I prefer Butko than Grankin

I think what makes Butko a very good setter is that he's very efficient. It just takes him a few steps to be in position. Because of this, he seems to conserve a lot of energy. Also he's a thinking setter. He knows exactly where he's going to set the ball once he receives it. I thought he adjusted well to suit the demands and preferences of his hitters, Volkov and Apalikov in particular. Grankin definitely has his merits. But Butko is coming into his own. I won't be surprised if he is elected as the primary setter for the Olympic Games. He has the confidence of his team mates.

Mmmm....i'm not so sure. My memories about him have always been those of a MB forced to become an opposite because we had no-one good enough to play that role in NT! But, since I'm not a conceited person, let me check this thing and if you're right i shall offer you (with pleasure ) a coffee next time we meet

Pearl, at the age of 18 Fei was an opposite.

@Henrique: "Many people think Fei started as a middle, but he was an opposite, moving to play as a MB in the early 2000s." No, man...I can assure you...it's the contrary. Fox started as a MB since when he was very young and played in Foiano della Chiana's team (C1 league). Then he was asked to change his role

Savani is the worst in receiving Italian OH I have watched, visible difference with Matey, who is considered average in this, more visible with Zaytsev and Parodi, incomparable with Papi, that's why I gave him as example

The music is annoying but the clip is awesome.. Nice 5*

Zyta, Ivan Miljkovic got a silver medal at 1998 worlds. BTW, Ivan and Fei started on their NTs that year. Many people think Fei started as a middle, but he was an opposite, moving to play as a MB in the early 2000s.

Wow! This is awesome. Three great players – Papi is a legend, one of my all time favourites.

Welcome to my world! When you deal with kids who can barely understand that 2+2=4, you’ll definitely have to repeat yourself. ;-)

None of them is bad, only a lunatic would say that seriously, but Zlatanov is another kind of player. Perhaps, as you suggested, we should discuss about him in private.

Perfect! When you analyze passing, for example, you must consider the size of the covered zone and teammates, among other aspects.

Although he’s a libero, Marra’s passing isn’t very reliable. He’s a better digger than receiver. Zlatanov learned to pass around 10 years ago when he saw he needed that to reach a spot on the NT for Athens Olympics, which didn’t happen due to his quarrel with coach Montali. He had improved a lot in his best years and became a better passer. I remember him at 2003 WL, when sometimes he had a bigger zone than Giani, who was an all-around player.

I know that, in Lube Savani is covered by Parodi and Exiga.

Why do I have to repeat myself over and over again... By calling a player like Zlatanov, Kaziyski or Kurek uncomplete, one-sided or whatever you call it, that doesn't mean I call them a bad player. Everybody, me included recognises their abilities. I know very well, that those players can make the difference on the court by scoring difficult balls.

Zyta, I would have expected something better too. But the stats don't show everything. If a team has an outside hitter as main scorer, opponents often target on him with hard jump serves to break his rhythm in attack. And some players cover a bigger part of the court in receiving than others. Btw that is no excuse for Zlatanov. Next to Marra and Papi, is is for sure not the main receiver.

Really? I would say his reception is on Matey's level pretty much.

Oh please, I really didn't want to restart this discussion about complete or uncomplete players.
Raylight, of course being tall doesn't mean automatically being a bad receiver, Konstantinov is the best example, no doubt.
But being tall means being slower than small players because of your higher balance point. Standing tall, means that tall players have to bend down more to receive jump serves. In general tall players are not as mobile. You will always find exceptions.

ehm... I guess you know the impact of talent and natural given ball-handling skills. Savani and Zlatanov are totally different types.

To verify my talking, I just checked out the statistics from Serie A this year. Zlatanov was and still is a great player, but his reception is only decent. By far the worst of his team(Papi rocks!), worse than Kaziyski and Juantorena. Btw Savani has the worst reception of all of them, which surprises me.

I know but I meant first medals.



He experiencing another youth ;-) Kicking roma's asses by himself etc. Together with Nikolov and Papi they create Happy Grandpa's Trio. Take a look at the stats from last match: http://www.legavolley.it/TabellinoGara.asp?IdGara=22047


He needed knee surgery, so he couldn't be on World Cup.



for God's sake Ray! Thinking he could be worse than Sava it's a sin!

We have one young guy, Mika with 208cm height and his reception is better than Kurek's.

pesazi, once again you prove that you don't watch enough of that what are you talking ... Watch Zlatanov in 2007 and 2008 in Piacenza and tell me who else was able stop Trentino in Seria A back then ...

Pesazi, some tall guys can receive, Plamen Konstantinov, who is 201 cm , very powerful was one of the best receivers in volleyball. I don't know how was Zlatanov in his best days, but he is from his 15th birthday in Italy and is product of their school, so can't be worse than Savani for example

Are you serious? To me he always seemed to be one of those big outside hitters, without reception and defense, relying on high passes.
Maybe I'm wrong, I already showed up with my lack of knowledge about italian players once in this discussion. But I just cannot belive that a man with his stature has also skills in reception and defense...
Maybe we should continue our fight in pm's... polaco kids or matey freaks could be annoyed.

Okay, Pesazi, you found a new enemy. From now on I’ll leave Polaco kids in peace and I’ll also stop bugging those annoying Matey freaks. How can you say a bad word about Hristo Zlatanov? You must be talking about some recent matches. Did you see him on his best days? I started watching him when he was young, still trying to learn to pass. He became a very good player. Zlatanov is one of those guys who give his team some balance. Dunno how he’s playing lately, but he was someone to be respected last decade.

Pearl, I knew that and I was just being mean for a change. ;-)

Henrique?!? Silly conversation that one about Butko's and Kurek 's meanings in Bulgarian?? I took an active part in that!! LOL

Pesazi: Rome in that match was very very very poor thing

YOU like Zlatanov?! He definitely is a cool guy, very sympathic and courageous, I really like him therefore.
But as a player, he is one of those unbalanced, uncomplete players. Like a cheap version of this bulgarian player, forgot his name... I always thought this type of player would be your personal enemy, like it's mine.
I saw him lately against Rome. he scored 23 points in three sets. He got every ball in the critical moments. Impressive stuff.

Last edited by pesazi on 23:33 09/01/2012.

What happened with Grankin ? Why he's not in the NT ?