played each other 14 times in the World League and the Serbians have won just twice, the last time in the Final Round in Rotterdam in 2000. Serbia need two victories over Brazil to keep their hopes alive for the Final Round in Rio de Janeiro. "Even though we expect the Brazilians to come to Belgrade at full strength, with Giba in the team roster, I believe we can beat them at least once," said Serbia captain Nikola Grbic.

The French will try to bounce back from the straight sets defeat to Serbia in Lyon last weekend when they host the Venezuelans. France, led by Head Coach Phillipe Blain, went down 25-20, 33-31, 25-19 against the Serbians and with the hosts still missing key scorer Antonin Rouzier they are facing an uphill battle in the last two matches before leaving for World League matches in Brazil and Serbia. Captain Gerald Hardy-Dessources and his teammates, ranked second in Pool A with 10 points, know winning both matches would keep them on track in the race for the Final Round. The Venezuelans say goodbye to their phenomenal home support for the first time this weekend, after 24,000 fans crammed into their Caracas venue to watch last weekend’s matches against Brazil.

Pool B
Eight-time World League winners Italy, looking for their first title since 2000, face Korea after flourishing in front of 5,200 fans in Florence against the Russians last week. Russia came back to win the second match in front of 7,900 in Rome, though, so the Italians will be going all out for two victories against Korea. The Koreans had no joy in Cuba and won just the one set over the weekend.

The 2002 World League winners Russia will be facing Cuba. The Russians are sharing the workload in this year’s competition so far, with their Best Scorer being Semen Poltavskiy in joint-33rd position in the rankings. Cuba say goodbye to their wonderful support in Havana – they have been getting crowds of nearly 14,000 - and hit the road for the first time.

Pool C
Spain and USA collide in Telefonica Arena Sports Hall in the Spanish capital in two games which may turn out to be pivotal in the final outcome of Pool C. The Spanish squad receives the U.S. after securing a 1-1 record last weekend against Bulgaria. Although the Spaniards seemed to recover some of their shine in the first match that led them to the European Championship, the tie-break defeat suffered in the second match moved them close to elimination from the Final Round. "Frankly speaking, we don't have a lot of options to qualify for Final Round,” said Spanish captain Miguel Angel Falasca. “We would need to win all the matches we have left, and wait for USA and Bulgaria to lose some or most of their matches, and this is very difficult.”

Spiker Olli Kunnari returns to the Finnish team which will face the strong Bulgarians in two matches in Tampere, Finland, this weekend. The 26-year-old Kunnari was one of the key players when Finland took fourth place in the European Championships in Moscow last September. Kunnari brings more stability to the reception of the Finns with his long experience from international matches. Captain and first setter Mikko Esko also returns after one weekend's absence. Second setter Simo-Pekka Olli has a knee injury and will not play. Finland have lost the first six matches this year. "Of course the losses are heavy for us although we knew the situation in advance. Now we just have to find the 'switch' which we turn to make things positive for the next six matches. We have a couple of new players coming to Tampere to join the team," says Italian Head Coach Mauro Berruto. In the last match between the two, Finland beat the Bulgarians 3-0 in the European Championships.

Pool D
When Japan played against Egypt on the second weekend in Egypt, the team suffered two consecutive defeats. Japan is expected to use the home ground advantage to record two consecutive victories. Last week in Tokyo, Japan won in five sets against Poland, a silver medallist at World Championship in 2006, helped by power spikes from young southpaw Kunihiro Shimizu and sharp serves by Yu Koshikawa. Japan will play this weekend with the same players as last week.

Poland will enjoy their first home World League matches of the year when they host China at Spodek Hall in Katowice. There are set to be thousands of Polish fans cheering them on, aware that two victories will kickstart their campaign and allow them to potentially leapfrog over China and into first position in Pool D. China are coming off two impressive victories over Egpyt last week, though, and are in impressive form as they get ready to be the host team at the Olympic Volleyball Tournament.

Final Round
The Final Round is now open for press accreditation applications, with the application form available on the official FIVB website at FIVB Federation Internationale de Volleyball Homepage

Television/Match of the Week
On Weekend 3, more than 60 different international satellite bookings and world feed participants proceeded for the 16 Intercontinental Round matches. That equals to average four international broadcasters broadcasting World League matches via satellite. The FIVB “Match of the Week” was broadcast by 14 television channels, for up to 500 million potential viewers (210 million TV homes), in more than 80 countries worldwide. The first three “Match of the Weeks” of the Intercontinental Round in this year’s World League were broadcast by up to 18 different TV channels.

The "Match of the Week," which is free for use by television channels, is available to the World League's valued Host Broadcasters and other TV channels on each weekend of Intercontinental Round action and amplifies the interest in the World League among TV viewers. TV channels interested in finding out about broadcasting a "Match of the Week" free of charge are requested to contact the FIVB at tv.marketing@fivb.org for further information.

For all the latest news on the 2008 FIVB World League go to the official FIVB website at 2008 World League

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UFC 112: Invincible