Ningbo (China)

It’s time to celebrate the gold medal of the Dutch team.

The two first words Selinger said after the match were unbelievable and magic: “We have been working hard for the last two years, living in the gym for 360 days each year. I knew that working hard would have paid off. We improved our game level and now we are playing a fine Volleyball. Competing at this level makes possible to win or even to lose, but probably we’ll get more victories than defeats. We are very happy to be actually part of the top world team’s family”.

An ought explanation on Selinger’s statement, especially about the meaning of their “hard work”. Two years ago, in Holland, a fulltime program started. All young players of the Dutch Senior Women’s team joined the Premier League team of Martinus. With the main sponsor DELA the team was enabled to participate at important international tournaments on the road to Beijing 2008.

Are the orange team’s amazing improvements due to a different way of planning the national teams schedule?

Almost all other national teams have to find a compromise with the club teams of the players. Therefore, none of them can train together for the entire year.
I asked the coaches of the other national teams if they would like to spend so much time working together, but the answer was: “not the whole year. We would like to have more time than that we have now, of course, but training together all the entire year could be too much to keep the right motivation”.

The way Holland team followed, though successful, shouldn’t be considered the best or unique way since several different roads to the victory are obviously possible. But what impressed everybody was the utterly different Dutch road.
In one month we will surely know if Holland team is part of the top world team family. In European Championship (20-30 October) there will be two places to participate at the World Cup in Japan: the first but not the last chance to qualify for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Every single team is strongly fighting for that.


Why Holland won: the Dutch players showed a great ability to change pace when necessary. Powerful, smart, patient, enthusiastic, resolute. Today they had to face the Russian high and thick block. Thus they forced the tall opponent players to run to defend lots of tips (a little touch that drop right behind the block). The rallies lasted longer and often Russian made the mistakes first.

Why Poland won: during all the World Grand Prix Final Round, Poland performed adequately only in serve and block but very poorly in the rest of the fundamentals. But today both their attack and defence have been definitively enhanced and at last the Polish team regained the right team spirit.
About the very bad Italian game: two days ago I wrote: “I’m often surprised by women's game progress and I feel almost confused in front of such a wide range of opportunities”. The “wide range of opportunities” is even wider than I would have imagined!

Why China won: the match was ever under the control of the Chinese team. Brazil has been fighting to climb the third podium’s step, but their motivation vanished fast. The home-team easily overcame the opponents. I cannot give any tactical or technical explanation. The difference was too big to try to analyze this match just looking at percentages or single details.


Bye bye andrea zorzi

Ningbo (China)

Consistency, steadiness, stability are common positive adjectives used to describe Volleyball teams. These words identify a moral characteristic rather than technical skills but the performance level depends on both. If two teams (having the same technical value) want to win, they’ll have to rely on their moral ability to make their best without mistakes. Nobody can forget how to pass or attack abruptly, but when they loose confidence even the very easy fundamentals turn out to be difficult. That’s why often players seem to loose suddenly their skills and coaches demand consistency so frequently.

Let’s see today’s three match focusing mainly on the steadiness level/capacity of the six teams.

Holland - Poland 3 - 0

The Orange team’s confidence has never been so high. Dutch team started the World Grand Prix qualification (3-5 July) playing poorly, but soon since then their progress was amazing. Today’s match was a perfect sample to explain the power of confidence. At the beginning of each set Holland was easily in the lead and Poland went back. Selinger’s girls played the crucial points without any worry’s hint. Furthermore they showed, one more time, an excellent “game’s volume” (see yesterday commentary). They weren’t affected by any errors they had done and their ability and smoothness were so remarkable indeed. The Dutch players consistency didn’t follow the discontinuous results progress, they stayed steady!
Poland was the other side of the coin: unpredictable, fragile and prepared to accept the forecast defeat.

China – Russia 3 - 0

China team considers Russia a stronger opponent and Chinese players were strong-minded and resolute to face a tough match. They played every single rallies knowing that only with a great defence they could have had a chance to win. The match, except the first set when Russia’s team was sluggish and wavering, was a tough match. The biggest aim for Chinese coach was to slow down the attack of Russian giant hitters. It was impressive to compare the quick moves of the Chinese players (chasing each flying ball) with the Russian slowness.
Even today’s second match has been fairly decided by the consistency because the Russian setter made avoidable errors in crucial points.

Italy - Brazil 3 - 1

In the third match consistency didn’t play a main role because both teams were well- provided. The results depended on small technical details.
In this kind of games (the two teams have the same technical value and play with right approach) it is possible to recognize the different strategies. When players can manage both technical gestures and tactical request carefully and at the same time., the match is very enjoyable. But if the coach plans to serve in a specific area and to block and dig a specific direction, then the players have to serve there (exactly there and not further nor closer) and the rest of the team have to follow the rest of the instructions.
Sometimes it is possible to see if the athletes are focused more on avoiding mistakes than on achieving the expected target.
Italy-Brazil was one of these enjoyable matches: technique, tactic, enthusiasm and fun were all together.

P.S. consistency could be not measured, it’s hard to improve. It could unexpectedly disappear and sometimes it is abused to explain the defeats.
Consistency doesn’t really score points. The teams have to spike better, to pass precisely, to jump higher etc. But if you don’t guarantee a stable level of performance, victory is very improbable.

Bye bye andrea zorzi

Ningbo (China)


Some of the male players, coaches and fans think that relations among women of the same team are more complex than those among men. They suppose that sometimes this can have a negative impact on the quality of the game, more than in men's game. Which is your opinion?


This the question I have asked today to the captains of the six teams participating at the World Grand Prix Final Round. I beg your pardon: I am reporting only five answers out of six because Leo Lo Bianco (Italian captain) suddenly disappeared from the conference through a mysterious gate at the back of the press room!

And these the five answers:

Visser Ingrid, Holland captain (30 years old)

It’s more difficult for a group of women to live together for a long time. If male players have to argue they do it directly, about anything. On the other hand, when women disagree upon something, often they “take the longer way” and tend to speak backwards rather than trying to have a straight exchange of views. Then, I cannot say that men are actually so straight-speaking because…I’m a woman!
I like to be coached by a man because, Avital (her coach) always tells us what we have to do without any hesitation. . If I should be coached by a woman probably it won’t happen


Albuquerque Carolina, Brazil captain (30 years old)

It’s more difficult for girls to talk to each other. It is more problematic and it depends on the moments. If a man shouts <<hey guys c’mon let’s go>> everything is ok. Girls react in their own way and each way is dissimilar to the other.

Lyubov Sokolova, Russia captain (30 years old)

Female relations is more complex and also working together is more difficult. Female psychology is more intricate and we have extra worries. We think “more” than men. I have never been coached by a woman and I prefer working with a man.

Swieniewicz Dorota, Poland captain (35 years old)

Probably among women there is more envy and jealousy. I believe that men say the real problem face to face. Sometimes you don’t realize a your own team player’s concern because she has spoken with other mates and not with you. I prefer to be coached by a man because he understands me easily.

Suhong Zhou, China captain (30 years old)

Girls stay together easier than guys during the day, eating, chatting or taking a walk. In the court there is no difference: both female and male players have to stay close to deal with the crucial match’s challenges. There are no other chances to win than building the team spirit.


Last but not least, Giovanni Caprara (Russian Head Coach, winner of 2006 World Championship)

This belief risks to become an alibi. I don’t think there is such a big difference. Male and female players are obviously dissimilar, of course, but please let’s not use this to defend any incorrect behaviour.


Many thanks to all the captains for explaining their opinion upon this topic.
Unfortunately soon after the match we didn’t have the opportunity to deeply scan such a question, which definitively needs more time to be investigated with the accuracy that its complexity requires.
I believe that all the answers I collected by now (except the Chinese one) confirm a widespread cliché: coaching women is much more difficult than coaching men.
I’m not a coach and probably I won’t be (never say never), then I cannot say if this cliché is right or wrong. But I must admit that it’s really much trickier to me to “feel” women’s match essence rather than men games. I’m often surprised by women's game progress and I feel almost confused in front of such a wide range of opportunities.


Why Holland won: the “game’s volume” (a mix of difense, block and attack) of Dutch team was excellent. Their block slowed down lots of Brazilian attacks and their difense worked out perfectly. Furthermore Ingrid Visser and Caroline Wensink, the two Dutch middle blockers, scored 17 and 16 points each. South American blockers never succeeded to stop them”.


Why Russia won: Sokolova team won the first set (25-11) very easily because Poland was still not playing . From the second games on Russian players blocked and served very good. Moreover, they relied on the good performance of Akulova Marina (Russian setter).

Why China won: the excellent Chinese attack percentage decided a thrilling first set (25 – 23) and the match kept on very balanced and tough. Both teams offered long and spectacular rallies. But Italian players made more mistakes in the crucial point.

Bye bye andrea zorzi

Ningbo (China)

During the last two matches (Holland-Italy and China-Poland), I saw lots of different expressions on players’s faces. I could recognize happiness, sadness, enjoyment, anger and even fear. But I was impressed by Chaine Staelens’s expression, Holland swing hitter.

From the very beginning she had an extremely suffering face. A little later I discovered that there were tears in her eyes. She was walking with a limp, showing clear signs of pain anytime she put the weight on her left knee.
Avital Selinger, Dutch team’s head coach, gave her a short break whenever possible. Chaine Staelens walked out to the bench, staring at her knee. But after a few minutes she had to go back to the court.
There was an amazing difference between the smiling faces of her team mates and her suffering expression. At the end Selinger confirmed to me that Chaine Staelens had been injured two weeks ago during a match against China (or USA, he didn’t remember exactly).

Avital said: “If we want to win we have to overcome the problems and injuries are part of the game. We are in a sharp blade, where tumbling is very easy. We are improving our game level and our dream (Olympic qualification) seems trustworthy more than ever. I know that is dangerous but I have no other choice!”

His face was very sympathetic, not the slightest hint of harshness was there.




Why Holland won: Orange players never gave up, not even a single rally. They were well placed in difense and gave many opportunities to Manon Flier, their opposite hitter, who scored 30 points!

Why China won: both teams played making both several mistakes (30 Poland and 25 China) and it isn’t easy to recognize any tactic due to those many errors.

Bye bye andrea zorzi

Ningbo (China)


Volleyball’s reporters, coaches and players often use the definition “Russian’s style” .
This expression is suitable both for women and men, but today I’ll focus only on women.
We immediately imagine tall athletes, very powerful but slow and technically not fully developed. is this actually the condition?

Let’s start from the height.
Russian team is the tallest in this 2007 Grand Prix Final Round. The team’s average is 189,7 centimetres (by the way, Italian team is the shortest: 181,3 cm).
Brazil’s height average is 185,8 (2nd position behind Russia), 3,8 cm lower than today’s opponents. But if we look at the height of these two starting six (I haven’t calculated Libero) we discover that the difference greatly increases, reaching 7,8 centimetres (Russia 193, 5 and Brazil 185,7)!!!

Let’s continue focussing on technical skills which are distinctive of the Russian style.
Despite the height, Russian players are quite good in reception (they have time to place themselves into the right position). The setter can rely on an good enough reception (not worst nor better than other teams). Therefore, it is difficult to understand why the two Russian setters (Marina and Svetlana Akulova) play such a predictable game.
They set the ball very high (therefore making it slow), so that the opponent team has time to block at best and more chances to dig.

Let’s finish having a look at Russian dig: it could be much better.
Usually Russians have a fairly good ball control, which rapidly decreases as soon as they have to move quickly. Nevertheless, above all, they haven’t the right approach. They don’t like digging!
They don’t make the slightest attempt to get involved, they rather hope not to get at all.

Why Russia won: because there are excellent attackers, blockers and servers. Russian players hit the ball where nobody can reach, passing often over the opponent’s block.

Bye bye andrea zorzi

Ningbo (China)

China-Holland is a perfect example to explain which is the right rhythm in women’s Volleyball.

Avital Selinger, Dutch team’s head coach, said that playing Volleyball is like playing music (watch his interview).
Each player has to move at the same speed, following a well-known tactic. Everyone in the court has to “feel” their team mates, it’s not enough to “see” them. Just think when your companions are backward or when there is no time to look around. In that conditions either you “feel” your team or your chances to win decrease quickly.
This is the team’s rhythm.

But at the same time there is a second rhythm: the match’s pulse.
You can simply recognize it gazing at the ball. If you are able to follow the ball’s flight from the serve, keeping a close contact during the rallies: that’s it.
Enjoy the smooth rebounds over the players’s arms (pass), take pleasure in the smooth accelerations (attack), be amazed when a small hand, sliding over the floor, astonishingly keeps the ball still playable (difense).
This is women’s Volleyball. Charming, a kind of whirling dance that hypnotize the audience.
The longer the rallies are, the longer you want them. You aren’t interested in power or speed anymore. You begin to longing the smoothness that only women Volleyball could create.





Why Holland won: only one set out of five, the fifth, ended without an extraordinary thrilling conclusion. Holland takes home a deserved victory, but the difference was small indeed. Selinger’s girls seemed to be more relaxed, despite 132 minutes of game.

bye bye andrea zorzi

Ningbo (China)

Let me start from an owed explanation to avoid any misunderstandings. I’m Italian, I’m a former volleyball player so, when I see the blue shirts (better “azzurre”), my heart bumps faster. I hope I can keep an adequate balanced judgment. Just in case you haven’t the same opinion about Italian Volleyball players, please, be so kind to wear my shoes!

Today match’s statistics describe very straightforwardly what happened.

Take a look:

Italy: killed attack percentage : 52%

Let’s analyze some individual percentages.

Aguero attempts 34 / killed attack 19 / percentage (56%)
Ortolani attempts 27 / killed attack 15 / percentage (55%)
Guiggi attempts 17 / killed attack 12 / percentage (70%)

Aguero and Ortolani percentages (56% and 55%) are very good for a swing hitter. Especially when they are calculated over a large number of hits (34 and 27 are indeed a large number in a four set game).
Guiggi percentage (70%) is an excellent performance overall, but I have to remind you, that a middle blocker could reach that results easier than other positions.

As for Russian stats:

Russia: killed attack percentage 35%

Individuals percentage:

Sokolova attempts 26 / killed attack 13 / percentage (50%)
Gamova attempts 25 / killed attack 9 / percentage (36%)
Godina attempts 23 / killed attack 4 / percentage (17%)


One question is still unanswered. How Russian team, undoubtedly the best attacking world’s squad, can spike so badly?
There is a simple reason: never rely on a single fundamental: it’s very risky.
Giovanni Caprara, Russian team head coach, knows perfectly their Achilles' heels, that’s why during each training session he worries about his team difense. They still have time to recover today’s defeat and show their real value.
Meanwhile Italian players, the staff and myself with them, have a short, very short, time to celebrate this victory.

Why Italy won: The numbers never explain thoroughly what happen in the court (emotions, approach, team spirit are not measurable) but in this case the attack supremacy is so remarkable that the key to victory is easily recognizable.

bye bye andrea zorzi

Ningbo (China)

Zao Shang Hao
(means ‘good morning", but I must find out how I can put the stress mark above the letters!)

Here in Beilun, a district of Ningbo, everything is ready for the 2007 World Grand Prix Final Round. The teams are carrying out the last details.
The day before the first official match (tomorrow at 1.30 PM Brasil and Poland will open the Final Round), the squads use the last training hours to recover any physical problem. They don’t practice too hard, privileging drills that involve serving and passing.
The teams have to warm up in 30 minutes in the Training Court (far two minutes walking from Competion Court) and then they have one hour to complete their training.
Almost every team has decided to spend its time trying to get used to the huge Ningbo Beilun Gymnasium (see picture below). 
A lot of sunlight gets in through the translucent ceiling. Moreover, plenty of artificial lighting makes the venue very bright. Only who will play the matches at 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm (the last one is scheduled at 7.30 PM) will have to concern the sunlight because in this season - in Ningbo - at 7.00 PM the light fades out completely.

Last but not least, the strong air conditioners could make the reception more difficult changing slightly the original direction of the serves (anyway, only slow floating serves will be affected).



And now let me tell you an ancient story happened in Shangyu, a little city close to Ningbo.

The story is set in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

"A young woman named Zhu Yingtai from Shangyu, disguised herself as a man travelling to Hangzhou to study. During her journey, she met and joined Liang Shanbo, a companion schoolmate from Kuaiji in the same province. They studied together for three years, during which their relationship strengthened. When the two parted, Zhu offered to arrange for Liang to marry her 16 year-old fictitious sister. When Liang travelled to Zhu's home, he discovered her true gender. Although they were devoted and passionate about each other at that point, Zhu was already engaged with Ma Wencai, a man her parents had arranged for her to be married to. Depressed, Liang died in office as a county magistrate. On the day Zhu was to be married to Ma, whirlwinds prevented the wedding procession from escorting Zhu beyond Liang's tomb. Zhu left the procession to pay her respects to Liang. Liang's tomb split apart, and Zhu dived into it to join him. Soon a pair of butterflies emerged from the tomb and flew away.”

This tale reminds the very well known Romeo and Juliet’s story. So that Verona (the Italian city where Romeo and Juliet lived) and Ningbo have built up a friendly relationship.

see "Butterfly Lovers" from Wikipedia


Bye bye andrea zorzi