Argentine coach Julio Velasco is looking for more growth from his team in the 2017 World League
Lausanne, Switzerland, May 8, 2017 – Argentina may have played second fiddle to Brazil for many years, but living in the shadow of the world’s best men’s volleyball team does not lessen the achievements and quality of one of the world’s top teams.
At only their second appearance in the Olympic Games, in Seoul in 1988, Argentina beat Brazil to clinch the bronze medal and they’ve been close to repeating that feat ever since, finishing fourth or fifth in four of the last five Olympic Games.
Their form in the FIVB World League has been less consistent, but they’ve been blessed with great coaches – previously Javier Weber, currently Julio Velasco – and they are recognized as a formidable team.
Last year, they finished in the Top 10 for the first time in five years, but 10th place is just a stepping stone. Velasco sees his charges in the top echelon of volleyball.
“Argentina expects to continue growing to establish itself among the top eight teams in the world,” he says. A year on from the Rio Olympics, the veteran coach sees the 2017 World League as a significant step towards that goal.
“The 2017 World League will be extraordinary,” he states. “It is the first stage of the four-year Olympic cycle and many countries are starting to include young players who can peak in Tokyo [in 2020].
“The World League is one of the major parts of volleyball together with the World Championship and the Olympic Games. For the first time in the history of our sport, the titles of these great events were won by three different countries. This seems to indicate that the periods of long winning cycles by a single country are ending. This is something that is very positive for any sport. The uncertainty of who will be on the podium this year makes the World League an even more interesting event than in the past.”
Argentina are in with the big boys in Group 1 of the World League and will kick off their campaign against Russia in Russia on June 2. That same weekend, they will face Bulgaria and 2015 champions France. The following weekend, they will come up against defending champions Serbia, Belgium and Velasco’s former team Iran. Week 3 is even tougher as they face Serbia again, Brazil and Bulgaria, although they will have home advantage for the final three games.
Argentina might find it tough without the services of star outside hitter Facundo Conte – on leave for a year – and setter Nicolas Uriarte, but captain Luciano De Cecco remains, alongside super blocker Sebastian Sole, Luciano De Cecco, Pablo Crer, Demian Gonzalez and Cristian Poglajen. Uriarte has been replaced by Maximiliano Cavanna, while outside hitter Santiago Darraidou, who played in the 2014 World Championship, returns to the squad.