Russia is the only team without any loss – 2011 FIVB World League
The men’s premier international volleyball tournament, the 2011 FIVB World League is in full bloom these days. The tournament was kicked off in the last week of May and it has successfully covered four flights up till now. Some of the amazing matches have
been staged among the sixteen best volleyball teams of five continents. After four weeks of the campaign, there is only one team which has maintained a perfect record of zero loss in the tournament.
It has to be none other than Russia that has compiled a record of 8-0 at the end of fourth week.
Russia entered the competition with the label of runner-up team of last year. The well assembled Russian squad found a place in Pool B, where it was joined by teams from Bulgaria, Germany and Japan. The head coach Vladimir Alekno formulized a wonderful plan
for his team and led them to success in every match.
Russian team opened the tournament on a strong footing, while playing at home city Ufa. Japan became prey to hard hitting of Russia in the first week matches. The team which had players like Alexey Spiridonov and Maxim Mikhylov turned out to be a tough rival
for Japanese team. The visitors struggled to match their performance with the Russian squad but faced regret in the end. Russia played two matches against Japan and captured both of them.
In the next week, Russian top guns saw German team on the other side of the net. Germany was an average team for Russia and it didn’t post any threat on them. Germany was playing away from home, while Russia was featured as the home team. The hosts showcased
a spectacular game and made a clean-sweep over Germany. Success against Germany further boosted Russian players’ moral.
The competition entered third week and Bulgaria stood against Russia. Bulgaria was second-ranked team in Pool B at that time. Bulgarian players had great ambitions but Russian detracted their plans. Once again playing in the presence of local spectators,
Russian ‘army’ demonstrated a stellar performance and outclassed Bulgarian team. Russia kept the tradition of ‘winning’ live and closed off third week on a happy note.
Quite recently, Russia put up with Japan for the second time in preliminary robin round of 2011 FIVB World League. Russia was better than Japan in many ways. They had defeated Japan in previous two matches. Russia was the top team in the pool ranking and
they also had the advantage of good height and stature. Russia played two matches against Japan this past weekend and emerged as successful team.
Russia has not lost any matches in the intercontinental round. Moreover, they are enjoying a top form and have maximum number of points. Russia is prepared to claw its way to the top. However, the Final Round will have other top contenders of the tournament.
Brazil, Argentina and Italy would be the real challenge for Russia team. The world has to wait and see which one of them makes a difference and get access to the success.
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