NAME IM LEGION

While silence is on the volleyball air - the team is preparing for the Olympic selection, and the clubs are just starting to come out of vacation - it's time to fill the gap. Why don't we talk, eg, about the legionnaires of the Superleague of the coming season? For the most part they are signed and the picture is clear on 80 percent.

First, what catches your eye is that the top seven clubs have fully staffed foreign positions and, mainly, stars of good size. At the same time, three clubs retained the foreigners from last season, two - only one was changed, and two more completely replaced them.

As for the second seven, then only Ugra-Samotlor and ASK (!) have now decided on the legionnaires, three more clubs have one foreigner each, and “Ural” and “Dynamo-LO” each have two foreign vacancies.

1. “Kuzbass” acted according to the principle “do not seek good from good” and retained two “golden” legionnaires. These are not stars of the first magnitude, but people, very organically fit into the composition of the champions. Rumors persist, that Pashitsky is waiting for a Russian passport, and then the club’s opportunities on the transfer market will increase, but personally I don’t believe in these prospects. It is not so easy for an athlete to obtain Russian citizenship, there needs to be a good reason for this, mainly – the prospects of playing for the national team. With all due respect to Pashitsky, he could compete for a place in the national team, but there is no urgent need for such strengthening. As for Kerminen, then he is the best, anyway, Libero Superliga, and that says it all. for the team, playing from defense, its role is difficult to overestimate.
2. The era of Leon and Anderson ended in Kazan. Erwin Ngapet did not reach the level of the Cuban last season, if you focus on the benefits brought to the team. clear, what is anthropometry, Leon and Ngapet have different playing styles and roles on the court, but the Frenchman really shined only a few times, while the Cuban showed a stable highest level. This season they promise, that they will deprive Erwin of excess weight, and he will be different. I doubt, because what prevented the Frenchman from getting in shape last year? Besides, Ngapeth can get bored in the fight against excess weight, like the same Le Roux in Dynamo. But we'll see, how much Erwin is a team player and what he is ready for for success in Kazan. Having lost Anderson and not getting Klyuka, Zenit decided to maintain attacking power with the help of positional castling - Maxim Mikhailov will go to the final game, and the highly experienced Tsvetan Sokolov was invited to replace the diagonal. However, he is a year younger than Mikhailov and is still full of strength. Sokolov, certainly, top value, but he still needs to pass the test of the Russian block - more than a couple of times a season, and on a constant axis.
3. “Torch” left libero – Eric Shoji, which is understandable, considering the usefulness of the American and the positivity he radiates (what is important for the microclimate). The departure of Artur Udris has puzzled many, especially since from this season Belarusians will be considered foreign players only on the court, there can be as many of them as you like in a team. Young Hungarian Christian Padar was invited instead, played in the Korean league. Physically gifted player, athletic, but we've already seen, how players moved from the Korean league to Russia, capable of tearing the ball and scoring 50 points per game (remember Gavin Schmitt?). Schmitt played a couple of matches with a bang, and then his game was dismantled and “ate” by the block. hope, that Padar will not go this route, but it will be a real discovery.
4. St. Petersburg Zenit retained its foreign stars, and that's the best, what could he do on the transfer market. And Groser, and Camejo - system-forming players, who just need to create the necessary conditions. Teamwork with the setter is very important for Groser, and it is advisable, if possible, to unload Camejo during the reception. When this couple is in order, it brings results.
5. curious, as Groser, and Kameho played in Lokomotiv. Now there are other characters in Novosibirsk, – and they are also retained for the second year)). And this is a plus in the railway karma: Jizga must finally get used to it, play around and deliver consistent quality. The same can be said about Ivovic., whose game went in waves. At all, stability is that, what Loko was missing. Konstantinov is trying to achieve it through the stability of his lineup., a very sensible approach with such a set of performers.
6. "Belogorye", seem to be, left disappointed with sixth place. And in vain - an excellent coach and a couple of systemic players left the team, who carried the team on themselves. Substitution, to be honest, doesn't look quite adequate. However, Luburic is a reliable option in the diagonal, and Rosalin Penchev is theoretically capable of surprises. Another thing, that Penchev in his 24 year remains for the eldest in the Belgorod “kindergarten”, and Poroshin’s possible transfer to St. Petersburg exposes the position of the setter, that with closed legionary places extremely narrows the search for adequate options. Belgorod residents may develop a kind of tsutsvang, but it only indirectly relates to our current topic.
7. Dynamo Moscow danced the “two steps forward” dance on the transfer market, one - back". The signing of Taylor Sander is one of the most high-profile (if not the loudest) season transitions. Sander, if it's the same, same as in the national team, capable of giving the team and the entire championship a lot, a lot. Another thing, which is still unknown, How will he show himself in Russia?. Preparing for the Olympics is a tricky business, and force the form, perhaps, not in the interests of one of the leaders of the US team. As for the Canadian Maar, then this is that very step back - against the backdrop of Sander, at least. Although he is quite capable of becoming a joker - if he wins the competition against Berezhko.
8. “Ural” miraculously still remains without foreign players. Having lost the Italian Antonov during last season, the club released the Belarusian Miskevich and the Ukrainian Ereshchenko upon graduation. Analyzing the current team composition, you come to a conclusion, that the team is obligatory! – need a binder (because Makarov is good, but the season won’t last alone). Questions about the second vacancy: Only someone very cool can strengthen the team in other positions, and those have been on contracts for a long time. Therefore, I consider the possible final emptyness of the rows, which is no longer news for the Super League.
9. At Dynamo-LO, the foreign players’ places are also empty for now, after all, Lukas Divis has a Russian passport. The team needs at least one blocker in the rotation., otherwise, as they say, at the discretion of the coaching staff, taking into account financial capabilities.
10. "Nova" as it was, So there was only one nominal foreigner left - Sergei Busel. The club seems to have come out of a financial dive, but for now it is active exclusively on the Russian market. Whether it will be the turn of the legionnaires is unknown, but the club needs finishers, and a blocker wouldn't hurt. Maxim Shulgin, with all his experience, has not played first violin for quite a long time, so here too, perhaps, at least competition will be required.
11. "Gazprom-Ugra", seriously shaking up the lineup, made a bet on the legionnaire – Maciej Muzaj. If a second Bakun comes out of it (in that sense, which Konstantin represented for the club, speaking in Surgut), it will be at least interesting. All other positions are staffed, if not “stellarly”, then quite deep and with perspective. The second “semi-position” of the legionnaire is occupied by Belarusian Pavel Avdochenko, leaving theoretical chances for additional loading “a la Bisset” from last season.
12. Legionnaires don’t stay at Yenisei for long – so Carroll and Marechal left Krasnoyarsk. I'm especially sorry for the last one, the Frenchman fulfilled his contract with a solid A. Instead of him, the Bulgarian Skrimov, already known to the Russians for playing for “Nova”, was called under the banner. His advantages are that he is familiar with the Super League, has a killer serve and smooth overall game. His partner is Ukrainian Ereshchenko, even more familiar with Russian realities. Seem to be, in Krasnoyarsk they want to see those, who wouldn't be scared by Siberia, frosts and the Super League in general.
13. “Ugra-Samotlor”, in an atypical manner for itself, took care of the equipment in advance and closed both legionary positions quite early. The preservation of the Australian diagonal Williams can be called an undoubted success, showed excellent results both in Nizhnevartovsk, and in the national team at the League of Nations. His signing took place after a pause, but these are minor details. To make Williams feel at home, compatriot Hodges was “discharged” to him - or, perhaps, took him on the advice of Williams himself. We know about Hodges, that he played beach volleyball, and in the Australian national team he is also listed as a diagonal, although in Nizhnevartovsk, as it appears, will act as a finisher. As it were, a couple of Australians in Siberia is a serious bid for something more, than the fight for survival in the Super League.
14. The ASK recruit also decided on foreigners. This is the well-known setter Denis Petrovs and the unknown diagonal John Wendt. The Frenchman spent the last season in Turkey, has average diagonal data (198 cm. height, attack 348 cm, block 320 cm). Apparently, Igor Shulepov saw something in him - we will, as they say, look.

In conclusion I would like to note, that the economic situation dictates its own specifics - if five years ago many clubs dreamed of expanding the limit to at least three foreigners, then today not everyone will fill even two positions. There are also advantages to this: Additional opportunities are opening up for Russians. The downside is also obvious: The gap between the leading clubs and the rest is growing, which is determined not so much by the number of filled legionary positions, how much quality they have. However, the set is not finished yet, we will see, what will we come to in the fall.