The Men's Nations League 2023 Nagoya tournament will finally kick off on Tuesday, June 6th.
This time, we will briefly introduce the four teams (Iran, Serbia, Bulgaria, and France) that will be competing against Japan, including their members, team characteristics, and players to watch.
Iran
World ranking: 10th (as of June 5th)
2022
13th in the World Championships
VNL7th place
2021
Asian Championship Winner
9th place at the Tokyo Olympics
VNL 12th place
Registered Members
*1 Mahdi Gerbe MB/2001/210
*6 Seyyed Mousavi MB/1987/203
*8 Mohammad Hazratpur L/1999/183
10 Amin Esmaeilnezad OP/1997/203
12 Amir Hossein Esfandiar OH/1999/210
14 Mohammad Javad Manavinejad OH/1995/200
16 Ali Hajipour OP/2001/200
18 Taher Vadi S/1989/194
19 Polya Hansade OH/2004/202
20 Shahroz Manesh OH/1989/196
21 Arman Salehi L/1992/180
24 Javad Karimi S/1998/204
27 Mohammad Valisadeh MB/2001/204
49 Morteza Sharifi OH/1999/193
Directed by: Behrouz Nouri
Meet our team
Asian rival, Iran.
With the retirement of players such as Malouf and others, the team is in the midst of a new generation, but tall young players such as OH Esfandiar and OP Amin are steadily improving their skills. OH Ebadipoul, who was Ishikawa's teammate this season, will not be participating in the Nagoya tournament, but veteran MB Mousavi, who has returned to the national team, will be joining the team.
If Japan fails to qualify for the Paris Olympics in this year's Olympic qualifiers, they will need to maintain the highest world ranking among Asian countries, so this is a team that Japan cannot afford to lose.
Featured Players
Seyyed Mousavi
Middle Blocker
Height: 202cm
Highest point: 362cm
A veteran midfielder who has supported the Iranian national team for over 10 years. Although he is not tall at 203cm, he always makes his presence felt with his jumping ability that can reach a maximum of 360cm, his fast blocking movements, and his quick punching power. He is a player who is truly impossible to stop once he gets going, so one of the keys to victory for Japan will be how to prevent him from functioning.
Serbia
World ranking: 11th (as of June 5th)
2022
9th in the World Championships
VNL 11th place
2021
4th place at the European Championships
VNL 6th place
Registered Members
*3 Milorad Kapur L/1991/182
*4 Veljko Mashulovich OH/2002/198
*5 Milan Katic OH/1993/202
*7 Petar Krasmanovic MB/1990/205
10 Milan Kujundzic OH/1997/196
11 Alexa Batak S/2000/198
12 Pavle Peric OH/1998/207
13 Vladimir Gajovic MB/2000/205
16 Drazen Lubrich OP/1993/202
17 Miloš Kršteski L/1993/181
19 Dusan Petrovic MB/2000/200
21 Vuk Todorovic S/1998/190
23 Pozidar Vučićević OP/1998/205
29 Aleksandar Nadeljkovic MB/1997/205
Directed by: Igor Kolakovic
Meet our team
A Balkan powerhouse that inherits the lineage of the former Yugoslavia.
However, since winning the European Championships in 2019, they have not been able to win a medal in any major tournament, and they also missed out on the Tokyo Olympics. Although many of their players play in top European leagues, the team seems to have become a bit stale, so the emergence of new talent is urgently needed.
Familiar members such as OH Kovacevic and MB Podrascanin were not sent to this Nagoya tournament, and the team is mainly made up of young players. Their strength is still unknown, but they are all tall, so be careful of their blocks.
Featured Players
Drazen Lubrich
Opposite
Height: 202cm
Highest reach: 360cm
One of Serbia's point getters. He played for Japan's JT in the 2016/17 season and is well known in Japan. Since leaving JT, he has mainly played in the Russian league and has honed his powerful spikes. Among the members of this year's VNL Nagoya tournament, he will be in a position to lead the team in terms of age, experience and intelligence, so keep an eye on the more reliable Luburic. We are also looking forward to a showdown between former teammates and Japan national team member Fukatsu.
Bulgaria
World ranking: 23rd (as of June 5th)
2022
20th in the World Championships
VNL 14th place
2021
12th in the European Championships
VNL15th place
Registered Members
*1 Georgi Bratoev S/1987/203
*3 Nikolai Korev MB/1997/204
*4 Martin Atanasov OH/1996/198
*5 Svetoslav Gotsev MB/1990/205
*8 Asparsulf Asparhof OH/2000/200
*9 Georgi Seganov (C) S/1993/197
10 Denis Kalyagin OH/2002/206
11. Aleks Grozdanov MB/1998/208
12 Dimitar Dimitrov OP/2000/208
14 Marcin Bozhilov L/1988/190
17 Nikolai Penchev OH/1992/197
21 Simeon Dobrev L/2001/175
23 Alexander Nikolov OH/2003/207
24 Ilya Petkov MB/1996/201
Directed by: Plamen Konstantinov
Meet our team
Bulgaria, a veteran powerhouse in the Balkans.
However, they have not had any notable results since the late 2010s, and were unexpectedly eliminated in the qualifying rounds at last year's World Championships. However, in recent years, young players have been steadily improving, and a comeback is expected from here. Also, this season, "Emperor" Kaziyski, who played for Japan's JTEKT, will return to the national team. Although it is unlikely that he will participate in the VNL, there is no doubt that he will be the key to the success of the Bulgarian national team.
The members of the VNL Nagoya Tournament team are mainly promising young players who have been active in the Italian league, such as OH Asparuhov, who was a teammate of Ai Takahashi at Padova this season, OH Nikolov of Civitanova, and MB Grozdanov of Verona. Also, setter Georgi Bratoev is the twin brother of Valentin Bratoev, who used to play for JTEKT (they really do look alike (lol)).
Bulgaria is the country with the lowest world ranking that Ryujin Nippon will face in the Nagoya tournament, but personally I think that in terms of the team members, Bulgaria will be the most troublesome opponent.
Featured Players
Alexander Nikolov
Outside hitter
Height: 207cm
Highest point reached: 352cm (probably more)
A thoroughbred whose father is the legendary Vladimir Nikolov, who once played for Toray. Although he is only 19 years old, he is playing for the big Italian club Rube Civitanova this season, and his explosive spikes and serves contributed greatly to the team's league runner-up finish. There is no doubt that he will be the core of the Bulgarian national team for at least the next 10 years. The key to victory will be whether we can decide the game before he gets going.
France
World ranking: 3rd (as of June 5th)
2022
5th in the World Championships
VNL Champion
2021
9th in the European Championships
Tokyo Olympic Champion
VNL 3rd place
Registered Members
*3 Raphael Coe S/1989/196
*5 Kilian Mottapaes S/2002/194
*7 Kevin Tilley OH/1990/200
13 Luca Laman L/2000/186
15 Medrick Henry MB/1995/212
16 Darryl Bluteau MB/1995/197
18 Antoine Potron OH/2002/198
20 Benjamin Diez L/1998/183
21 Theo Forr OP/1999/202
22 Luka Basic OH/1995/198
23 Timothy Karl OH/1995/195
25 Quon Thanh Jouffo MB/1993/202
26 Ilir Eno OH/2003/203
29 Simon Roerig MB/2000/199
Director: Andrea Giani (Italy)
Meet our team
Tokyo Olympic gold medal team.
They are a traditionally defensive team, which is rare in Europe, and they play a variety of attacks, from a solid defense to a mix of soft and hard. Since Brizard took over as the regular setter, they have been using more two-attacks (laughs).
The core of the team is OH Engape, but he will not be participating in the Nagoya tournament, which will be mainly focused on young players. Since the participation in the Paris Olympics has been decided as a host country quota and rankings do not have to be a big concern, this tournament is likely to be a place for France to try out as many young players as possible.
OH Kevin Tille, a member of the Olympic gold medal team, is the son of Panasonic's head coach, and promising young setter Kilian Mottapaes is the son of former Panasonic coach Mauricio.
For the Japanese national team, they faced their rivals twice last year, at the VNL and the World Championships, and were defeated both times. If they lose to young players, they will not be able to beat the full men, so I'm sure Ryujin will show his true colors this time.
Featured Players
Kevin Tilley
Outside hitter
Height: 200cm
Highest reach: 345cm
Along with Ngape and Toniutti, he is one of the key players who brought France back to being a strong country. He is an all-rounder with excellent balance in offense and defense, and this season he returned to the Polish league for the first time in three seasons and contributed greatly to Warsaw's success. He is the best player in terms of ability and experience among the members of this team, so we will have no choice but to rely on him. To be honest, it is difficult to break down Tiri, so it is best to aim for the outside hitter other than Tiri when serving. By the way, it seems that he loves ramen (lol).
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Photo: FIVB
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