Since its appearance in Belarus, volleyball has won people's love. This is not about professional sports, but the widespread passion for this game. In 1935, there were about a thousand volleyball courts in Belarus - almost half of all sports facilities in the country. By the beginning of 1941, there were 15 times more of them - about 15 thousand! Everyone played volleyball: officially, in the early 1940s, about 50,000 people played volleyball in the country.

For the first time people learned about volleyball in Belarus in the mid-20s of the last century. Very soon, volleyball sections were formed in Minsk and large cities of the country. The artists of the Kupala Theater were great fans and propagandists of this game: among the official documents for 1928, there was an order from the theater directorate, which noted that during the tour the artists were fond of the game and were late for rehearsals.

After World War II, the passion for volleyball continued. There were 3 places in Minsk where every amateur could play: the park of culture and recreation named after. Gorky, as well as areas at the entrance to the stadium "Dynamo" and the stadium of hand games "Spartak".

Belarusian teams took part in the championships and Cups of the USSR, although without much success. Only in the second half of the 1970s did the first serious victories come: in 1977, the Gomel "Promstroy" won the USSR Cup, a year later, the Minsk "Motor" won the same trophy.

After another 10 years, the women's team "fired". In 1986 and 1988, girls from Kommunalnik Minsk became bronze medalists of the USSR championship, and in 1987 they won the Cup Winners' Cup of the European Volleyball Confederation.

Sovereign steps into the elite

After Belarus gained independence, national volleyball teams were formed, and the national championship was also organized. In the ranking of popularity among team sports, volleyball is not in the first roles, yielding to football, hockey, handball and basketball. However, every team has its fans. Actively play volleyball and at the amateur level. Unofficial tournaments are held among business companies.

National championships are played in Belarus (among men and women). The leader of the national championship is Stroitel Minsk, which has won 4 league titles in a row. There is also a representative of Belarus in the Russian Championship - Shakhtar Soligorsk.

The most titled volleyball club in Belarus (among men) is Kommunalshchik Grodno - 5 victories in the national championship.

The highest success in women's volleyball was achieved by the Minsk Kommunalnik, later renamed Amkodor. He won 8 championship titles, but was disbanded in 1999 for financial reasons. To date, the best team in the country is Atlant Baranovichi, which has won the national championship 5 times over the past 8 years.

At the national team level, the Belarusian squads are not yet included in the European volleyball elite, but are on the way to it. The highest achievement of the women's team of Belarus is the 8th place at the European Championships in 1993 and 1995. At the Olympics and in the final tournaments of the world championships, Belarusians did not play. The men's team of Belarus won a ticket to the European Championship 2013, which will be held in Denmark and Poland.

Belarusian coach for Russia

One of the most famous Belarusians in volleyball is Vladimir Alekno, a native of Polotsk. Having started playing volleyball at the age of 10, at the age of 14 he entered the Minsk sports boarding school. His playing career also began in the capital of Belarus - Minsk SKA became his first club. Then, in 1988, he moved to the strongest club in Russia - CSKA, in which he twice became the champion of the USSR, won the Union Cup and the European Champions Cup. Then V. Alekno moved to the Bulgarian "Levski" - and became the champion of Bulgaria. Vladimir played in Italy and France, and as part of the French Cannes he became the champion and winner of the French Cup.

As a coach, he led the French Thor, Russian Dynamo and Zenit. Twice he was appointed head coach of the Russian national team - in 2007 and 2010. At the London Olympics, the Russian team under his leadership won gold medals - for the first time since 1980.

After returning from Ankara at the Minsk-2 airport in the capital, the players of the national volleyball team were keenly interested in where the final part of the 2013 European Championship would be held. It cannot be said that they were not interested in the venue of the continental forum before, but after numerous attempts to overcome the qualifying barrier, this issue was irrelevant for the team for many years.

Until September 2012, for almost 20 years, men could not overcome the qualification sieve. The lineups changed (each of which was called promising and capable of high-profile victories), coaches, but they could not rise above the third or fourth place in their qualifying group. Wards of Viktor Sidelnikov in the national history of team sports among men's teams became the second after handball players who managed to break into the continental forum.

Success factors

In volleyball, unlike football, hockey, handball, significant financial resources were not invested. And there are no stars of European scale in domestic volleyball. With the exception of Oleg Akhrem from the Polish Resovia, who has nothing to do with the current victory of the national team.

The period of formation was not easy. Sports leaders in the team doubted, but the guys proved the opposite with their results. The starting point can be considered 2008, when the Belarusian team took fifth place at the European Youth Championship and got the right to play at the 2009 World Championship in India. Belarusians came from the world forum not so enthusiastic - 15th place. As often happens in tournaments of this magnitude, everything depended on a single match. An unfortunate defeat from the Americans (1:3) deprived the Belarusians of hope for the top eight.

Promising youth players Pavel Avdochenko, Sergei Busel, Artur Udris, Andrey Radyuk were supported at home, continuing to play in the capital's Stroitel. The Minsk club has dominated the domestic arena for the past three years, and in the 2011/2012 season it made its debut in one of the strongest leagues in the world, the Russian Super League. In fact, the decision made on time, when Stroitel had already outgrown the level of the Belarusian championship, allowed the players to progress. Matches with Iskra, Moscow and Krasnodar Dynamo gave much more than the previous few years.

In addition, the men's national team of the country, since 2008, has received constant playing practice in the Euroleague. Short camps once every two years before the next qualifying tournament have gone down in history. How it will end for the Belarusian national team, many knew even before the start of the matches.

Advantage over rivals

The game of the current Belarusian volleyball team is not without serious miscalculations and mistakes. The team is trying to compensate for them with their trump cards. The main ones are the physical data of the players and a clearly built tactical pattern.

The central blockers of the national team Sergey Busel and Artur Udris are among the best in their position in Europe. Both, speaking last season, were among the best blockers of the Russian championship.

Diagonal striker Pavel Avdochenko is one of those unique players who can send the ball over the opponent's block in attack, having an incredible jump in height.

If you add the experience of Dmitry Lihorad, one of the best liberos, to this “cocktail”, you get a rather serious “explosive mixture”, which turned the heads of the Turks, Portuguese and British in the qualifying round.

Coach ambitions

It is difficult to overestimate the role of Viktor Sidelnikov in the Belarusian national team. His authority as a player in the national team of the USSR and Russia, coach of the Kazan "Dynamo-TTG" (now "Zenith" - under the leadership of Viktor Vladimirovich in 2008 won the Champions League) played its role. Sidelnikov, who ended his playing career in 2001 and headed the Kazan club, proved by his own example how one can reach the top from the very bottom. He brought this idea to the national team of Belarus, it seemed, after 20 years of unsuccessful attempts to ever play in the final stage of the European Championship. The team played the first official match under the leadership of Sidelnikov in 2009, unexpectedly losing in the 1st round of the Euroleague of Austria - 1:3. However, then the team, albeit not without difficulties, but moved up. In 2011, in the next Euroleague draw, the team could not leave the group, which was the reason for the resignation. They didn’t seem to want to break off relations with Sidelnikov, but it was decided to entrust the work at Stroitel, which was to debut in the Russian Championship, to Milan Zharkovich. The Serbian specialist did not manage to gain a foothold either in the club or, respectively, in the national team. In the summer, when it was clear that Shakhtar Soligorsk under the leadership of Sidelnikov would replace Stroitel in the Russian Championship, the Russian specialist was again offered to work with the national team, which was preparing for the qualifying matches of the European Championship. He believed in the guys and knew their potential, and returned to the national team. As a result, already in the first round in Portugal, when the Belarusians won all three matches, it became obvious that the team was ready to overcome the qualification barrier.

Amplification methods

The final part of the European Championship will be held from 20 to 29 September 2013. Viktor Sidelnikov has a year ahead of him to correct the shortcomings in the national team's game. Of course, the mentor will rely on proven fighters. However, there are still reserves. First of all, the striker of the Polish "Resovia" and the former leader of the national team from Grodno Oleg Akhrem, who changed his citizenship, but has not yet played in the national team of our western neighbors. In 2009, Ahrem, at that time a Champions League finalist in the Greek Iraklis, had a conflict with Viktor Sidelnikov at one of the training sessions in Slovakia. Oleg left training. In this situation, it is not necessary to talk about the warm feelings for Sidelnikov of the Resovia captain, but the next year, Akhrem nevertheless took part in the qualifying matches for the 2011 European Championship. But this was the last performance of Akhrem in the form of a national team. Next year, the national team in Denmark or Poland, the help of one of the leaders in receiving the ball in attacks from the fourth zone would not be superfluous at all. However, will one of Europe's leading strikers come to Minsk? The question remains open.

January 3, Minsk / Corr. BELTA/. The coaching staff of the Belarusian men's volleyball team has announced the list of players for the final qualifying matches for the European Championship 2019, BelTA learned from the press service of the BFV.

Head coach Viktor Beksha and his assistant Dmitry Likhorad took 14 players. These are passers - Aleksey Kurash, Dmitry Vash; blockers - Sergey Busel, Vyacheslav Shmat, Maxim Morozov, Ilya Burov; diagonal - Artur Udris, Rodion Miskevich; players - Andrei Radyuk, Vladislav Davyskiba, Sergey Antonovich, Pavel Avdochenko; Libero - Maxim Budyukhin, Stanislav Zaborovsky.

The mentor noted that he would like to get more time for preparation, but due to the tight schedule of the club teams, they have to train for only a few days. "The squad has changed a little compared to the summer. There will be no Artem Goremykin, who misses for health reasons, and Vadim Pronko. Instead, we called up Dmitry Vasha from Energia Gomel and Maxim Morozov, who has a great season in Poland, has good statistics on the block and is one of the leaders of the team," Viktor Beksha said.

Before flying to Spain (January 4), where the first away match of the Belarusians will take place, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Belarusian Volleyball Federation, Minister of Emergency Situations Vladimir Vashchenko visited the training at the Raubichi sports complex. He stressed that the development of Belarusian volleyball and interest in it depend, among other things, on the results demonstrated by the national teams. Vladimir Vashchenko thanked the players who, despite the busy schedule of the season, arrived during the holidays and prepared for important games in the national team.

The men's national team of Belarus will play the final qualifying matches against Spain (January 6) and Norway (January 9).

Before the final two rounds of the qualifying round, the national team of Belarus in group E ranks first: Belarus - 11 points (4 matches), Spain - 8 (4), Norway - 5 (4), Georgia - 0 (4).

The winner of the group will qualify to play in the final stage of the European Championship, which will be held from 12 to 29 September 2019. Earlier, the men's team of Belarus twice (in 2013 and 2015) took part in the decisive stage of the continental forum, but could not overcome the preliminary stage of the tournament.-0-

Photo of the Belarusian Volleyball Federation

SA÷12¬~ZA÷BELARUS: Division А¬ZEE÷l8SNSMTF¬ZB÷31¬ZY÷Belarus¬ZC÷2qJwGadP¬ZD÷p¬ZE÷d0up72ET¬ZF÷2¬ZO÷0¬ZG÷1¬ZH÷ 31_l8SNSMTF¬ZJ÷2¬ZL÷/volleyball/belarus/division-a/¬ZX÷04Belarus 008larus0030000000001000Division A 010zion А000¬ZCC÷0¬ZAF÷Belarus¬~AA÷2ua714B6¬AD÷1579100400¬ADE÷15791 00400¬AB÷1 ¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Bate-BGUFK¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷BAT¬AE÷Bate-BGUFK¬JA÷M5e0IuOb¬WU÷bate-bgufk ¬WN÷ZAP¬AF÷Western Bug¬JB÷4Up5Haw5¬WV÷zapadnij-bug¬AL÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0 ","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply . Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AN÷n¬~AA÷p4lC0OQC¬AD÷1579100400¬ADE÷1579100400¬AB÷1¬CR÷ 1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Marco Vitebsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷Mar¬AE÷Marco Vitebsk¬JA÷rLq9GJhB¬WU÷marco-vitebsk¬WN÷MAP¬ AF÷MAPID Minsk¬JB÷CflDFw8H¬WV÷mapid-minsk¬AL÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU" :"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AN÷n¬~AA÷CAtbORIJ¬AD÷1579102200¬ADE÷1579102200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Builder Minsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX ÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷MIN¬AE÷Builder Minsk¬JA÷pn5kdk7d¬WU÷stroitel-minsk¬WN÷SOL¬AF÷Miner Soligorsk¬JB÷bkgXKYqc¬WV÷shakhtar-soligorsk¬AL÷("2 ":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16. png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")] )¬AN÷n¬~AA÷b7hGartJ¬AD÷1579102200¬ADE÷1579102200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Energy¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷ ¬WN÷MOG¬AF÷Mogilev¬JB÷Wr1ocVij¬WV÷mogilev¬WM÷ENE¬AE÷Energy¬JA÷lKBtbBxp¬WU÷energia¬AL÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker \/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN":"bet365"," BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AN÷n¬~AA÷48LxHqBg¬AD ÷1579276800¬ADE÷1579276800¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Western Bug¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷ZAP¬AE÷Western Bug¬JA ÷ltmHAlMk¬WU÷zapadnij-bug¬WN÷LEG¬AF÷Obukhov Legion¬JB÷IFiL98yd¬WV÷legion-obuhovo¬AN÷n¬~AA÷AoMYHPem¬AD÷1579276800¬ADE÷1579276800¬AB÷1¬CR ÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷MAPID Minsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷MAP¬AE÷MAPID Minsk¬JA÷48BpGAbS¬WU÷mapid-minsk¬WN÷BAT ¬AF÷Bate-BGUFK¬JB÷AklDBU6q¬WV÷bate-bgufk¬AN÷n¬~AA÷WfNUI5ts¬AD÷1579276800¬ADE÷1579276800¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Mogilev¬ RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WN÷Mar¬AF÷Marco Vitebsk¬JB÷j57tHjqM¬WV÷marco-vitebsk¬WM÷MOG¬AE÷Mogilev¬JA÷dr8xIWTF¬WU÷mogilev ¬AN÷n¬~AA÷j1u2NoYP¬AD÷1579276800¬ADE÷1579276800¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Shakhter Soligorsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷ ¬WM÷SOL¬AE÷Miner Soligorsk¬JA÷xthyKha3¬WU÷shakhtar-soligorsk¬WN÷ENE¬AF÷Energy¬JB÷Ii9YICE9¬WV÷energia¬AN÷n¬~AA÷GrPtG3Qa¬AD÷1579881600¬ADE ÷1579881600¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Obukhovo Legion¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷LEG¬AE÷Obukhovo Legion¬JA÷d6jP8Sj2¬WU ÷legion-obuhovo¬WN÷MAP¬AF÷MAPID Minsk¬JB÷bBU7XBT2¬WV÷mapid-minsk¬AN÷n¬~AA÷xbDkEseC¬AD÷1579881600¬ADE÷1579881600¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC ÷1¬CX÷Marco Vitebsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷Mar¬AE÷Marco Vitebsk¬JA÷raWJU9DL¬WU÷marco-vitebsk¬WN÷SOL¬AF÷Miner Soligorsk¬JB÷0zROTTSR¬WV÷shakhtar-soligorsk¬AN÷n¬~AA÷b7EoFNu6¬AD÷1579881600¬ADE÷1579881600¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Mogilev¬RW÷0¬AX ÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷MOG¬AE÷Mogilev¬JA÷AoYBWVr9¬WU÷mogilev¬WN÷BAT¬AF÷Bate-BGUFK¬JB÷48XFVkbF¬WV÷bate-bgufk¬AN÷n ¬~AA÷6XHgD1AI¬AD÷1579881600¬ADE÷1579881600¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Energy¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷ENE¬ AE÷Energia¬JA÷2qDjPmyq¬WU÷energia¬WN÷MIN¬AF÷Builder Minsk¬JB÷d6CfO7jk¬WV÷stroitel-minsk¬AN÷n¬~AA÷IBoCVrQn¬AD÷1580486400¬ADE÷1580486400¬AB÷ 1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷MAPID Minsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷MAP¬AE÷MAPID Minsk¬JA÷Kb01smcR¬WU÷mapid-minsk¬ WN÷ZAP¬AF÷Western Bug¬JB÷xvmTx75r¬WV÷zapadnij-bug¬AN÷n¬~AA÷Oln8WOAt¬AD÷1580486400¬ADE÷1580486400¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷ Mogilev¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷MOG¬AE÷Mogilev¬JA÷OW6hq9SE¬WU÷mogilev¬WN÷LEG¬AF÷Obukhovo Legion¬JB÷6edcrTsL¬WV÷legion -obuhovo¬AN÷n¬~AA÷pOGcCLPO¬AD÷1580486400¬ADE÷1580486400¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Builder Minsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬ WQ÷¬WM÷MIN¬AE÷Builder Minsk¬JA÷A9GbNR5e¬WU÷stroitel-minsk¬WN÷Mar¬AF÷Marco Vitebsk¬JB÷hY53MoL1¬WV÷marco-vitebsk¬AN÷n¬~AA÷nTfty52P¬ AD÷1580486400¬ADE÷1580486400¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Shakhter Soligorsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷SOL¬AE÷Miner Soligorsk¬ JA÷WO47L5z8¬WU÷shakhtar-soligorsk¬WN÷BAT¬AF÷Bate-BGUFK¬JB÷pt8lpkD8¬WV÷bate-bgufk¬AN÷n¬~~

The volleyball players of our men's team defeated the Hungarian team with a score of 3:0 in the final match of the group stage of the Euroleague Silver and, taking first place in their group, reached the Final Four. They will fight for victory in the tournament with the teams of Macedonia, Croatia and Latvia. Former head coach of the national team and helmsman of Stroitel Minsk Alexander Singaevsky is sure that we are the favorites in this company:

Our team is improving during the tournament, playing well and now looks much better than at the beginning of the draw. We have put together a roster that should fight for entry into the golden Euroleague. In addition, all rivals are passable.

PHOTO CEV.LU

Our volleyball players met with the Latvian team more than once and defeated it, so they know the opponent well. In addition, the binder of the Latvians Denis Petrov, whom Alexander Singaevsky calls the soul and engine of the national team, acted as part of the "Builder":

According to our growth data, we are taller than the Latvians, and we have no shortage of experience and skill. The Croatian team is also a rival known to us. Only in the current Euroleague draw, they played with her twice. We lost at home, and it seems to me that this failure only spurred the players on: they analyzed the game and did their job in the next meetings. At one time we played with the Macedonians - there are no stars in this team. I repeat: I consider us the favorites in the Final Four. Everything is on our side: the composition, experience, and skill.

The Euroleague Silver Final Four will take place on June 15-16 in Skopje, with the winner replacing the underdog team in the Golden League next season. After drawing this tournament in August, our team will play in the qualification for the European Championship, where it will meet with the Spaniards, Norwegians and Georgians. Singayevsky talks about the chances of the Belarusians at the preliminary stage as follows:

- The Final Four of the Euroleague will be a good experience before the qualifying tournament of the European Championship, besides, it will provide an opportunity to determine and cement the composition of our team for the upcoming matches. Now the team consists of masters of their craft with a good gaming biography, plus we have a reserve - Artem Goremykin and Pavel Kuklinsky, who heal injuries. In qualifying, our main rival will be the Spaniards - very technical, short, similar to the Latin American team. Last year we met with Spain in the selection for the World Cup and lost - 2:3. But at that time we didn't have the best fighting squad - Udris and a number of other players were absent, so I think this team is within our power. We also played with the Norwegians. They, like the Georgians, are inferior to us and the Spaniards in terms of level. I think we have good chances here too.

Our women's team, unfortunately, did not manage to get into the Final Four of the Golden Euroleague: the girls lost their chances of reaching the decisive round in the fifth round match, where they lost to the Czech team on the road with a score of 0:3. In the final match of the tournament, our girls could not take revenge on their rivals: with the full stands of the Chizhovka Arena, they lost in a bitter struggle with a score of 2:3 and took second place in group C.

SCOREBOARD

PHOTO YURI MOZOLEVSKY

Group "C". Belarus - Czech Republic - 2:3(21:25, 25:18, 25:19, 20:25, 12:15), Slovakia - Spain - 3:2 (25:17, 22:25, 23:25, 25:16, 15:6) . Final position: 1. Czech Republic - 15 points, 2. Belarus - 8, 3. Slovakia - 6, 4. Spain - 5.

Silver Euroleague, men. 6th round

Group "B". Hungary - Belarus - 0:3(16:25, 12:25, 17:25), Albania - Croatia - 2:3 (11:25, 18:25, 29:27, 25:21, 11:15). Final position: 1. Belarus - 15, 2. Croatia - 14, 3. Albania - 5, 4. Hungary - 2.