FIVB
TRENTINO, KAZAN and BELCHATOW representing Europe at the FIVB Club World Championship in Doha
Archive
Article Tue, Nov 3 2009
Doha, Qatar, November 3, 2009. After a 17-year long hiatus, the FIVB Men’s Club World Championships are back with the Qatari capital of Doha hosting the competition at the magnificent Aspire Zone Indoor Hall. Teams from around the world will be competing there for being crown as best club in the world.
The competition, which comprises eight teams playing in two pools, will be the first at the world level since Italy organized the last edition in Treviso in 1992. This time, however, and for the first time in an FIVB competition, an interesting new rule, the "Golden Formula" is to be applied. The new rule requires that the first attack for each team after the opponent's service should take place from the back row, in an attempt to produce longer rallies and to give the fans a greater spectacle.
Pool A comprises of the defending Champions in the CEV Indesit Champions League, i.e. Italy’s TRENTINO BetClic, Russia’s Zenit KAZAN, NORCECA representative Plataneros de Corozal of Puerto Rico and the African champion Zamalek (Egypt). Pool B features PGE Skra BELCHATOW of Poland, Asian Club Championship winner Paykan of Iran, South American champion Cimed of Brazil and the organizer Al Arabi Doha of Qatar.
Each pool plays in a round robin format where the first and second of each pool qualify for crossed semifinals.
In the past four competitions an Italian club has always triumphed. Maxicono PARMA won the crown in 1989; Messaggero RAVENNA in 1991; and Mediolanum MILANO in 1990 and 1992. Trentino carries the hopes of keeping the title Italian for the fifth consecutive time. “We have the honor of coming here among the best teams from all over the world, but it is difficult to expect to become champions,” said Bulgarian coach Radostin Stoytchev upon the arrival of his team in Doha. “We have two difficulties here. The first is to have a good interaction among the more experienced players and the newcomers of this season, and the second is how to deal with the new Golden Formula that we haven't had enough time to train for.”
Skra Belchatow of Poland also comes as a big European favorite with a star-studded line-up, although the team will miss their opposites Mariusz Wlazly and Jakub Novotny, as well as key star player, Michal Winiarski. “We came here to play good Volleyball and prove ourselves and if we proceed to the cup it will be fantastic” said Polish head coach Jacek Nawrocki.
The third European team Zenit KAZAN of Russia will also present strong competition.
Cimed of Brazil earned its first continental title this year and is now competing for the first time to be the best club among the elite. The team is highly optimistic about putting the name of a South American club on the cup for the first time.
Organizer Al Arabi of Qatar has added two strong players to its squad, Egyptian setter Ahmed Salah and the opposite Ahmed Salah who just led the Egyptian national team to winning its third consecutive African Nations Championship title in Morocco, thus qualifying the team to participate in both the 2010 FIVB Men's World Championships in Italy and the 2010 World League. The host team is optimistic about reaching at least the competition semi-final.
Zamalek of Egypt is representing its country at the world level for the first time, after Tunisian and Algerian clubs have had the honor of doing so in the first four editions. “We want to play professional Volleyball as much as we can here, as we know that we will face very strong teams. We will do our best,” said Zamalek assistant coach Mahmud Hassona after his team's arrival.
Paykan of Iran is one of the best teams in terms of long-term preparation for the tournament, particularly with regard to the Golden Formula. The team spent three months in Tehran on a training camp before undertaking another two-week camp in Bulgaria. This included six friendly matches followed by another 10 matches in Tehran before the onset of the Club World Championships. “We added five new players to our squad and now have the opportunity of showing our consistency at the world level,” said the coach of the team, Alireza Moameri.
Plataneros de Corozal of Puerto Rico will represent NORCECA, aiming to advance at least to the semifinals. The team depends fully on local players, apart from the American Thomas McKinney and Jason Octave from Saint Lucia. It will face Zenit KAZAN of Russia on the opening day. “We have three players in our squad playing for the national team of their country and have plenty of international experience, but I think our situation is very difficult against the fully professional teams,” commented coach David Aleman, after his team's first training session in the competition hall on Sunday. “I think we haven't yet acclimatized to the new Golden Formula and the few friendly matches we have played with the new system are not enough for us to be able to state something about it.”
For more information visit www.fivb.org
Picture: TRENTINO BetClic (TRENTINO Volley at that time) celebrating victory in the 2008/2009 CEV Indesit Champions League at the finals staged this past April in Prague
The competition, which comprises eight teams playing in two pools, will be the first at the world level since Italy organized the last edition in Treviso in 1992. This time, however, and for the first time in an FIVB competition, an interesting new rule, the "Golden Formula" is to be applied. The new rule requires that the first attack for each team after the opponent's service should take place from the back row, in an attempt to produce longer rallies and to give the fans a greater spectacle.
Pool A comprises of the defending Champions in the CEV Indesit Champions League, i.e. Italy’s TRENTINO BetClic, Russia’s Zenit KAZAN, NORCECA representative Plataneros de Corozal of Puerto Rico and the African champion Zamalek (Egypt). Pool B features PGE Skra BELCHATOW of Poland, Asian Club Championship winner Paykan of Iran, South American champion Cimed of Brazil and the organizer Al Arabi Doha of Qatar.
Each pool plays in a round robin format where the first and second of each pool qualify for crossed semifinals.
In the past four competitions an Italian club has always triumphed. Maxicono PARMA won the crown in 1989; Messaggero RAVENNA in 1991; and Mediolanum MILANO in 1990 and 1992. Trentino carries the hopes of keeping the title Italian for the fifth consecutive time. “We have the honor of coming here among the best teams from all over the world, but it is difficult to expect to become champions,” said Bulgarian coach Radostin Stoytchev upon the arrival of his team in Doha. “We have two difficulties here. The first is to have a good interaction among the more experienced players and the newcomers of this season, and the second is how to deal with the new Golden Formula that we haven't had enough time to train for.”
Skra Belchatow of Poland also comes as a big European favorite with a star-studded line-up, although the team will miss their opposites Mariusz Wlazly and Jakub Novotny, as well as key star player, Michal Winiarski. “We came here to play good Volleyball and prove ourselves and if we proceed to the cup it will be fantastic” said Polish head coach Jacek Nawrocki.
The third European team Zenit KAZAN of Russia will also present strong competition.
Cimed of Brazil earned its first continental title this year and is now competing for the first time to be the best club among the elite. The team is highly optimistic about putting the name of a South American club on the cup for the first time.
Organizer Al Arabi of Qatar has added two strong players to its squad, Egyptian setter Ahmed Salah and the opposite Ahmed Salah who just led the Egyptian national team to winning its third consecutive African Nations Championship title in Morocco, thus qualifying the team to participate in both the 2010 FIVB Men's World Championships in Italy and the 2010 World League. The host team is optimistic about reaching at least the competition semi-final.
Zamalek of Egypt is representing its country at the world level for the first time, after Tunisian and Algerian clubs have had the honor of doing so in the first four editions. “We want to play professional Volleyball as much as we can here, as we know that we will face very strong teams. We will do our best,” said Zamalek assistant coach Mahmud Hassona after his team's arrival.
Paykan of Iran is one of the best teams in terms of long-term preparation for the tournament, particularly with regard to the Golden Formula. The team spent three months in Tehran on a training camp before undertaking another two-week camp in Bulgaria. This included six friendly matches followed by another 10 matches in Tehran before the onset of the Club World Championships. “We added five new players to our squad and now have the opportunity of showing our consistency at the world level,” said the coach of the team, Alireza Moameri.
Plataneros de Corozal of Puerto Rico will represent NORCECA, aiming to advance at least to the semifinals. The team depends fully on local players, apart from the American Thomas McKinney and Jason Octave from Saint Lucia. It will face Zenit KAZAN of Russia on the opening day. “We have three players in our squad playing for the national team of their country and have plenty of international experience, but I think our situation is very difficult against the fully professional teams,” commented coach David Aleman, after his team's first training session in the competition hall on Sunday. “I think we haven't yet acclimatized to the new Golden Formula and the few friendly matches we have played with the new system are not enough for us to be able to state something about it.”
For more information visit www.fivb.org
Picture: TRENTINO BetClic (TRENTINO Volley at that time) celebrating victory in the 2008/2009 CEV Indesit Champions League at the finals staged this past April in Prague