Beijing Olympic Volleyball

FIVB Men's Volleyball World Olympic Qualification Tournament: After 36-year absence German team coaching nets qualification for Olympic Games

Düsseldorf, Germany, May 25, 2008 – In front of 5,000 enthusiastic spectators at the ISS Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany beat Spain to earn its Olympic berth.

The team coaching of Stelian Moculescu permitted Germany to finish the tournament unbeaten. Three vacancies for the Men’s teams are still available. One will be assigned in Espinho, Portugal (Indonesia, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, May 30 to June 1), while the winner and the best Asian team in Tokyo tournament will receive the last Olympic tickets (Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Thailand, May 31 to June 8).

Germany’s dream came true in another five-set thriller, beating the team from Spain 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10). Germany will go to the Olympics after 36 years (East Germany was second and West Germany 11th in 1972). The players acted nervously almost throughout the whole match and even enabled the European Champions from Spain to catch up after leading by two sets. A victory for Spain, playing without the injured Guillermo Falasca, could have opened the Olympic path for Cuba. The will of the players made the difference in the fifth set and the Germans were the lucky ones to receive the hoped for ticket in the end, with Schöps’ strong arm securing 23 points and the best scorer title in the match.

Among the Spanish fans watching was Alejandro Blanco, President of the Spanish National Olympic Committee.

German head volleyball coach Stelian Moculescu choked back his tears:

“It has been a long way. We worked hard for more than nine years and I am very grateful that the boys always followed me. They didn’t earn any money but I knew we would be successful in the end."

The team from Cuba did their part in order to keep their chances of qualifying for the Olympics by beating Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-16). The Asian team won only one set during the whole tournament but showed fantastic grit.

“We weren’t in the best mood after the painful defeat yesterday," said Cuban head volleyball coach Orlando Samuels Blackwood.

"However we came over it and showed some good services and blocks. That’s how we controlled our opponent. But it was obvious, that the two teams were very different."

Live scores, statistics, match results, interviews and high resolution photos of the tournament are online at: www.fivb.org

Results Friday, 23 May

Germany - Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17)

Cuba – Spain 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17)

Saturday, 24 May

Spain – Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-20)

Cuba – Germany 2-3 (26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 13-15)

Sunday, 25 May

Chinese Taipei – Cuba 0-3 (14-25, 18-25, 16-25)

Germany – Spain 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 15-10)

Final standings

1. Germany 6 pts

2. Cuba 5

3. Spain 4

4. Chinese Taipei 3

Men’s teams qualified for Beijing Olympic Games

1. China (host country)

2. Brazil (1st World Cup)

3. Russia (2nd World Cup)

4. Bulgaria (3rd World Cup)

5. Egypt (Africa)

6. COQT - Asia (31 May – 8 June) *

7. Serbia (Europe)

8. U.S.A. (Norceca)

9. Venezuela (South America)

10. Germany (WOQT – Germany)

11. WOQT - Japan (31 May – 8 June) *

12. WOQT – Portugal (30 May – 1 June)

Remember the volleyballs are in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyballmagazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are Volleyball Voices, Volleyball Voyeur, Beijing Olympic Volleyball, Beijing Olympic Beach Volleyball, and Aprils Beach Volleyball Log. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the coaching and training secrets of how the pros play like they do.

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Coaching Strategies used in the FIVB Men's World Volleyball Olympic Qualification Tournament: Germany take one step further towards Beijing; Cuba falls on way to Olympic Games; Spain-Germany to decide competition

Düsseldorf, Germany, May 24, 2008 – Sunday’s matches in the FIVB Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Düsseldorf will decide the Olympic berth after Germany beat Cuba in five sets.

The coaching strategies of all four teams results in tiebreaks in both matches Cuba, ahead 2-0, 20-20 against Germany, lost two sets handed a tie-break opportunity to their gritty opponents and Stelian Moculescu’s team closed the fifth set with a two-point advantage to top the standings as the only unbeaten team.

By beating Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-20) the Spanish kept a chance to qualify for the Olympics in Beijing. Spain concentrated well at the beginning of the match, knowing how important the game was, but got nervous during the third and fourth set. Like in Friday’s match against Germany, the team from Chinese Taipei showed some spectacular play, acting very quick over the net, supported by the 3,650 spectators, and was able to claim one set. However, in the end, the youngest team of the competition had to give in.

“Today’s match was very different from yesterday. We had to win in order to still have a chance to qualify. We played well during the first two sets,” said Spain captain Miguel Angel

Falasca.

Nothing is decided yet after Germany beat Cuba 3-2 (24-26, 21-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-13). The top match of the day – and also one of the most important matches of the tournament – was a real thriller. After losing the first two sets, host Germany came back with a great performance and, supported by more than 4,100 fans, forced Cuba to a tie break.

Samuels Blackwood describes his unsuccessful coaching strategy against Germany included substituting his 14-year old player in the fourth set

Concerned by what he was seeing, head coach Samuels Blackwood sent 14-year-old Leon Venero on to the court in the fourth set, but the game was already in jeopardy. In the tie break the hosts had the better nerves and may now continue to dream of the Olympics.

German captain Björn Andrae explains the coaching strategies Cuba tried to use against them

“I think we found our rhythm very quickly," said Germany captain Björn Andrae. "The Cuban team put us under pressure but we fought hard. We didn't want to finish the match with the knowledge we didn't try everything. It was a great performance that we came back in the third set. Cuba is a strong team and served very hard. I am very happy about the result of the

match.”

The round-robin tournament will end Sunday, when the best team will get their ticket for Beijing.

Live scores, statistics, match descriptions, interviews and high resolution photos of the tournament are online at: www.fivb.org

Results

Friday, 23 May Germany - Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17)

Cuba – Spain 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17)

Saturday, 24 May Spain – Chinese Taipei 3-1 (25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-20)

Cuba – Germany 2-3 (26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 13-15)

Standings 1. Germany pt. 4

2. Spain 3

3. Cuba 3

4. Chinese Taipei 2

Matches schedule in Düsseldorf (local time)

Sunday, 25 May

12:00: Chinese Taipei – Cuba

15:00: Germany – Spain

Remember the volleyballs are in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyballmagazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are Volleyball Voices, Volleyball Voyeur, Beijing Olympic Volleyball, Beijing Olympic Beach Volleyball, and Aprils Beach Volleyball Log. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the coaching and training secrets of how the pros play like they do.

Get free volleyball team coaching and training by discovering the secret coaching technique, strategies and skills of Olympicvolleyball players and their coaches. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can get the inside track on coaching, training and improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.

Coaching Strategies used in FIVB Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament help Cuba beat Spain in Düsseldorf

Cuba’s and Germany’s coaching strategies pay off Germany and Cuba won the first matches on Friday at the FIVB World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Düsseldorf, the first of three competitions which will decide the last four Olympic berths for Men’s Volleyball. While Germany had a very easy match against the young team from Chinese Taipei, Cuban rhythm broke the Spanish resistance in four sets.

On Saturday, Cuba against Germany will focus all the attention of fans and media. Moculescu’s team will have to give its utmost to contain the Cuban Volleyball power, inspired by one of the tallest setter on the world stage, Camejo (207 cm).

The German national team started the tournament in front of excited spectators with the hoped for and expected victory against the young team from Chinese Taipei with a 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-15, 25-17). While the guests from Asia played their first match against a European team, the host remained focused even when their inexperienced opponents took the lead in the third set. The Germans convinced with strong services and hard attacks, which, combined with the physical supremacy, experience of the players and Head Coach Stelian Moculescu, made the difference in the end.

Jung Hsiang Chang, Head Volleyball Coach Chinese Taipei talks about coaching strategy against the Germans

Jung Hsiang Chang, Head Volleyball Coach Chinese Taipei, said:

“The German players are really tall and they played very well. We faced problems especially because of their strong attacks. My team is a very young team, so we have to learn

a lot.”

The match of the day in Düsseldorf was the “Latin match-up” between Spain and Cuba, and the Cubans caused the first big surprise of the tournament by defeating the European Champion 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17). Middle blocker and captain Roberlandy Simon Aties and setter Camejo both played an outstanding match. The Spanish team performed well, but struggled with the hard attacks of the Cuban spikers and didn’t score the big points. Now the Cuban team has a big chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Saturday’s match between Cuba and Germany might already be the tournament decider.

Cuban Head Men’s Volleyball Coach Samuels Blackwood talks about his young team and his coaching technique in beating the European Champion men’s national volleyball Team from Spain

Cuban Head Volleyball Coach Samuels Blackwood had a large smile at the end:

“For my team it was a very pleasant surprise to win. We are a very young team, with only four players from last year’s roster, with a player who is only 14 ... We have never won against such a big and experienced team like the European Champion from

Spain.”

The round-robin tournament will end on Sunday, when the best team will get their ticket for Beijing.

Live scores, statistics, interviews and high resolution photos of the tournament are online at www.fivb.org

Results Friday, 23 May Germany - Chinese Taipei 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17) Cuba – Spain 3-1 (25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17)

Matches schedule in Düsseldorf (local time)

Saturday, 24 May 17.00: Spain – Chinese Taipei

20.00: Cuba – Germany

Sunday, 25 May

12.00: Chinese Taipei – Cuba

15.00: Germany – Spain

Remember the volleyballs are in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyballmagazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are Volleyball Voices, Volleyball Voyeur, Beijing Olympic Volleyball, Beijing Olympic Beach Volleyball, and Aprils Beach Volleyball Log. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the coaching and training secrets of how the pros play like they do.

Get free volleyball team coaching and training by discovering the secret coaching technique, strategies and skills of Olympicvolleyball players and their coaches. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can get the inside track on coaching, training and improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.

FIVB Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament starts Friday in Düsseldorf: Head Volleyball Coaches from Germany, Chinese Taipei, Cuba and Spain discusses team coaching training and goals for Beijing

Düsseldorf, Germany, May 22, 2008 – One of the last Olympic berths for Men’s Volleyball teams will be decided in Düsseldorf, where on Friday the teams from Germany, Chinese Taipei, Cuba and Spain will start the battle to get a ticket for Beijing.

The tournament will be the first of three different FIVB Men’s World Olympic Qualification competitions, while the last four Women’s Olympic berths will be decided by Sunday in Japan. Portugal and Japan will host the other two Men’s tournaments next week.

Sad news hit the city just before the start of the competition: Düsseldorf’s long-time mayor Joachim Erwin died of cancer last Tuesday. Theofanis Tsiokris, President of the FIVB Control Committee, said: “On behalf of the FIVB and the Volleyball family I would like to express my condolences to the family. It is a big loss, also because he brought forward sports in Düsseldorf.”

To honour the memory of the mayor, who enabled the Olympic Qualification, a minute’s silence will take place right before the first match of the tournament on Friday, Germany versus Chinese Taipei (17:00 hrs). The German team will wear a black ribbon during the match.

The four Head Volleyball Coaches had their first official press conference on Thursday:

Quotes from the Cuban Men’s National Volleyball Team Coach - Orlando Samuels Blackwood explaining his team coaching strategies and goals for the qualifying tournament

“We are in Germany with a very young team and we have a lot of new players. We have come here believing that we can qualify, however we have to play on our highest level. I hope that the young players’ nerves can resist the pressure."

Quotes from China Taipei’s Men’s National Volleyball Team Coach - Jung Hsiang Chang describing his team coaching training objectives and goals for the Dusseldorf qualifying tournament

“My team is very young and I hope to gain a lot of experience during this tournament for the next Asian games. I hope that we can score 15 to 20 points per set in the match against Germany to

morrow…”

Quotes from Spain’s Men’s National Volleyball Team Coach - Marcelo Mendez explaining the desired results and goals of his team coaching:

“It’s our goal to qualify for the Olympic Games. I know it’s a very difficult pre-Olympic qualification tournament and therefore we have to fight hard. It’s normal, that the players are not top fit after playing a long period in their clubs. However we have to will to qualify."

Quotes from the German Men’s National Volleyball Team Coach - Stelian Moculescu hinting to what a few of his coaching strategies will be during the tournament.

I feel good. I know we are in a strong pool with the European Champion, Cuba as a very strong Volleyball nation and the team from Chinese Taipei, about which we don’t know a lot. It is our big goal to qualify for the Olympic Games after 36 years of absence. Concerning Stefan Hübner, I hope that my doctor does a good job and that Stefan will be able to play in the end of the tournament.

Match schedule in Dusseldorf (local time):

Friday, 23 May

17:00: Chinese Taipei – Germany

20:00: Spain - Cuba

Saturday, 24 May

17:00: Spain - Chinese Taipei

20:00: Cuba - Germany

Sunday, 25 May

12:00: Chinese Taipei – Cuba

15:00: Germany – Spain

Remember the volleyballs are in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyballmagazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are Volleyball Voices, Volleyball Voyeur, Beijing Olympic Volleyball, Beijing Olympic Beach Volleyball, and Aprils Beach Volleyball Log. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the coaching and training secrets of how the pros play like they do.

Get free volleyball team coaching and training by discovering the secret coaching technique, strategies and skills of Olympicvolleyball players and their coaches. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can get the inside track on coaching, training and improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.

Men’s National Volleyball Teams and coaching staff arrive for Men's Olympic volleyball qualifier in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf, May 22, 2008 – Cuba, Spain and Chinese Taipei national men’s volleyball teams joined host Germany in Düsseldorf on Wednesday as the excitement started to build ahead of the Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament in the capital of North-Rhine Westphalia, with the teams coming into the tournament with varying degrees of success in their coaching and training preparations.

The Germans, who have been in the city since May 18, play Chinese Taipei in the opening match at ISS Dome on Friday at 5 p.m. before Spain plays Cuba at 8 p.m. local time.

The four teams are competing for the one coveted ticket up for grabs for the Beijing Games.

Chinese Taipei men’s national volleyball team coaching and training preparation for Beijing

There has been a mixed bag of coaching and training preparations ahead of the tournament, which just adds to the excitement. Chinese Taipei, a young up-and-coming team who finished eighth at the 2007 Asian Championship, will be competing against reigning European champion Spain, who played Italy twice during their Olympic coaching and training preparations and lost both matches 3-1.

Cuban men’s national volleyball team coaching and training preparation for Beijing

Cuba competed in a tournament in Slovenia and recorded three defeats (3-2 and 3-1 to Slovenia and 3-1 by Portugal) and one win (3-1 over Portugal).

German men’s national volleyball team coaching and training preparation for Beijing

The Germans finished their preparation by losing two friendly matches to the USA. Besides “normal” coaching and training in the arena and fitness centre, the German team also have taken part in some team-building activities. Together with team psychologist Dr. Wolfgang Kloeckner, the players tried their luck on tightropes at Lake Unterbach and cooked their own dinner Wednesday evening.

Central blocker Stefan Huebner of Treviso in Italy has participated in all coaching and training team activities. He has been carefully increasing training intensity after tearing muscle fibre in his left calf and was aiming to be among the final 12 players nominated on Wednesday evening in order to help the Germans book a ticket for their first participation in the Olympics for 36 years.

The two other Men’s World Olympic Qualification Tournaments take place in Espinho, Portugal, from May 30 to June 1, where one team from four will qualify, and Tokyo, Japan, from May 31 to June 8, where the winner of the tournament plus the best Asian team (even if the winner is Asian) will qualify.

Men’s national volleyball teams from Poland, Puerto Rico, Indonesia, Algeria, Argentina, Italy, Australia, Korea, Iran and Thailand receive coaching and training preparation for the Portugal and Japan Men’s World Olympic Qualifying tournaments.

Portugal hosts the men’s volleyball teams from Indonesia, Poland and Puerto Rico, while Japan hosts Algeria, Argentina, Italy, Australia, Korea, Iran and Thailand, in the tournament that doubles up as the Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The Women’s World Olympic Qualification Tournament is ongoing in Tokyo, Japan, with eight teams competing for the final four berths for the Women’s Olympic Volleyball Tournament.

Match schedule in Düsseldorf, Germany:

* All times are local Friday, May 23 Chinese Taipei vs. Germany (17:00)

Spain vs. Cuba (20:00)

Saturday, May 24 Spain vs. Chinese Taipei (17:00)

Cuba vs. Germany (20:00)

Sunday, May 25 Chinese Taipei vs. Cuba (12:00)

Germany vs. Spain (15:00)

Information

Information about the Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Düsseldorf is at: www.volleyball2008.de

Press Conference There is a press conference for journalists with the four Head Coaches Stelian Moculescu (Germany), Orlando Samuels Blackwood (Cuba), Marcelo Mendez (Spain) and Jung Hsiang Chang (Chinese Taipei) at the Renaissance Hotel on Thursday, May 22, from 9:30 p.m.

Remember the volleyballs are in your court. Are you ">too small to play volleyball?

April Chapple is a freelance copywriter for volleyball products and promotions, columnist for USA Volleyball and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Coaching Volleyballmagazine and author of numerous online articles on playing and coaching volleyball. Author of the upcoming ebook "How to Stop Serving Like a Wimp" April's volleyball sites are Volleyball Voices, Volleyball Voyeur, Beijing Olympic Volleyball, Beijing Olympic Beach Volleyball, and Aprils Beach Volleyball Log. She can be reached at april@volleyballvoices.com

I know you want to learn the coaching and training secrets of how the pros play like they do.

Get free volleyball team coaching and training by discovering the secret coaching technique, strategies and skills of Olympicvolleyball players and their coaches. The fastest way for you to do that is to sign up for the FREE Volleyball Voices Newsletter so you can get the inside track on coaching, training and improving all your volleyball skills, fast! Just fill out that box in the upper right hand corner to receive today's volleyball news you can use.