Why Fenerbahce Lost?

For sure you’re asking the same thing…

Not sure where to start but what about a brief info about the team and the players…

Turkey’s Fenerbahce Acibadem conquered the volleyball headlines when it signed up the world’s most famous players for the 2010-2011 season. First on the list was the 2 Time World Champion and 4 Time Olympian (2 Silver Medals) from Russia, Lioubov “Liuba” Sokolova. The Fenerbahce team was able to convince Polish star player and 2 Time European Champion, Kasia Skowronska, to join Turkey’s “Dream Team” after finishing a successful season with Italian club team, Scavolini Pesaro. Next on the list was Christiane Fürst, one of the world’s best blockers from Germany and she was later joined by the legendary Helia “Fofao” Souza, a 5 time Olympian with 1 Gold and 2 Bronze medals under her belt. Coach Roberto Guimaraes was hired to coach the star studded team which already had the great Croatian Natasa Osmokrovic together with talented Turkish national players: Seda, Naz Aydemir & Eda Erdem to complete the roster.

With a very talented roster, Fenerbahce was the top favorite to win the Champions League even before the season started. The Fenerbahce gods and goddesses wanted to redeem their squad after winning the silver medal of the Champions League the previous season led by the Russian scoring machine, Ekaterina Gamova. In case you didn’t know, Katya decided to return to Russia for the 2010 season. Click HERE to read more and watch the 2009-2010 videos.

Prior to the Final Four, Fenerbahce competed in Doha, Qatar for the 2010 World Club Championship and won the gold against Brazil’s Solly Osasco. They also competed in the Turkish Cup but lost to Valifbank in a heartbreaking 5 set match during the elimination round.

Since we don’t get to see Fenerbahce’s matches in the Turkish league, then let’s fast forward to the Final Four.

Being the chosen team to host the Final Four, Sokolova and Team automatically won a spot and they no longer had to compete in the Playoffs. This privilege – we thought – would give the hosting team more time to recover from a very busy travel schedule which included matches in the Turkish League, Turkish Cup and Champions League. Compated to the other teams who competed in the Playoffs, Fenerbahce had the physical edge.

Fenerbahce was voted to win the Champions League from polls conducted by volleyball sites over the other 3 teams: Pesaro, Vakifbank and Rabita Baku. With a star studded lineup and a legendary coach, Fenerbahce remained as the top favorite but then most of us forgot about the team they’d be playing against in the semifinal match – Vakıfbank Güneş.

Vakıfbank Güneş?

Vakifbank ruined Fenerbahce’s dream to win the Turkish Cup after they beat Turkey’s Dream Team in the elimination round. Before the season started, Vakifbank didn’t make a lot of noise when it signed up German coach Guidetti, Maggie Glinka from Poland, Croatian Maja Poljak and Jelena Nikolic of Serbia. Vakifbank had no room to make world class volleyball headlines since Fenerbahce dominated the publicity scene.

Vakifbank was not the favorite to win at all. Only a few believed in them. Vakifbank played hard in the Playoffs to win a ticket in the Final 4. Nothing came easy for Glinka and team. Every victory was hard fought. Every victory allowed the team to strengthen their bond. Every point they lost taught them to push themselves to win the next one. Every point mattered. Vakifbank as The Ultimate Underdogs? Definitely.

Fenerbahce Vs Vakifbank

We must admit that after Fenerbahce dominated Set 1, we already predicted an easy 3-0 victory but we were wrong. In every volleyball match it is “wrong to assume” yet in the case of Fenerbahce we clearly did. Vakifbank almost had zero confidence in the first set while Fenerbahce’s players displayed what they were made of: Great blocking from Furst, Fofao’s unpredictable sets & Nati Osmokrovic’s power. On the other hand, Vakifbank’s stars were overshadowed by their opponents and lost the opener: 19-25.

Then came set 2. Tables were slowly turning in favor of Vakifbank. Glinka and Nikolic found their rhythm as their setter, Özge Cemberci Kirdar, started to find the confidence she failed to display in Set 1. One player we started to notice was Vakifbank’s opposite hitter, Gözde Sonsirma, who was hitting smart, passing and digging balls. Her all around game reminded of China’s Zhou Suhong.

While Vakifbank was having the set of their lives, Fenerbahce seemed to have lost its touch and failed to win crucial points. Kasia and Nati continued to score, we started to wonder “Where in the world is Sokolova?“. The player dubbed as the Best Player in our generation appeared to be somewhat invisible in the first 2 sets. Liuba was not performing the way we expected her to be but then it was just the second set. Despite losing set 2  (21-25), we decided to forgive the Russian star.

The 7,000+ crowd started to make some noise for Fenerbahce’s “Yellow Angels” with loud cheers, drums and boos directed toward Vakifbank. The fans somewhat motivated their home team. Kasia continued to score for Fen, supported by Nati & finally some smart plays from Sokolova. Fofao resurrected her fellow “yellow angels”. We knew that Fen would win the set when they had a 3 point lead – we were right!

Furst and Eda had a great time shutting down Glinka while Nikolic continued to play impressively for Vakifbank. Glinka lost her thunder and had to be subbed out. The Polish player sat on the bench looking frustrated (maybe because she was subbed out or because of her game or a bit of both). Fen won set 3 (25-21) and was just 1 set away from making their dreams come true.

But not yet Yellow Angels…

If Glinka could tell Fenerbahce some fierce words before Set 4, it’d be “The show is not over yet ladies!” and Nikolic would add “Bring It On!“. Hahahaha! We kid! We kid!

With just 1 set to go, Fenerbahce underplayed & Fofao definitely lost her connection with her hitters. We’re not completely blaming Fofao on why they lost the set (19-25) but she wasn’t running the show the way a 5 time Olympic would. Fen’s second setter, Naz (way taller than Fofao), should’ve subbed her out when Vakifbank started scoring a series of points.

Sub Fofao? Are you kidding? No we’re not! Fofao kept feeding her outside hitters who were getting dug, getting blocked and making silly errors. Vakifbank started to defend Nati’s smart shots, shut down Skowronska and continued to pick on Sokolova with their serves.  The Fenerbahce trio became a liability yet Fofao continued to set them knowing she could’ve set her middles more. It was getting more apparent that the match would go to a 5th set, Fofao could’ve established her long lost connection with Eda and Furst – who have proven themselves as world class middles – and ignite their confidence heading into the tiebreak. Throughout sets 1 to 4, Fenerbahce middles were functioning like holiday ornaments. Seriously.

It wasn’t just Fofao making forgettable setting choices, Sokolova failed to step up in this set. She committed 3 hitting errors in the last 5 or 6 points of the set. Unacceptable. Kasia started to carry her team yet she crumbled when needed the most.

With Vakifbank claiming the crucial Set 4 out of Nikolic’s heavy hits and Poljak’s Great Wall, the “underdogs” all of a sudden became our pick to win the match. They had the momentum. Vakifbank showed more gusto to win. They were celebrating every point & were still hugging each other after every error. They had the support system and the energy a team would need to win the tiebreak. They were smiling while Fen’s player wore worried looks as the teams switched sides.

Win or Go Home…

The crowd started to get loud and crazy as Fen rocketed to a 5 point lead in the 5th set: 7-2. Impressive. Skowronska fired a couple of kills, served an easy ace and finally resurrected that pretty smile she showed on the sets Fenerbahce won (Sets 1 & 3).

Excuse our language, but sh*t started to happen for Fenerbahce after Nati got blocked (7-3). Not sure how to describe this moment for Fen but watch the video below to witness the sh*t we’re talking about. If we could write a letter to the volleyball gods and goddesses asking them to explain what really happened, we would’ve done it. Not Kidding.

So to answer our headline, why Fenerbahce lost? There are a few reasons we could think of and we’d try to validate each one. We won’t convince you to believe us but we just want to pinpoint the problems we saw from Fenerbahce Acibadem. You don’t have to agree, just read along.

#1: Where Was Sokolova?

We like her demeanor on the court. After each error, she smiled and made it seem like “it was ok to serve the ball out”, “it was okay to make a hitting error” or “I am not perfect, I make mistakes too.”. Whichever applies, we could care less. Sokolova’s captivating smiles did not help her team at all. We repeat her smiles did not do anything for Fenerbahce. The 3 errors she made in Set 4 & the 2 serves she failed to pass in the last 2 pts of Set 5 were unacceptable coming from a 2 time world champion.

Liuba remained calm but erratic, stayed positive yet ineffective, played hard but did not rise to the occasion. Disappointing. Frustrating. Of all the matches she played with Fen this season, Sokolova underplayed and somewhat forgot the reason why Fenerbahce signed her up was mainly because of her GREATNESS yet she failed to bring it against Vakifbank. She missed her chance and failed to perform her duty. She scored 14 points in this match with a 28% hitting percentage (43 attempts-10 errors-12 kills).

Again, we’re not completely blaming Sokolova for this heartbreaking defeat. The reason on her laklusterperformance was maybe because Fofao was not setting her as much as she should’ve had. Fofao constantly set her during crucial moments which Sokolova failed to convert. The Brazilian setter relied on Nati (47 attempts) and Skowronska (50 attempts) and it could’ve affected Sokolova’s game. Possible.

#2: Fofao Did It Again!

We remember Fofao not setting her middles in the tiebreak at the 2006 World Champion and lost the gold medal match against Russia. Five years later, she did it again!

Well she was setting Eda and Furst but since they weren’t getting enough or were more involved in the offense during the early stages of the match, the duo didn’t have the confidence needed to step up in the tiebreak compared to Vakifbank’s middle players, Toksoy and Poljak.

Fofao underplayed just like Sokolova. Her distribution was not effective & she made a handful of poor setting choices which became an opportunity for Vakifbank to score.

#3: On and Off

It seemed like someone was playing with Skowronska’s game. She’d be on fire for a minute or 2 then she’d get cold. Kasia would kill balls and then would make mistakes after. Seriously, someone at home was playing Kinect with the switch for Kasia’s game.

One thing we like about Kasia was her emotions throughout the match. She strongly showed how much she wanted to win based on her cheers and intensity. She’d scream when she’d kill the ball. Kasia was the most fired up Fenerbahce player on the court. The 27 pts she scored did some damage against Vakifbank but she lost gas halfway through the 5th set. Ugh!

Kasia became the star of Fen in this match but again volleyball is not like pop bands, ie Pussycat Dolls. You can’t put 6 individuals together with just 1 girl doing 99% of the singing while the rest of her bandmates act like decorations we see during the holiday season.

If you saw Kasia’s face after the defeat, you’d feel her pain. She really wanted to add the Champions League title on her resume which she constantly stated on her interviews during the season.

Sometimes you just can’t have it all no matter how hard yo try to win it.

#: Vakifbank Did and Had It All

The eventual champions had the strategy and the attitude to win the match. Nikolic became the “silent killer” with 28 points and was bombing balls from left, right and behind the 10 ft line. Despite her on and off game, Glinka stepped up when needed and ended the match with 18 pts. Poljak, especially in the 5th, was instrumental for Vakifbank’s victory. Her blocks made it look like she was a “shiva“, the Hindu diety with 4 arms.

Vakifbank also had the 2 very talented Turkish sisters, Ozge and Gozde, plus the best libero of the tournament, Gizem Güresen, and the unsung middle blocker, Toksoy. Coach Guidetti was able to inject “power” in each of his players and “never give up” in his team.

Vakifbank won every aspect of the match, ie 20 blocks, precised serves which destroyed Fenerbahce’s game plan and great defense which allowed them to win points. Vakifbank had it all and did it all.

End of story.

We know it’s too late for this but Coach Guimaraes could’ve used Naz Aydemir for Fofao and Seda for either Sokolova or Kasia when these players got cold and were less effective especially in Set 4. Coach Ze could’ve instructed Fofao to set and trust her middles. Fenerbahce could’ve serve better, block better, dig better and pass better. There’s too many “could have” we could think of, but like what our momma told us when we were young: In every game, there’s a winner and a loser.

Before we forget, it’s never easy to play a huge match in front of your fans. It could either a good or a bad thing.

There’s always next time. Right?

The following day, the Yellow Angels redeemed themselves in front of their fans by defeating Scavolini Pesaro for the BRONZE medal. Naz Aydemir and Seda played for Fofao and Kasia in the last 3 sets and proved to be very effective choices for Coach Guimaraes. Not the medal they wanted to win, but at least they went home with something to cherish.

In the Gold Medal Match, Vakifbank continued its dominance by demolishing Azerbaijan’s Rabita Baku in 3 sets to win the most prestigious club title in Europe. You can read the full match report by clicking THIS.

Best Players:

MVP: Malgorzata Glinka-Mogentale (POL/VakifGunesTTelekom ISTANBUL)
Best Blocker: Maja Poljak (CRO/VakifGunesTTelekom ISTANBUL)
Best Libero: Gizem Güresen (TUR/VakifGunesTTelekom ISTANBUL)
Best Receiver: Gözde Sonsirma (TUR/VakifGunesTTelekom ISTANBUL)
Best Scorer: Jelena Nikolic (SRB/VakifGunesTTelekom ISTANBUL)
Best Server: Natalya Mammadova (AZE/Rabita BAKU)
Best Setter: Özge Cemberci Kirdar (TUR/VakifGunesTTelekom ISTANBUL)
Best Spiker: Manon Flier (NED/Scavolini PESARO)

Click the Match to Watch Full Match Videos:

Semifinal 1: Fenerbahce VS Vakifbank
Semifinal 2: Pesaro VS Rabita

Bronze Medal Match: Fenerbahce VS Pesaro
Gold Medal Match: Vakifbank VS Rabita

 

We congratulate all the teams who played this season and for the great matches we witnessed!

Until next year…

Cheers!

(images: cev.lu/ Fenerbahce Bayan Voleybol)