2014 FIVB Men’s World Championship

Pool D is no doubt the Pool Of Death in the first round.

Thoughts?

Per FIVB released January 27th, 2014:

Three time defending world champions and world No. 1 Brazil will take on Germany (WR10), Korea (WR21) and Finland (WR30) in addition to the second ranked NORCECA team and the top ranked CAVB side (NORCECA and CAVB host their qualification events in May and February respectively) in Group B following the Drawing of Lots which was held at Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science on Monday.

A total of 24 countries were drawn across four pools for the first round of the 18th edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, which will be held across six different cities (Katowice, Lodz, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Bydgoszcz, Krakow) in Poland from August 30-September 21.

The top 12 teams in the world ranking as of January 2014, were placed across the four pools in accordance with the serpentine system. Hosts Poland (world ranking 5) were placed in position 1 before the remaining 11 teams followed.

The remaining 12 teams were drawn thanks to the help of volleyball legends Vladimir Grbric of Serbia, FIVB Player of the Century from Italy Lorenzo Bernardi and Poland’s Tomasz Wojtowicz.

Hosts Poland received a favourable draw with Australia (WR14), CAVB 3 and Venezuela (WR31) joining them in Pool A along with Argentina (WR7) and Serbia (WR9) who were allocated positions via the serpentine system.

Olympic champions and world No. 2 Russia lead Pool C alongside Bulgaria (WR6) and NORCECA 3 and the drawn CAVB 2, China (WR18) and NORCECA 5.

Pool D is arguably the toughest of the four groups with three time champions Italy joined by NORCECA 1, Iran (WR12), France (WR16), NORCECA 4 and Belgium (WR37).

Pools for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014

Pool A – Poland, Argentina, Serbia, Australia, CAVB 3, Venezuela
Pool B – Brazil, NORCECA 2, Germany, CAVB 1, Korea, Finland
Pool C – Russia, Bulgaria, NORCECA 3, CAVB 2, China, NORCECA 5
Pool D – Italy, NORCECA 1, Iran, France, NORCECA 4, Belgium

The Draw was carried out in the presence of FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° and Poland’s Minister of Sport and Tourism Andrzej Biernat.

A record number of 279 teams participated in the qualification process for the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World Championships. This total, coming from 166 national federations across the five FIVB confederations, represents an increase of 65 teams from the previous best of 214 teams from 119 federations for the 2010 World Championships (compared with 102 in 2006, 72 in 2002 and 63 in 1998).

There were 148 teams that have played in the qualification process for the Men’s World Championship.

Brazil sealed their third straight FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship title in Italy in 2010 after beating Cuba in the final. Serbia completed the podium after beating the home side in the bronze medal match.

Per FIVB released January 27th, 2014:

The new trophy, specially commissioned for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014 to be used for the first time in the Championship was unveiled to the media and public during the Drawing of Lots at Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science on Monday.

The new trophy, which is 42.88cm in height and weighs nine kilograms, has set itself apart from other awards in international sporting competitions.

Unique contemporary design

The trophy was constructed using 12 individual pieces, representing each member of a volleyball team.

The pieces are brought together in a seamless cylindrical design, symbolising the coming together of the 12 players using the rotation system on the court. The overall shape reflects the speed and elegance of volleyball as well as the volleyball values of purity, performance, power, precision and team work.

Going for gold

The base of the trophy is coated in nickel a simple and common elements representing the resilience of the team in the staring phase of the Championship. The trophy’s gradual move from nickel to gold from its base to its crown, exemplifies the winning team growing in confidence as they work through the stages of the Championship. The trophy’s gold plated crown represents the final achievement of a World Championship title.

Bringing together the best

The coming together of an open minded sports federation, two contemporary product designers and skilled production specialists have made it possible to create something truly extraordinary for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014.

The conceptual design for the trophy was provided by Marco Heer of Achtung! a creative agency known internationally for their work in brand development. Having worked closely with the FIVB for a number of years, the company was responsible for designing the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014 logo on which the design of the trophy was based.

The FIVB then mandated two young product designers from Switzerland, Thilo Alex Brunner and Jörg Mettler to create the new World Championship trophy.

Eichenberger LTD and their mastermind, Juan Franco were responsible for its production. The company specialises in complex metal works for the Swiss watchmaking and jewellery industry.

The trophy was unveiled following the Drawing of Lots for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014, which determined the makeup of the pools in the first round of their year’s tournament.

Per FIVB released January 27th, 2014:

Poland will host Serbia at the National Stadium in a dream opening match of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014 on August 30 after the successful staging of the Drawing of Lots at the Warsaw’s Palace of Culture and Science on Monday.

With the 24 participating teams successfully drawn across the four pools, Poland Volleyball Federation President Miroslaw Przede?ski confirmed that Poland will host Serbia in the 58,000 capacity football stadium to open the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014.

The Volleyball World Championships return to an open stadium after more than sixty years. Moscow 1952 was the last time the Volleyball World Championships were played in an open stadium.

“It will be one of the most beautiful World Championship matches ever,” Mr Przede?ski said. “We are going to show the world what volleyball is. We haven’t had the World Championships before so this will be a special occasion for Poland.”

Poland and Serbia are no strangers to each other on the volleyball court having met a total of 36 times in FIVB competitions. The hosts of this year’s World Championship have won 23 of these meetings against their Serbian counterparts. The two countries have also competed against each other a total of five times in the Men’s World Championships in 2006 and 2010 with Poland emerging as the winner each time.

Details of the opening match and ceremony were unveiled as Mr Przede?ski also confirmed the rest of Poland’s schedule of matches in Group A, which will be played in Wroclaw.

August 30 Poland v Serbia, National Stadium
September 2 Poland v Australia, Wroclaw
September 4 Poland v Venezuela, Wroclaw
September 6 Poland v CAVB 3, Wroclaw
September 7 Poland v Argentina, Wroclaw

While the rest of the first round schedule will be confirmed in the coming days, the host cities for the tournament phases were announced.

First Round
Group A in Wroclaw
Group B will be held in Katowice
Group C in Gdansk
Group D in Krakow

Second Round
Group E in Lodz and Bydgoszck
Group F in Katowice and Wroclaw

Third round
Group G in Krakow and Lodz

Semifinals and Finals in Katowice

With the opening match launching the tournament, the Group A and D matches of the World Championship will begin on Sunday, August 31, with Groups B and C beginning their bid for the Championship title a day later. The second round of the tournament will take place from September 10 to 14 with group E and F matches. The final six teams will battle it out on the courts during the third round from September 16 to 18.

The top two teams from each third round pool will then advance to the semifinals and finals on September 20 and 21 with – in the only difference to the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Italy 2014 competition formula – the third ranked teams in the third round pools also playing off for fifth place.

The men’s and women FIVB Volleyball World Championships are staged every four years and are the most prestigious event in international volleyball.

Brazil sealed their third straight FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship title in Italy in 2010 after beating Cuba in the final. Serbia completed the podium after beating the home side in the bronze medal match.

The world’s best 24 teams will compete in the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Poland 2014, which will take place from August 30 to September 21.