Best blocker in the world

best bloker u mean a complete mid-blocker or just who's the best to block (in activities or not)

Gustavo
Simon
Nowakowsky
Volkov
Podrascanin
Stankovic

Kjeldhor
I mean any position
And thank you for participating

In the case who is the best blocker (not as a position, but in this element) Marcin Możdżonek can be very high. Nowakowski is not the best blocker, for sure. He is very good blocker, but he's rather better in attack. Not Mastrangelo for sure: he can be the best in his position, but not in blocking.
Very hard to judge...

Stankovic as a complete MB, Hubner only for block

For me David Lee, but I saw him on WC in very low shape

Where is Nowakowski?

Simon
Volkov
Mastrangelo

Nowakowski is in Rzeszów ? ?

haha Someone thanks for info.I mean the ranking of fadel
no matter ?

Todorov
Podrascanin
Hubner

Murilo Endres
Michal Winiarski
Maksim Mihaylov

Volkov is nowhere near to Simon and Mastrangelo in blocking element if you judge by stats

Osmany is the best player in that moment.

Winiarski and Mikhaylov have a nice ability for single blocks ?

Well I think if we talk about best BLOCKER ! My list is : Gustavo Endres, Robertlandy Simon, Stefan Huebner, Mastrangelo, David Lee, João José. For me these are good exemples of Good Blockers, with a very good block technique and block culture.
We have very very good blockers with 'slow balls' that are easy to block, and we have very very fast blockers that block easily a 'fast ball' and there is a good difference, from a Fast and good blocker to a good blocker that blocks good slow balls.
I can mean a loot of Good middleblockers, but good good BLOCKERS aren't so much. And its not just the experience that counts, you earn it with a lot of cordenation work, and block work.
The stats can mean a lot and can just mean NOTHING, because a MB can do 6 blockes every game, and these 6 blocks be with TRIPLE BLOCKS and easy balls to block or can be 6 hard balls where he had to run and block a difficult ball. So I think the stats aren't the best way to judge a Player ?
Dont you agree?

Alessandro "Fox" Fei is a good blocker, has a good time of block

M_G I agree that stats are not complete enough to be sufficient to judge only by them. The block of the good blocker has psychological influence over the opponent which can cause change in strategy or a lot of spike errors. I added Belogorie - Yugra matches and when they get approved you will see that.

Robert Kromm is super tall. But is he an effective blocker?

You can't judge a MB by the stats and I have a very good example for that.
One of the weakest MB if not the weakest in belgian league is currently ranked second in blocking category because every match he make one or two blocks on high balls but he is nowhere when the opponent setter is decent...
So pay attention to the stats but if you really wants to know who is the best you have to see it by yourself when watchnig a game in live =)

Hubner, undoubtedly !!!!

Am I the only one here remembering Jan Posthuma and Andrea Gardini as huge blockers too??

Yes, Henk- Jan Held, then Gravina, Ihosvany Hernandez... great MB from the nineties.

Speaking about Ihosvany, he is the one with the 2nd meter spikes special ?

I said Hubner first!

Rob Simon is the best

and off course, one of the best MB ever Bas Van de Goor?

Well, it's as always. Everybody names his own favorite from his club or his country, and in the end every middle blocker out there is on the list. I just wonder if it's only the disability to be objective, or the lack of knowledge. I really had to laugh about some names mentioned. M_G already made a good comment about the different blocking situations.

If there was something like a Hall of Fame in volleyball, there are only few middles since 2000 that should be named: Gustavo, Hübner, Geric, Lebl, Mastrangelo and Simon. Maybe Rodrigao.
Before 2000, there were great middle blockers too, as pearl e.g. mentioned Gardini and Posthuma. In general, it's hard to compare the players from this time to those today, because the game became much faster.

In a few years we can talk about Muserskiy or Lucas.

Btw, honorable mentions go to José, Apalikov and Egortchev. Gotta love those undersized players, who rule by pure skill and volleyball IQ.

EEENNNDDDRRREEESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my list I referenced MB solely for blocking ability.

About the list of fame, where are Kazakov and Kuleshov?

Well we can mean a lot of Middleblockers here who are and were good. Like Kuleshov, Kazakov, Egorchev, Lebl and 100 more. But the toic here is 'the best blocker in the world' so I meant the best blockers in my opinion and how they can be considered the best, OR NOT.
For exemple Gustavo Endres, for me is an example of a good blocker, he couldnt be the best blocker in the world if he wouldnt study the other opponents Point by Point, Match by Match. And the coach and statistic coach tell him ' Gustavo, in P3 you stay in the middle, in P4 they play 50% of the balls with the opposite so you block directly the opposite etc etc' . Because this information and work is essential for his succes as a good blocker. And of course then he has to work a LOT in every practise with coordenation work and block work and always with a the maximum concentration.
It depends so much of your coaching team, of the statistic coach, if he gives you good information or not. And then of course you have to take it and you can be successfull or not, it doesn't depend only of you, it depends more of your team too.
So I keep my opinion here, and like Joachim7 said that in Belgium the worst middleblocker of the league is the second best blocker in the League ranking, its most of the times fake. Yes he can be good, but he can be the worst and be a very lucky Blocker with so easy balls that he can be the Best League blocker by far in the stats but in the reality he is a SHAME.

And it makes me laugh so much seeing here some comments.
For some people, just because a middle blocker plays for the Italian or Polish or Brazilian national team, it means that they are one of the best?
I dont have to mean Volkov just because he's a good middleblocker and good Attacker or Lucas because he is World Champion and World League Champion.
The best are most of the times, in the 'weak' teams, and sometimes there comes a 'STAR' in a big team, who is the best of the best by far in his position. Like Robertlandy Simon in the moment who is by far the best in his poisition, and he shows it every single match, by blocking and attacking so quickly.
So but we are talking here about the Best Blockers, and NOT best Middleblockers.
ANd Im meaning the best blockers for me of the Middleblockers, of course there are good blockers of other Positions.

M_G i can say same to you< you mentioned Jao Jose just because he is portuguesee.. not because of skills i think

Saku, your wrong, totally wrong ?
First, I know very well João José and if you say that Im sure you dont know him in nothing.
Second, he was in the World Championship 2002 in Argentina the Best Blocker of the tournament, second he won a lot of best blocker trophies and his skills are the best that one middleblocker needs. But unfortunately he's just 1,94m and if you see him playing or against Sisley Treviso or Zenit Kazan, he shows some respect, against Volkov or Gustavo. And Im not talking in the National team where he shows it every match against every Country, that he is one of the best.
I didnt mentioned nothing to you, so I dont know why you mentioned it now ?

cose i dont agree with you ? every match i watched with him, hmm only effective attack by him, nothing more

Statistics does matter if well read. For example if a blocker gets tons of blocks in some matches but zero blocks in many others, his block per set ratio could be misleading, but if he blocks consistently /rebounds and kills/ over long period of time every match, then this is higher correlation with his blocking "ability". More blocks - better ability and with less variance the correlation is higher. Further note of importance of numbers in matches. Points do matter! If you score 11 blocks in 4 sets you are the one who decided the game, even if it is only the statistical difference between wining or losing, not to mention the different periods of the game in which these points are distributed, or the overall fear of your block in the opponent's players that changes the way they approach the spikes or the tactics. Even if you look only blocking numbers, in some amount of matches, if the numbers and the ratio are big enough and the variance is small, points matter. Points make the result!

Todorov
Podrascanin
Hubner

Murilo Endres
Michal Winiarski
Maksim Mihaylov

So you think that Todorov and Podrascanin are among the top three blockers of all time or what? Podrascanin is very good and has the potential and the years to get even better. Stankovic is the better overall MB, but we're only talking about blocking and Marko has the advantage here.
Todorov... I know you guys think he is the next bulgarian star with his 527cm reach... sorry, Todorov might have talent and is on a streak in the Superliga at the moment, but so far he has proven nothing. Yes he is high and still young, but there are tons of young talented players. But not every country hypes his talents as Bulgaria and Poland. He has the physics, hopefully for Bulgaria he can add some technique in the future.

As for your list with outside hitters, it's hart to compare outside hitters in blocking, because teams design their block/defense differently. Some outside hitters observe the hits of the opponent and go for glory, reaching in the direction they anticipate the attack. Others just try to cover a certain space of their court, relying on their defense to come up with digs.
I'm surprised that nobody mentioned Kurek so far. I'm not his biggest fan, but his blocking is outstanding.

In my list I referenced MB solely for blocking ability.

About the list of fame, where are Kazakov and Kuleshov?

Don't know. Maybe they are still in the air trying to block the middle attack, while the pass is on the way to the outside, lol.

Good comments HCLT ?

Pesazi, I listed currently players with the best block which I saw and was impressed by. Todorov is the guy that not only makes the most blocks, but he changes the hearts and the minds of the opponent with his 360cm+ wall in spite the fact that he has much to learn. Podrascanin is master of blocking of all kind of spikes /fast ball, high ball and so on, dream of lot of coaches in Serie A1/, Hubner - I saw him in World League 2011 and in ECH2011, and he was incredibly efficient vs Bulgaria and Russia, which is not easy at this age, jumped like teen ? I probably should add Muserskiy due to his ability to block fast balls with one single step to the right or to the left, but I don't like much 210+cm blockers, always thought they are not fast enough. He is more agile than the rest of this height, has technique and imagination, but I still think 207 is better than 218

Murilo, Winiarski and Mihaylov are players I've seen blocking with great single blocks and they looked to me like masters of it. All 6 names are from my personal impression

About Lebl, I mentioned him long before Henrique appeared on this site, when he was project in his father's plan for dinner with his mother.

About the three minuses I get on statistics. Please don't put either minus or plus to stuff you don't understand. It is funny the uneducated to rate the science topics, funny and sad in the same time.

Kurek blocking skills have improved, but he needs to be more careful with his hand near the antenna – opponents still take advantage of that a lot against him, using it to score.

Still he is one of the best blockers in our team together with Winiarski (I'm not including here MB's right now).

I probably should add Muserskiy due to his ability to block fast balls with one single step to the right or to the left, but I don't like much 210+cm blockers, always thought they are not fast enough. He is more agile than the rest of this height, has technique and imagination, but I still think 207 is better than 218

Musersky is not the best of all times nor the best MB nowadays, but still with his height being not peace of wood but having very good coordination is outstanding.


Raylight why you so bother about minuses? Are you really so needy and desperate? Does it affect on your points on this website Mr Numer One? No.

@Raylight, you could also stop caring about plusses and minusses

@Harleym good advice, I try to follow it, but for this post was strange to see them

@blokout_net - Minuses and pluses don't affect on self esteem, but for me logic is untouchable and when something like "2+2" gets a minus, I don't get minus, reality gets minus

Simon>>>>>>>>>Todorov.Musersky,Volkov,Mastro and the hole world ?

I think the middle-blocker should first of all to play for the team. It is a silent role. That's why I do not like so much Simon or Muserski for me the best are Creus, Rodrigao, Lucas, Podrascanin and Stankovic

I see a lot of bullshit from you, Henrique, your typical junk food for the teens here, but no counter-arguments ?

Andrija Geric

1.Simon
2.Muserski
3.Mastrangelo
4.Todorov

I would say Simon, Volkov, Podrascanin, and Mitar Djuric!

You all forget the best blocker on the best blocking team in the world. David Lee of Team USA.

Best blocking team in the world since 2009 is Bulgaria /although should be Russia, but they don't use their potential/

Why do people think Simon and Nowakowski are such great blockers. It is their height you are impressed with, not their actual blocking ability.

Russia has great blockers, Modzonek is a great blocker, Holmes is up there as well and many others, but most definitely not those high jumping players that are mentioned.

One underestimated and possibly one of the best blockers is Plinsky, oh and btw I have numbers to back these statements up

Nowakowsky is one of the best middle spikers, not blockers. Not mentioning Yosifov as pure blocking ability is pretty ignorant. Speaking about blocking, blocking ability and results are different thing, block depends on tactics and height of the players. Soma smaller MB's don't get the recognition because of those 3-4 cm's lacking, but their ability to block and technique are not worse than those who get the rewards.

To say that we put Simon mainly because of his height and jump is redicilous.If you had watched some of his matches you'll see

Mastrangelo, Hubner, Kazakov, Lebl/as spiker/

I think Volkov is very good, David Lee technically is very good and has fast movement the outside balls. Also Nowakowski can be very good when he is playing very well. Everyone should watch out for Aiden Zingel in the next 2 years, he is 21 and is playing his 3rd season in A1 Italy already!

Masterangelo