2003 Balance Sheet. on all their reserves in an epic final where they walked away as the unlucky runner s up.

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Mervin Lyons
5 years ago
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2003 Balance Sheet having finished a spectacular campaign in style after some indifferent Intercontinental Round form.

Grbic saw the Olympic and European Champions stride comprehensively through to their showpiece event, the World League Final, before calling

Russia s upset The shock of it all had been the collapse of the Russian Volleyball juggernaut who had confidently dealt with all the

to finish in a disappointing seventh place.

1 2003 Balance Sheet having finished a spectacular campaign in style after some indifferent Intercontinental Round form. Their combination of speed and power from the likes of Ivan Miljkovic and Goran Vujevic intertwined with the deft touches of captain Nikola Grbic saw the Olympic and European Champions stride comprehensively through to their showpiece event, the World League Final, before calling on all their reserves in an epic final where they walked away as the unlucky runner s up. Russia s upset The shock of it all had been the collapse of the Russian Volleyball juggernaut who had confidently dealt with all the Intercontinental Rounds could through up at them only to trip up in their last Final Round match to Bulgaria, leaving the defending champions to finish in a disappointing seventh place. A result like that won t be welcomed in Russia but don t be surprised to see them back up on the podium in double quick time. Martin Lebl led the Czech Republic superbly on attack 6 World League 2003 Final Report Bulgaria s Matey Kaziyski tries to beat the Russian block Bulgaria s sublime setter and captain Nikolay Ivanov

Warm welcome to new teams Czech Republic Although Brazil walked away with the ultimate prize in the World League title, two teams the Czech Republic and Bulgaria will both be

Debutants the Czech Republic finished fourth, having dealt with the likes of Greece, France and Japan in pool play before holding their own in the Final Round until losing to

Bulgaria were equally impressive, coming back into the competition after four years and turning on a superb athletic display, finishing behind Serbia and Montenegro in pool

their final Final Round preliminary match.

2 Warm welcome to new teams Czech Republic Although Brazil walked away with the ultimate prize in the World League title, two teams the Czech Republic and Bulgaria will both be walking equally tall having turned on mesmerizing performances in what were their first and first-infour-years World League appearances respectively. Debutants the Czech Republic finished fourth, having dealt with the likes of Greece, France and Japan in pool play before holding their own in the Final Round until losing to Italy in the bronze medal match. Their performance will go down as one of the most astonishing for a side ranked 18th in the world playing well beyond their years. Bulgaria were equally impressive, coming back into the competition after four years and turning on a superb athletic display, finishing behind Serbia and Montenegro in pool play before pulling off their biggest triumph of the competition and effectively eliminating Russia from the tournament when they beat the defending champions in four sets in their final Final Round preliminary match. The performances of these two teams illustrates the superb depth of international Volleyball and the great passion and drive every team has to not only compete but perform to their best in this men s premier annual tournament. The Czech Republic s Michal Rak in full flight Bulgaria World League 2003 Final Report World League 2003 Final Report 7

3 2003 Balance Sheet Nalbert is set to show off the World League trophy The inspirational Gilberto Godoy Filho or how he is more affectionately known, Giba Brazilian coach Bernardo Rezende is tossed in the air 8 World League 2003 Final Report

2 SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO 17 12 5 44 24 6 5 1 17 6 6 3 3 13 13 5 4 1 14 5 3 ITALY 17 10 7 37 27 6 3 3 12 11 6 5 1 16 5 5 2 3 9 11 4 CZECH REPUBLIC 17 10 7 36 30 6 5 1 17 7 6 3 3 12 12 5 2 3 7 11 5

1 16 7 3 1 2 5 8 9 POLAND 12 6 6 24 21 6 3 3 11 11 6 3 3 13 10 10 FRANCE 12 6 6 26 20 6 4 2 15 8 6 2 4 11 12 GERMANY 12 4 8 20 29 6 1 5 9 16 6 3 3 11 13 NETHERLANDS 12 5 7 20 27 6 3 3 13 12 6 2 4 7

4 Final Standings 2003 Rk. Country TOTAL HOME AWAY FINAL PHASE Matches Sets Matches Sets Matches Sets Matches Sets Total W L W L Total W L W L Total W L W L Total W L W L 1 BRAZIL SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO ITALY CZECH REPUBLIC BULGARIA SPAIN GREECE RUSSIA POLAND FRANCE GERMANY NETHERLANDS CUBA JAPAN PORTUGAL VENEZUELA World League medallists 1 Medal Showcase Year/finals 1st 2nd 3rd 2003 Madrid (ESP) Brazil Serbia & M. Italy 2002 Belo Horizonte (BRA) Russia Brazil Yugoslavia 2001 Katowice (POL) Brazil Italy Russia 2000 Rotterdam (NED) Italy Russia Brazil Mar d. Plata (ARG) Italy Cuba Brazil 1998 Milan (ITA) Cuba Russia Netherlands 1997 Moscow (RUS) Italy Cuba Russia 1996 Rotterdam (NED) Netherlands Italy Russia 1995 Rio de Janeiro (BRA) Italy Brazil Cuba Milan (ITA) Italy Cuba Brazil 1993 São Paulo (BRA) Brazil Russia Italy 1992 Genova (ITA) Italy Cuba USA 1991 Milan (ITA) Italy Cuba Russia 1990 Osaka (JPN) Italy Netherlands Brazil World League 2003 Final Report 9

6 Pool by Pool Pool B Pool A The Intercontinental Round 7 weekends 16 teams 44 cities 96 matches Pool A Pool B RUS POL ESP VEN BRA ITA POR GER Pool C Pool D Pool C Pool D YUG NED CUB BUL FRA CZE GRE JPN World League 2003 Final Report 11

Final Report 2003 Contents

Final Report 2003 Contents Page 2 4 11 12 18 24 30 36 Message from the President A final encounter few will forget puts the stamp of success on the 2003 World League 2003 Balance Sheet Reflecting on a