Natavan Gasimova`s Scavolini qualifies to Semi- Final of Italian Cup

The Azerbaijani National team member, our honour in Italy Natavan Gasimova`s team Scavolini Pesaro qualified to Semi- Final of the Italian Cup defeating Rebecchi Piacenza after two matches scores.

Natavan played the last three sets of the match,scored one point from attack and showed good performance,especially at the making attacks of the "First Temp".

After winning two sets in a row Italian coach Paolo Tofoli made the young players play substituting Flier to Pascucci, Manzano to Olivotto, Senna Usic to her sister Marija Usic and Feretti to Natavan Gasimova.

Natavan`s performance was really very mentionable that was commented by the head coach of the "Colibri`s" Paolo Tofol - " Nati (Gasimova) showed good performance, I saw good signals in her game. Although I told her not to overload herself,because as we know she recovers from the injury of the knee, I was satisfied with her game. But I think it is not her 100% performance."

Yesterday, Scavolini Pesaro defated one of the favourites of the Italian Serie A Asystel Novara in three straight sets.

Natalya Mammadova: CEV Champions League Final Four: Rabita 3-1 Scavolini

From Wild Card to FINAL - RABITA`s HISTORY !!!

First Day:

With an outstanding performance of their captain and most representative player, Natalya Mammadova, the Azeri of Rabita Baku - who had joined the CEV Champions League only this season - edged out their rivals from Italy, Scavolini Pesaro, in four sets (25:23, 25:16, 13:25, 25:14) to write history for their country. Mammadova was asked by her coach Brdjovic to seat out third set and that was the only moment where Italy's national champion showed the capacity to control the game. Azerbaijan did already have a representative in the final four of the CEV Champions League some 5 years ago but at that time Azerrail had to be content with a fourth place... This time Mammadova & Co. will certainly be able to do even better! Not to mention that with Azerrail claiming today also the return game in the semis of the GM Capital Challenge Cup, there will be an all-Azeri final there, so Azerbaijan can not ask for more.

Thousands of passionate volleyball fans had hardly waited for the final and most exciting act of the 2011 CEV Champions League and eventually their patience and loyalty were rewarded as Scavolini Pesaro and Rabita Baku started their warm-up for the first semifinal accompanied by a very special soundtrack that was actually a kind of tribute to their respective countries of origin, Italy and Azerbaijan. The girls were joined by their fans, with the Azeri proudly waving their national flags while the Italians of Pesaro were uniformly dressed in red, i.e. the corporate color of their club.

This first semifinal was also going to prolong the rivalry that had started in the prelims of the 2011 CEV Champions League as Rabita and Scavolini were drawn in Pool E and their past head-to-heads stood at 1:1, as they had both claimed their respective home games. Since then or actually quite recently a major change had somehow affected the roster of Scavolini, as American spiker Destinee Hooker quitted the team last week to fly back home and apparently get immediate surgery on her knee. Anyway, although sidelined by this absence, the Italians were nevertheless well ready to fight, as per the statements of their coach, legendary setter and two-time (1990 and 1994) world champion Paolo Tofoli.

Rabita Baku enjoyed a very good start (3:1) before a double block of Saccomani and Manzano stopped Azeri captain Mammadova to draw the count at 8 all. 20-year old Laura Saccomani was dictating the rhythm for Scavolini and she was even able to turn the score around as the Italians went up twice by one point (8:9 and 9:10). However, the general impression was that the girls were not yet playing at full speed and so the score remained extremely tight before Rabita went for the second mandatory stop with a slim margin of two points contributed by Mammadova and Starovic. Dutch lady Manon Flier missed the opportunity to level at 16 as she lost coordination and timing while spiking from the right wing and Tofoli went for his first time-out as his girls were trailing down 15:18. Flier was really struggling to find the necessary consistency and stamina, so Rabita widened the gap (21:15) and it looked like the fate of the opening set was already determined. After another short talk with their mentor, the "Colibri" - as they are known in Italy - found back the right tempo and forced the Serbian coach of Rabita, Dejan Brdjovic, to go for his first time-out. With a fault being whistled to setter Zhukova and Mammadova sending the ball a way too long from the serving line, Pesaro cut the Azeri lead (23:21) and the tie was almost there as Starovic did not control her next kill down the line for the 23:22. Kim Glass showed off some real power to contribute two set balls for Rabita and Baku went up 1:0 after narrowly missing the first opportunity to pocket the opening set.

Rabita displayed the right teamwork and dynamism also in the opening of the second set, while Pesaro was a bit harmed by a defense that was definitely not solid and hence not helping their many efforts in attack. The excellent pipe of Manon Flier was blocked by Mira Golubovic and the Azeri glories sailed away 8:5 for the first technical stop. Rabita was apparently not to stop: Mammadova and Starovic were "on", the Azeri block was always well placed while the Italians looked totally lost. Captain Martina Guiggi took the responsibility to relight the Italian hopes but it was not going to be that easy, as her side was down 12:18 and with the rally point system this is a distance you can hardly compensate. However, Manon Flier was finally scoring with the frequency she is normally used to, to make it 20:16 for Rabita but the Azeri were so self-confident that they were even playing without Mammadova, opting for Latvian Olga Ativi as their diagonal spiker. As they were about to crown their quest with success, the Italians lost again command of the operations by committing many mistakes and a net violation of Senna Usic Jogunica sealed the set for the Azeri joy (25:16).

As teams changed sides, Manon Flier was firing up her fellows by saying that "since we are here and this is a final four, we can't just lose like this" and she definitely spread that fighting spirit across her mates who played with courage and intelligence in the opening of set 3 (3:8 for Pesaro. Back to the court, Natalya Mammadova immediately scored from the back row but another freaky crosscourt of Manon Flier helped Scavolini pursue the dream for, as minimum goal, a fourth set. At an embarrassing 12:5 for Pesaro, Brdjovic called his girls back to the bench but in vain, as youngster Saccomani and Usic killed a couple of wonderful attacks to maintain that kind of fifth gear also for the next few rallies (16:7). The train was already gone for Rabita and captain Guiggi clipped the 25:13 that kept alive the chances of Pesaro to make it to the final game here in Istanbul.

The Azeri had probably decided to spare their energy for the fourth set where they immediately set the pace with Mammadova and Glass on fire (5:2). And Ukrainian-born Natalya Mammadova who - before moving to Azerbaijan and getting married there - claimed also a silver medal at the Junior European Championships with her home country was the real lethal weapon that Rabita could rely on as she bagged the decisive mini-break with three aces and Baku was hence confidently heading into the second technical time-out at 16:8. The Azeri machine never stopped scoring and their dream - shared by a country that is totally fond of Volleyball - was fulfilled as Starovic blocked an Italian attack for the final 25:14.

"We are disappointed, for sure, to lose this semifinal; whenever you go for such an important match like the one we had this afternoon, you dream of the perfect game and we definitely did not show our full potential. Many people are wondering about the chances that we could have had if Destinee (Hooker) was still with us. But you can't speculate and we had to play this game with our current forces. Manon got injured right before the start of the game and nevertheless played a good game, so she is definitely not the one to be blamed for this defeat", said Martina Guiggi.

"I am sad and angry at the same time" added Paolo Tofoli. "Sad because we have just lost a semifinal of the Champions League and angry because I am missing - and this is not our fault - a player that could have turned things around. Today we saw that one player, Mammadova, can make the difference and we were missing that player. Moreover, if you look at the stats, you can see that they scored 7-8% more of their attacks and also with their high balls they were more consistent than us, so they finally deserved to win. Moreover, as they took out Mammadova in the third set, I think they were a bit too confident and it looked like they were kidding us, but after set 3 they were forced to have her back on court. I guess they planned to rest her for the final."

"I agree with Paolo and his analysis of the game. Our middle blockers performed better than theirs, but I am not happy with the way we played. We were tense and anxious in the opening of the game, we felt the pressure of playing a semi of the Champions League and the score stayed close in the first set only because we played both a very poor volleyball. I hope for a much better performance tomorrow, even though it makes me happy that Azerbaijan qualified for the first time to the final game" concluded the coach of Rabita Baku, Dejan Brdjovic.

Meanwhile, in the second semifinal game VakifGunes defeated Fenerbahce 3:2 (19:25, 25:21, 21:25, 25:19, 15:11) and will challenge Rabita Baku in the final game.

Second Day:

After four months of exciting games and hard-fought battles, the last act of the 2011 CEV Champions League was celebrated this afternoon (Sunday, March 20) in a fully packed "Burhan Felek" Volleyball Hall and regardless of its final outcome, history was certainly going to be re-written as Azerbaijan and Turkey had both never won Europe's most elitist competition so far. A good share of the colorful fans of Fenerbahce had stayed there after the end of the classification game claimed by their heroines but they were joined also by some 700 fans of Rabita who had traveled this weekend from Baku to watch their girls possibly contributing even more joy to a country that is totally fond of this sport.

It was Volleyball at its finest, as it actually is meant to be whenever the most prestigious European trophy is at stake and the players of VakifGunes started relaxed but confident enough, still powered by the incredible motivation and stamina stemming from the sensation they had caused yesterday in the derby with Fenerbahce. On the other hand, Mammadova did not wait too long to fire up her personal show, attacking and regularly scoring from any position. However, although yesterday - as per the words of Scavolini coach Paolo Tofoli - she showed that one player can make the difference, and actually she did in the semi with the Italians, the teamwork displayed by VakifGunesTTelekom was absolutely outstanding, as it was their defense: almost no ball was touching the ground, while Nikolic, Glinka and captain Gözde Sonsirma were perfectly executing their job in attack (19:10). In its only previous participation in the final four of the Champions League, VakifGunes had finished fourth in Cannes 5 years ago but this time it seemed that the plan worked out by their Italian-born mentor Giovanni Guidetti could not have been better and more accurate. VakifGunes had full command of the operations and a splendid attack of their captain Gözde Sonsirma sealed a massive 25-13 that seemed to question and put in real danger the Azeri ambitions to bring home the cup.

VakifGunes played some wonderful Volleyball also in the opening of the second set, once again with a perfect block-defense system, although the difference was made also by the efficiency of their attackers who had stood at 50% vs. 25% for Rabita in set 1. Sanja Starovic and Natasa Krsmanovic - Rabita was actually lining up a good share of Serbia's national team, whose captain, Jelena Nikolic, was curiously playing on the other side of the net - drew the count to 6 all, after Starovic had delighted the audience by catching the ball with her left foot after being blocked and a few seconds later successfully completed the next counterattack. However, Nikolic and Poljak widened the gap for the Turks (11:7), forcing Rabita coach Dejan Brdjovic to seek "refuge" in a time-out: it was all in vain as VakifGunes looked unstoppable, Maja Poljak avoided the block of Rabita to stamp the provisional 14:7 and the Turkish march continued almost without any break also after the second mandatory stop. Rabita was a faded copy of the team that yesterday had historically pocketed a ticket for the final game, as the girls in yellow jerseys were probably feeling the pressure and responsibility descending from such a unique scenario and opportunity. Starovic tried to relight the Azeri hopes, cut a bit the gap to 23:19, but the next couple of rallies fully belonged to VakifGunes.

It was a wonderful day also for Poland’s glory Malgorzata Glinka-Mogentale who had stopped playing Volleyball for 2 years, had a baby and then decided to come back this year by accepting the proposal of VakifGunes to play in Turkey's national league as well as in the CEV Champions League, a competition she had never claimed before in her already long and well decorated career. Rabita did not have any chance to turn the game around until the girls around Giovanni Guidetti started feeling some pressure right after the second technical break of set 3 as they were already glancing at the finish line of a memorable weekend. Guidetti succeeded in calming down his protégés who - after a time-out at 16:13 - booked five out of the next six rallies. Captain Gözde Sonsirma showed off all of her repertoire with a delicious tip to go for the 23:16 and she was the lady that contributed also the last point for a magical moment in the history of Volleyball here in Turkey.

Individual Awards

MVP: Malgorzata Glinka-Mogentale (VakifGunesTTelekom)
Best Blocker: Maja Poljak (VakifGunesTTelekom)
Best Libero: Gizem Guresen (VakifGunesTTelekom)
Best Receiver: Gozde Sonsirma (VakifGunesTTelekom)
Best Scorer: Jelena Nikolic (VakifGunesTTelekom)
Best Server: Natalya Mammadova (Rabita Baku)
Best Setter: Ozge Cemberci Kirdar (VakifGunesTTelekom)
Best Spiker: Manon Flier (Scavolini Pesaro)

All-Azerbaijani finale in the GM Challenge Cup: Azerrail vs. Lokomotiv

Almost two hours of play were needed this afternoon in Nizhny Tagil before Azerrail Baku stamped a 3:1 (25:15, 25:21, 23:25, 25:19) win over the hosts of Uralochka-NTMK Yekaterinburg to qualify to the final of the 2011 GM Capital Challenge Cup, after having already claimed the first match staged this past Tuesday in Azerbaijan. The last act of this competition will turn into an Azerbaijani affair as Azerrail will be playing there the winner of the derby starring Igtisadchi and Lokomotiv.

Azerrail enjoyed a very easy and smooth run in the opening set, going for the 25:15 via the splendid attacks of an unstoppable Polina Rahimova. Although Uralochka did play significantly better in the second set, Azerrail still had the upper hand, by keeping full command of the operations and stamping the 25:21 that moved the count to 2:0.

The Russians were able to bring a set home as they fought with all their hearts also to compensate the absence of their captain Evgenia Estes (Artamonova), sidelined by a back injury. After trailing down 15:16, Uralochka was able to turn the score around and regularly block Polina Rahimova for the final 25-23. Uralochka extended that good rhythm also to the opening of set 4, where the hosts went ahead 8:6 but they were ultimately hampered by their many errors in attack and defense, paving the way for the final 25:23 stamped by Azerrail.

Best scorers of the game were Polina Rahimova with 29 points for Azerrail and Marina Maryukhnich with 17 for Uralochka.

In the second match of the GM Challenge Cup semifinal, Lokomotiv Baku defeated Igtisadchi in a "golden set" 15:13 and advanced to the final of the competition where they will face Azerrail for an all-Azerbaijani finale.

Lokomotiv won the first semifinal match against Igtisadchi 3:0 last Wednesday, but then they lost the return match 2:3 (25:23, 20:25, 22:25, 25:14, 8:15) on Sunday afternoon. The right to play in the final was decided in the "golden set", where Lokomotiv prevailed in a hard fought battle, 15:13.

Now, two Baku clubs will clash in the final for the right to bring the second European volleyball cup to Azerbaijan.

Prior to this year, only Italy has had two of its teams meet in the final of this tournament.

Straight but very hard victory...

Baku, Azerbaijan, March 16, 2011. Lokomotiv BAKU won the Azerbaijani derby against Igtisadchi played this afternoon at the “Sarhadchi Sports Olympic Centre” for the semifinals of the 2011 GM Capital Challenge Cup. Lokomotiv edged out their archrivals in straight sets (25-21, 25-20, 28-26) and next Sunday will go for the return game in a very favorable position to claim a ticket for the final.
Players, officials and fans joined a minute of silence that was observed before the start of the game in memory of the many victims caused by the terrific earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan this past Friday, March 11.
Right after that, Lokomotiv and Igtisadchi played with all their hearts as they desperately wanted to go for the win. Lokomotiv went up 8:4 by the first mandatory stop and was able to maintain that margin (16:13); although Igtisadchi went for some substitutions and their coach, Belgian Jan de Brandt, stopped the game to re-organize their play, it did not pay back as Lokomotiv pocketed the opening set 25-21.
Igtisadchi started well (3:0) in the second set and at 5:1, Lokomotiv mentor Dragutin Baltic asked his first time-out. However, Igtisadchi could stretch their lead (8:2) before Lokomotiv scored the next three consecutive points. Well supported by their fans, the girls of Lokomotiv clawed back to tie at 10 and then cruised past by the second technical break (14:16). As Lokomotiv was setting the pace quite comfortably (20:15), Igtisadchi used their second time-out but several mistakes in attack paved the way for the final 25-20 and the 2:0 for Lokomotiv.
Igtisadchi tried to change their play in set 3 and the score stayed pretty tight, with many ties up to 20:20. At 22 all, Baltic replaced US American Nancy Jean Metcalf with Slovak Monika Smak before Kristin Richards was also substituted by Bulgarian Mariya Filipova. The score went up to 26:26 and as Croatian Ivana Milos got injured in the next rally, Lokomotiv got a match ball that was immediately silvered for the final 3:0.

48 points of young STAR Polina Rahimova help Azerrail to defeat legendary Uralochka!

In the first semifinal match of the GM Challenge Cup on Tuesday evening in Baku, Azerrail defeated Russian powerhouse Uralochka in five sets (25:22, 22:25, 25:21, 29:31, 15:13) to move one step closer to the final.

In the first set, Azerrail opened up a quick two-point lead, 4:2, and gradually expanded it to a five-point advantage, 13:8. Uralochka countered with a 5:1 run to pull within one, 14:13. The teams traded points back and forth before Uralochka leveled the score at 19, forcing Azerrail timeout. Out of the break, Polina Rahimova scored three of the next five Azerrail points for a critical, 24:21 lead. Azerrail's defensive miscue gave Uralochka another point, 22:24, but Polina Rahimova sealed the set with a powerful spike off the block and out of bounds, 25:22.

The second set was the mirror image of the first, as Uralochka set up an early four-point lead, 9:5. Azerrail responded with a solo effort from Rahimova, who kept piercing Uralochka's defense with cross-court spikes from right and left. But the determined Russian side got the tempo going and seven (!) back-to-back points from Rahimova were more than offset by ten points from Filipova and Estes, 19:12. Down, 19:24, Azerrail fought off three set points on serves from Jennifer Tamas, but ultimately Uralochka was able to close the set, 25:22.

The third set was a close affair, as the teams swapped leads eight times early on. With the game tied at 12, Uralochka misplayed a Elisangela Paulino serve, and then Rahimova produced a kill and a block to make it 15:12. Uralochka caught back up with the host team once again at 17:17. But Azerrail came back with four points for a 21:18 lead. Moments later, a powerful spike from Iliyana Petkova gave Azerrail commanding lead, 24:20 and then a kill from Natalya Hanikoglu gave the set to Azerrail, 25:21.

The fourth set was as close as it only gets in volleyball, as neither team was able to distance itself from the other by more than three points throughout the entire set. Two-point Uralochka lead at the first technical timeout, 8:6, has turned into a one-point Azerrail lead, 16:15, by the time of the second technical. A powerful spike from Hanikoglu put Azerrail up by three-points, 21:18, but almost immediately the visiting team notched four straight points for a 22:21 Uralochka advantage. With the set tied again at 23:23, both teams traded points for a total of seven set/match points, until a reception error from Azerrail players gave the set to Uralochka, 31:29.

The beginning of the fifth, decisive, set could not have been worse for Azerrail. Clearly disheartened by the heartbreaking loss in the fourth set, Azerrail players only watched Uralochka pick up one point after another, for a 7:1 lead. Down by five, 3:8, the situation was quickly turning dire. But yet again, Polina Rahimova proved one more time why is she rightfully one of the biggest and brightest young stars in European and probably World volleyball. Five consecutive points by Rahimova cut Uralochka lead to only one, 9:8. Two more kills from Elisangela and Petkova pushed Azerrail ahead, 11:10, forcing Uralochka head coach Nikolai Karpol to take a timeout. With their backs against the wall, Uralochka recaptured the lead, 13:12 and now it was Azerrail coach Vugar Aliyev's turn to take a break. A missed Uralochka ball gave another point to Azerrail, 13:13 and then another Uralochka tip over landed out of bounds though Uralochka players and head coach Karpol argued vehemently that it was in. One point shy of victory, Iliyana Petkova put the exclamation point on the great comeback with a well-timed floater to propel Azerrail to a 15:13 match win.

Young Polina Rahimova scored record points in this match... 48 points with 53% effiency - is just great record... She scored these 48 points- 39 attacks,6 blocks and 3 aces.

The return leg of this semifinal will be played this coming Saturday, March 19, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.

Big Friend Ace Asas compares: Mammadova ws. Flier

Face-Off: Mammadova vs Flier

Mon, Mar 14, 2011

Europe, Fan Zone, In The Spotlight

In case you didn’t know, the Final Four of the Champions League is less than 6 days away and will be held in the beautiful city of Istanbul. Turkey’s very own Fenerbahce Acibadem will play against another Turkish team, Vakifbank, while Italy’s Scavolini Pesaro will face Rabita Baku from Azerbaijan in the other semifinal match.

Some of the world’s best and most famous players are on the four teams, so we decided to have this special feature called “Face-Off” prior to the event.

Our first Face-Off contenders are 2 of Europe’s biggest bangers: Manon Flier (NED) andNatalya Mammadova (AZE).

In our opinion, Manon Flier is by far the most popular female player The Netherlands has ever produced. The opposite hitter is known for her looks and her skills. When she plays for the Dutch national team, Manon gets the most sets and 99% of the time ends up as the best scorer for her team.

Manon has accomplished a few “Best Scorer”, “Best Server” and “MVP” awards since her national team debut in 2001:

• 2007 FIVB World Grand Prix “Most Valuable Player”
• 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix “Best Scorer”
• 2009 FIVB World Grand Prix “Best Server”
• 2009 European Championships “Most Valuable Player”

Manon’s portfolio is not just about individual awards but also team titles which includes winning the GOLD in the 2007 World Grand Prix as well as a silver medal finish in the 2009 European Championships.

Flier joined Scavolini Pesaro for the first time this season and has been the team’s most reliable scorer.

STRENGTHS:

• Aside from her thunder-like jump serves, Manon’s float serve is also very efficient.
• She can hit anywhere on the court!
• Great fighting spirit.
• At 1.92 meters, Manon can block.
• She can also set when the setter takes the first ball (she did a lot of setting at the 2010 World Championship).
• Experience: Manon has played in a lot of international tournaments for The Netherlands.

WEAKNESSES:

• Defense.
• The pressure is on Manon without Hooker to help her. Pesaro is going through a lot of drama since Hooker’s departure and might have affected the team personally and professionally. Take note, this is Pesaro’s first trip to the Final Four of the Champions League so there’s a lot of pressure and excitement building up.

Flier becomes the sole effective weapon now that Hooker is gone. We expect her to get almost every set from Ferretti against Rabita Baku who is the home team of the greatNatalya Mammadova…

Set her the ball! Set Natalya the ball! Set her the ball and she will kill it!

Natalya Mammadova has played in a lot of European tournaments but the rest of the world hasn’t seen much of her greatness except when Azerbaijan competed in the 2006 World Grand Prix and 2006 World Championship,She is a BIG star in European Volleyball. Whenever she plays in a tournament, we already expect her to win the “Best Scorer” award. In our opinion, no one else from the Azerbaijan National Team can hit and score like her. She is just GREAT! A complete offensive package who always seems to be having a great time blasting balls from the front row and the back row.

Aside from her “Best Scorer” award from the 2006 World Grand Prix, Mamma was awarded as the “Best Scorer” of the Champions League for 3 consecutive years: 2004, 2005, 2006. She was named as Europe’s Best Player in 2007. Mamma has stated that she has enough individual awards already and this time she wants to win the Champions League – which is possible.

STRENGTHS:

• Mamma is a very powerful and smart hitter.
• Jump serves.
• 1.95 cm, she can block.
• Unlike Flier, she plays outside and passes for her team.
• She is reliable! She’s used to it!

WEAKNESSES:

• Defense
• Limited international experience with Azerbaijan.
• When Mamma is having a bad day, her team’s chances of winning is very small.

Manon and Natalya are amazing players and they contribute a lot as in A LOT to their team’s success with their respective national and professional club teams. They’ve made names for themselves through hard work and dedication. These women possess great fighting spirits which their fans appreciate and adore.

FACE-OFF VERDICT: After analyzing each player’s strengths and weaknesses and also their respective club teams, the WINNER of this Face-Off is NATALYA MAMMADOVA!

Why Mammadova? Rabita Baku also has other great hitters, ie Kim Glass & Sanja Starovic, together with 2 talented middles, Nataša Krsmanović & Mira Golubović. The presence of these players will allow Mammadova to focus on her role and execute a more effective game. She will not bear the same level of pressure that Flier has on her shoulders now that Hooker is gone. We strongly believe if you play a match with less pressure, there’s a bigger chance that your efficiency will also be higher. In addition to this, Mammadova will not be physically exhausted & can maintain her level because of her strong support system.

As for Flier, let’s face it Flier is Pesaro’s ONLY effective hitter. We don’t know who will replace Hooker but Flier has been the team’s effective weapon. Pesaro’s outside hitter, Senna Usic, really needs to step up her game and support Manon. Pesaro is not a great passing team and so they rarely utilize their middles which is a big minus.

WATCH: Natalya Mammadova in action!

Thanks to our GREAT friend Ace Asas from www.volleywood.net

Kathleen Weiss: Better to have 6 very strong teams than 12 teams with weak squads

" Our next rival Lokomotiv Baku is one of the strongest teams,but we hope we can manage to qualify to the Final of the European Cup. If we play as we do in the local Arena,we can defeat them once again and advance to the Final. "- said Igtisadchi`s German setter Kathleen Weiss.

"We pretend to win the Challenge Cup, but it does not mean that we forget about the Azerbaijani Super league. Yes,we qualified to the Final Round directly,but we can not relax, as each of the opponents is very strong".

Comparing Azeri Super league with Germanian, Dutch and Italian leagues where she played Kathleen said: "Azerbaijani Super league is a very high level tournament. There are very strong teams in the Azeri Super league. All of teams fight for the titul of the league and we can not call any of them a weak opponent. I think it is much better to have 6 very strong teams than 12 teams with weaker squads."

The First Azeri Derby Ever in European Arena...

Two Azerbaijani clubs will meet in the European Arena for the first time ever in the history of Azeri Volleyball.

Lokomotiv Baku will face another Azeri club igtisadchi Baku in the Semi-Final round of the European Challenge Cup tournament. The historical event will take place in Baku, Sarhadchi Olympivc Centre, in March 15,2011 at 18:00.

A day later another Azeri club- Azerrail Baku will test the Legendary Uralochka of Russian outstanding coach Nikolay Karpol, in the same place and at the same time...

We wish success to our team... We can have another Azeri duel in Europe in the case Azerrail defeats Uralochka...

All the matches will be shown by Idman Azerbaycan TV Online!

Link: http://www.yildiz.tv/?act=dvr&chan=idmanaz

Mira Golubovic: Boom Boom!!!

Rabita faces Cannes in friendly...

Rabita Baku will face French RC Cannes before the "Final Four" of the European Champions League....
The match will take place in Cannes on the 15th of March at 22:00. After this match Rabita will fly to Istanbul to continue preparation fo the match against Scavolini Pesaro on the 19th March...

Lokomotiv and Azerrail are very close to "Final Four"

First matches of the Play-off...

“Lokomotiv” – “Bakı” - 3:0 (25:19, 25:21, 25:15)

“Azərreyl” – “Şirvan” - 3:0 (25:11, 25:13, 25:14)

The results in the Regular Season

“Lokomotiv” – “Bakı” - 3:1 (25:20, 20:25, 25:18, 31:29)
“Bakı” - “Lokomotiv” - 1:3 (13:25, 25:22, 24:26, 24:26)

“Şirvan” - “Azərreyl” - 0:3 (21:25, 11:25, 12:25)
“Azərreyl” – “Şirvan” - 3:0 (25:20, 25:12, 25:16)

Azeri Play Off Starts on 11st March.

The first Play Off matches of Azeri Super League start on the 11st March by the match Lokomotiv - VC BAKI.
The match will start at 16:00. Two hours later Azerrail will test the outsider of the league, young girls of SHIRVAN.

11 March 16:00
Lokomotiv - VC BAKI

11 March 18:00
Azerrail - VC SHIRVAN

Mamma Mia: MAMMADOVA !!!

Great news for Volley Lovers: "İdman Azərbaycan TV" is ONLINE!!!

Super news for Volleyball lovers!!! The first SPorts TV channel "Idman Azerbaycan TV" which broadcasts all the matches of the Azeri Super League is ONLINE now!!!
With the link below all the followers of Azeri Super league and our citizens abroad can watch upcoming matches of the Quarter Finals and Final Four Round LIVE on "Idman Azerbaycan TV"

LINK: http://www.yildiz.tv/?act=dvr&chan=idmanaz