article by Nicola Pucci
Let’s talk about volleyball in the hammer-and-sickle times of the USSR, and Let’s specifically dedicate some ideas to a team, Avtomobilist Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), who in the two-year period 1982/1983 achieved two prestigious victories around Europe. Thanks, above all, to the work of two legends of Soviet volleyball, Vyacheslav Platonov who led that lineup from the bench and Vyacheslav Zaitsev (yes, Ivan’s father) who did the same in the control room, one of the most refined and successful setters in history.
Early Eighties, therefore, when the USSR decidedly laid down the law when it came to volleyballif it is true that between the Olympics (1980), the World Cup (1978 and 1982), the European Championships (1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983) and the World Cup (1977 and 1981) it has a lot of titles, precisely with Platonov who doubles the commitment as a coach, both with Avtomobilist and with the national team. At home, in fact, CSKA Moscow dominates, winning the title uninterruptedly from 1970 to 1983, adding six editions of the European Cup between 1973 and 1983, with the Leningrad sextet having to settle for finishing third (from 1972 to 1975) and second (from 1976 to 1982). And if Platonov and Zaitsev, who have teamed up with both the Avtomobilist and the USSR since 1969, are the cornerstones on which the victories of the national team are based, they also they use the club team as a sort of branch to test schemes, tactics and technical innovations which will then come in handy with the USSR shirt. And this is why, too often, Avtomobilist, with its combined and fast but tremendously risky volleyball, succumbs to CSKA Moscow.
At the beginning of the Eighties, however, it was time to “attack” the continental stage, and the Avtomobilist, which relies on other established champions of the caliber of the lateral Vladimir Dorokhov and the opposite Alexander Ermilov, went on to win the Cup Winners’ Cup twice in a row, a tournament which marked its debut in Europe in the 1980/1981 season, finishing fourth in the final group won by VKP Bratislava ahead of Steaua Bucharest and CSKA Sofia.
At the starting line, November 7, 1981, Steaua itself plays the role of the favourite, with Skoda Budejovice and Levski Sofia, this time, defending the colors of Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria, also representing that Eastern European basketball that knows no rivals. Among the Western teams, France seems to be able to lull some illusions (which the previous year won the first edition of the CEV Cup with Cannes), which Grenoble fieldsWhile Italy, winner of the trophy in 1980 with Panini Modena, this time entrusts its chances to Edilcuoghi Sassuolo.
It is played with the direct elimination formula (tennis scoreboard model) for the first two rounds, round of 16 and quarter finals, which will decide the four teams who will then play each other in the final round which will award the cup. Is exactly Edilcuoghi is forced to raise the white flag on their debut, overwhelmed by the superiority of Avtomobilist (1-3 in Leningrad, 0-3 in Italy), who in the second round finds the Czechoslovaks of Budejovice on their way, ultimately defeated narrowly at home (3-2 with scores of 14-16 15-9 11-15 15-13 15-10) and then peremptorily eliminated at home (3-0 which allows no replies, 15-7 15-6 15-8).
Grenoble, Levski Sofia and Steaua, as predicted, complete the list of teams admitted to the final four, the French overcame the Swedes of Floby (3-1 and 2-3), the Bulgarians overcame the Hungarians of Csepel (1-3 and 3-0) and the Romanians held off Real Madrid’s recovery attempt (3-0 and 1-3). AND from 12 to 14 February 1982 the four contenders for the title meet in Brussels.
And here the Avtomobilist, led by a sumptuous Zaitsev and with the fundamental contribution of Sergey Gribov, spiker who will come to Italy at the end of the 1980s to play with Salerno and Prato, after easily winning the first match against Levski Sofia (3-0 with scores of 15-9 15-8 15-1), he had an exciting match with Steaua which was decisive for the awarding of the trophy, finally getting the better of in five sets, 15-9, 10-15, 15-7, 11-15, 15-10. All that remains is the seal on the final victory, with the round 3-0 against Grenoble (15-6 15-7 15-9) which enrolls Avtomobilist Leningrad in the roll of honor of the greats of Europe.
Twelve months later, with the addition of a champion like Oleg Smugilev, taken from Politechnik Odessa and fresh world champion in Argentina with the same Platonov, Zaitsev, Gribov and Dorokhov, Avtomobilist is ready to give an encorefavorite of a competition in which the teams from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania are absent, with Robe di Kappa Torino is probably the most accredited rival.
In truth, the Soviets’ path is not particularly complicated, with the Dutch Interlance Zaandam and the French Asnieres Paris eliminated with the same result (3-0 at home and 3-1 in the return away)which opens the doors to the Avtomobilist of the final-four in Schaan, Liechtenstein, scheduled for 18 to 20 February 1983.
At the final stage of the competition, Robe di Kappa presents itselfwhich eliminated the Germans TV Pasawa (3-1 and 3-0) and the Austrians Club Tyrolia Wieden (another 3-1 away and an easy 3-0 in Piedmont), the Yugoslav part of Vojvodina, Novi Sad (who in the first leg home match of the quarter-finals with the Portuguese team ES Ginasio conceded only 4 points in 3 sets!) and the Turks of Gunay Sanay Adana, in turn easy winners of the Swiss team from Lausanne. And it is precisely the sextet of the “crescent” that marks the immediately winning debut of Platonov’s team, which wins easily, 15-11, 15-2, 15-9just as the Turin team’s debut was equally easy, 3-0 against Vojvodina with some trouble only in the second set, 15-4, 16-14, 15-7.
In the second match Avtomobilist and Robe di Kappa exchange opponents but the result is always the same, 3-0 for both (with Silvano Prandi’s team even leaving “0” Adana in the third set!), and then it will be the direct clash that will decide which of the two candidates will be able to lift the trophy destined for the winning team of the Cup Winners’ Cup.
The one that was staged on February 20, 1983 it is a balanced, exciting match, with the Soviets extending to 2-0 (15-4 15-9), the Piedmontese making up for it in the third set (15-8) and Avtomobilist again asserting the law of strongest in the fourth set (15-6).
It ends 3-1, and for the second time in a row the award-winning Platonov-Zaitsev company climbs to the top of Europe.