Croatian Marina Miletic joins Rabita Baku.

Volleyball Player of Croatia Marina Miletic leaves Dinamo Yantar to Azerbaijan for Rabita Baku. According to Miletic, a choice influenced the game Rabita in the Champions League.

"The invitation from Rabita facing great challenges in the Champions League is a chance to prove myself at the highest level. So I am very grateful to the leadership of Dinamo-Yantar,for let me go in the middleof the season. Dinamo-Yantar now turned in a difficult situation due to an epidemic of injuries, but I believe that the team will cope. I'll be rooting for the girls with whom managed to make friends. Well, I've got the Azerbaijani working visa and looking forward to the debut of the new team".

Date of birth	21/02/1983
Place of birth	Croatia
Nationality	Croatia
Height / Weight	180 cm - 70 kg
Current club	Dinamo Yantar (RUS)
Former clubs	Vukovar (CRO) Osijek (CRO) La Rochette (FRA) Le Cannet (FRA) Rijeka Kvig (CRO) Aspit Mulhouse (FRA)
Trophys and awards	2x Silver medal Championship of France 1x Silver medal Cup of France

Watching our Parkhomenko: Dinamo Moscow 3-0 Dinamo Krasnodar . Full match.

Igtisadchi of Jan De Brandt demolishes Rabita , Azerrail takes leadership, Loko takes revenge!!!

Yesterday the second round of the Azerbaijani Super league started with the match Azerrail - VC Baki.
Azerrail started match without its captain Natalia Hanikoglu who injuried her shoulder in one of previous matches. Jana Matiasovksa replaced her for this match. American setter Ashley Engle came back to Baku and played this match. Before we informed you she signed with Pesaro from Italy but came back to Azerbaijan.
Polina Rahimova and Sarai Alvarez started match with mutual strong attacks. Baki was very close to end the first set for its favour,but substitution Peretiatko-Nootsara helped Azerrail. With very accurate sets to Polina Rahimova by Nootsara, Azerrail closed the first set 25-21 from 19-21.
Azerrail played cosily and won the following sets 25-17: 25-15.
The best player of the match were: Tomkom Nootsara (Azerrail) and Michalea Manzoni (Baki).

Azerrail - VC BAKI 3:0 (25:21, 25:17, 25:15)

Azerrail: Peretiatko (Nootsara), Rahimova, Matiasovska,Pereira, Joines-Tamas,Petkova, Korotenko (l)

VC BAKI: Mojica (Engle), Acea Cabrera,Maksimenko,Alvarez, Manzoni, Oquendo,Kisner (l)


The second match of the day was one of the most interesting matches of the season. Rabita faced Igtisadchi which was looking forward to take revenge for the defeat in the first round. We have to say, Jan De Brandt did great job with the World Stars` team Igtisadchi Baku. He made qualitative changes in the game of the team. The agent Tunc Afshar brought the best players of their positions,but till now there was a Star Chaos in the team. But yesterday`s match showed once again-Jan De Brandt is a coach of GREAT teams.
Igtisadchi Baku started with very effective game on the back side,neutralizing attacks of strong spiker of Rabita. Yuko Sano played super matchs from the beginning till the end of the match. All of the players did the best to achieve the wished result. The first technical time out was 8-4 for Igtisadchi.Rabita played mostly from Natalya Mammadova and could equal and then dominate the score, 23-21. But Igtisadchi did not want to give up and with Tayyiba Haneef and Alice Blom perfect game in the front and Japanese miracle Sano and Finnish captain Lehtonen`s game in the back line outruned Rabita scoring 3 points in a row taking score from 23-21 to 24-23. Rabita equalled the score with Mammadova`s klling attack but Igtisadchi closed the set two times blocking attacks of Rabita. 26-24.
The second set was the copy of the first one,all the players played very well,but Igtisadchi was better than Rabita only in reception as Rabita`s Kim Glass played her not the best match on the back line. Spanish middle-blocker Marisa Fernandez and her Croatian colleague also on "position" Ivana Milos, did great job both in attacks and blocks. Rabita`s coach Dejan Brdjovic replaced experienced setter Iryna Zhukova to young Nenova after losing 4 points average on score. But Igtisadchi was playing like mechanism and won this battle 25-23 and the third set 25-22.
So,Igtisadchi took its revenge for the same type of defeat in the first round.
The best players of the match were: Yuko Sano from the winners and Natalya Mammadova from the losers. But for me,the hero of the match was Jan De Brandt!!!
Rabita - Igtisadchi 0:3 (24:26, 23:25, 22:25)

Rabita:Zhukova(Nenova),Starovic,Mammadova,Glass,Golubovic,Krsmanovic,Popovic (l)
Igtisadchi: Weiss, Haneef-Park, Lehtonen,Blom,Fernandez,Milos, Sano (l)


The third match of the day was played between Shirvan and Lokomotiv Baku. The main news of the day was Natavan Gasimova`s come back. More info: Soon

“Lokomotiv” - “Şirvan” - 3:0 (25:16, 25:14, 25:23)

Lokomotiv: Smak, Metcalf,Richards,Kamenova,Kovalenko-Poznyak,Klimovich, Filipova (l)

VC SHIRVAN: Gasimova, Zamanova,Aliyeva,Habibova,Price,Karimova,Gajewska (l)

1	Azerrail	6	5	1	16-5	11
2	Rabita	6	4	2	14-7	10
3	İqtisadçı	6	4	2	14-8	10
4	Lokomotiv	6	3	3	11-12	9
5	Bakı	6	1	5	5-15	7
6	Şirvan	6	1	5	4-17	7

Mira the Magnificent

One of the most experienced players in the Azerbaijani Superleague, Mira Golubovic is the epitome of success. With a good dozen of championship titles from five countries, she is a true inspiration for many and we are honored to have her as our next guest.

Have you had any prior information about Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani volleyball?

During my career I played lots of times against Azerbaijani clubs, so I knew very well what is the level of volleyball here, and I have to say that in the past two years there was a huge progress.

What were your first impressions of the city?

Baku changed a lot over the last few years. The city center is very beautiful with all the parks around. But Baku at night - with lights going up everywhere - is my favorite.

How did your family react when you told them that you were going to Azerbaijan?

Over the years I have played a lot abroad, so my family had already gotten used to it. And more importantly, they know that I feel very comfortable here and that is what matters for them.

How long did it take you to decide on the offer from Azerbaijan?

After I played for Rabita in the playoff finals last year, I saw that it is a very serious club and that the club is determined to be one of the best in Europe, so I really didn't think for long when they offered me a new contract.

How do you spend your free time in Baku?

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of free time, but when I do, I usually like to rest with a good book or a movie. I also enjoy spending time with friends.

Is there anyone you credit for helping you to become who you are today?

First of all, it is my family for they supported me in every decision that I made. Also, in my professional career I had 28 different coaches, and I guess they all helped me become who I am today.

Have you already tasted any local dishes?

I love to eat, and I already tried a lot of different dishes. For example, kebab is just great! I am also a big fan of Italian cuisine, and I'm happy that I found a great Italian restaurant here in Baku!

Do you get an extra attention in public?

There are a lot of people in Baky who like Rabita and sometimes they greet me on the street, welcoming to the club. People are very polite and friendly here.

What do you do when you get homesick?

I don't have time to be homesick (smiling). My friends visited me here and I also talk to my family every day, and thanks to Skype we stay in touch!