Gearing up for World League – Team Argentina

Gearing up for World League - Team Argentina
The name means “silver land” but there actually isn’t any silver there. U SO CRAY CRAY CONQUISTADORS!

Last week at this time I debated whether to skip ahead and do Argentina then, because while I was off watching basketball, Mar del Plata in Argentina was named the site of the World League finals. Pool A will now send four teams to the finals — either the top three and then Argentina, or the top four if Argentina are one of the top three. It changes the whole complexion of Argentina’s entry in the tourney. But, I’m getting ahead of myself, of course. First, the rundown

Egypt Portugal
Japan
Iran
Netherlands
South Korea
Finland
Canada
Italy
Argentina
Serbia
Russia
France
Brazil
Germany
Bulgaria
Cuba
USA
Poland

Argentina have always kind of been in the shadows of their Portuguese-speaking big brothers to the north. Their international record is a fair sight better than most teams in this tournament, but it’ll always be second-best in South America. Recently, that may be because the current form of the Argentine volleyball federation, the Federación del Voleibol Argentino (known as FEVA), has only existed since late 2003.

The reason why is a pretty colossal can of worms. I’ll try to give the short version.

The head of the previous version of FEVA, a man named Mario Goijman, blew the whistle on corruption at the highest levels of the FIVB, specifically some $33 million in embezzlement perpetrated by longtime FIVB president Rubén Acosta of Mexico. Remember how current President Ary Graça was the first democratically-elected President in the FIVB’s history? The Acosta scandal is a big reason why direct election began (the man who held the post between the two, China’s Wei Jizhong, never intended to hold it any longer than those 4 years).

Back to 2003. Acosta retaliated against Goijman and the previous guise of FEVA by banning them from the FIVB, effectively all international competition. Later in the year, the new FEVA rose up, loyal to Acosta, and Argentina’s teams were again allowed to compete. Goijman was effectively blackballed, even though a raid by Swiss authorities on the FIVB headquarters in Lausanne turned up evidence that suggested the federation’s books were indeed cooked. Goijman had taken out approximately $800,000 in personal loans to help finance the 2002 world championships in Argentina, under the promise that the event would generate more than enough revenue to pay them back. Suffice it to say they didn’t, and the FIVB have never reimbursed him either, leading to legal consequences befalling Goijman. Acosta, on the other hand, seems to have gotten something of a golden parachute (really, it’s kind of sick how much the FIVB website still kisses his ass), and that $33 million seems to have vanished into the ether.

This story is not finished, and I’m certain there are nuances that none of us really knows, but the facts seem clear enough. I generally prefer to present my sources within textual links, but this time I’m just gonna lay ’em out there. Encouraged reading for some ignominious deeds at the top levels.

http://www.fivb.org/EN/Infomedia/PressRelease.asp?No=539

http://leastthing.blogspot.com/2012/05/tragedy-of-mario-goijman-part-i.html

http://leastthing.blogspot.com/2012/05/tragedy-of-mario-goijman-part-ii.html

http://www.volleywood.net/volleyball-related-news/fivb/corruption-in-the-fivb/

http://www.fivb.org/EN/fivb/FIVB_History.asp

http://www.playthegame.org/news/detailed/gun-threat-and-desperation-as-police-try-to-take-over-mario-goijmans-home-5357.html

http://www.fivb.org/EN/Handover/

http://www.feva.org.ar/noticias/muestra_nota.php?categoria=categoria_secciones_ingles&id=12

Argentina is also home to a series of professional volleyball leagues, interrelated through promotion and relegation. Most members of the current national team play in the Argentine league, called ACLAV (Asociación de Clubes Liga Argentina de Voleibol) Serie A1. The top teams from its yearly championship qualify for the CSV Club Championships. That event is only four years old, but an Argentine club has already won it once, in 2010. This tournament itself grants spots in the FIVB World Club Championship. The most successful and popular team is Bolívar, employer of no fewer than four members of the current national team.

The team are coached by Javier Weber, who was a member of the country’s only Olympic-medal winning team (bronze in Seoul in 1988). Coaching positions generally change hands after Olympiads, but Weber’s signed on for another cycle. They’ve appeared at 6 Olympics altogether, most recently last summer’s London Games where they finished knotted on 5th (that’s making the knockout stage, but losing in the quarterfinals….same position as the USA, as it happened). Like many teams, they didn’t really come in strength to last year’s World League, so their 10th place last year shouldn’t carry much weight this year. The two fifths and a fourth in the three previous World League events are more likely what you’ll see out of them this time around.

They carried just one player born in the 1970’s in London and also included three born in the 1990’s. The floor captain is outside hitter Rodrigo Quiroga. If that name sounds familiar, it should. He’s the older brother of current UCLA star Gonzalo Quiroga, who has himself played for Argentine youth national teams. Even though he’s just 26, the elder Quiroga is already a 7-year veteran of major professional volleyball. He has significant European experience and currently plays professionally for perhaps the most successful side in the Brazilian pro league. That means every bit what you think it does. Two other players with European experience include fellow outside Facundo Conte and setter Luciano De Cecco. They’re already among the best in the world at their positions and at just 23 and 25, they’ll still be getting even better for a while.

So are we looking at a winner?

It’s easily to like this team and view them as being on an upswing. Host nation exemption into the finals round basically means they can treat the preliminary round like a series of training matches. Once the finals begin, everybody’s back at 0-0 in their ledger. So the Argentines have literally nothing to worry about until that time. Being in Pool A with the likes of Brazil, Poland, and USA (who will probably be the three to accompany them to the finals), they’ll certainly get ample opportunity to see what works by testing it against the very best.

Simply being the finals host nation already makes them a medal contender. What’s beyond that is difficult to know until the finals round gets underway.

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