1984 Japan Cup – USA v USSR
A few months after the 1984 Olympics, the gold medallists of the the previous two Olympics met in the Japan Cup. USA won in Los Angeles, while the USSR team was cooling its heels at home. USA definitely benefiting from the great rivals absence, but who would actually have won a full strength Olympic Volleyball tournament.
A few months later the teams met in the Japan Cup in a match I have written briefly about once before. The match gives precious few clues about who might have won a Los Angeles match up, and gives some nice background for what happened when they met at the World Cup in 1985.
Lineup – The USA team is missing Dvorak, playing in Italy, and Timmons, from a knee injury suffered a week earlier in Korea, from the Olympic team. Dvorak’s replacement Jeff Stork had apparently spent only two weeks with the team, which is apparent from some balls that get away from him. Timmons replacement was Mike Dodd who later found some measure of fame, and 12 years later an Olympic medal, as a beach volleyball player. Dodd spend some time with the team in late 84 / early 85 while there was some doubt about his eligibility to play. He had played in the IVA, which was considered a professional league in the days when that was frowned upon. Subsequently its participants were banned from playing in amateur (ie ‘official’) competition. Dodd’s application for reinstatement was eventually rejected and he returned to the beach.
For the USSR, their lineup is considerably different than it was twelve months later. Missing are Vilde, Pantchenko, Antonov and for part of the match Schkurikhin, for reasons unknown, to me at least. What we can say with confidence is that neither team was at full strength.
The Match – The video shows only some highlights, so there is not much to say, other than like the 1985 match it is real to and fro battle. Some things of note:
In 1985, the Soviets served barely 10% of the time to Kiraly. In this 20 minute clip, Kiraly receives nearly as many balls in total as in three hours at the World Cup. Whether by coincidence or not, Kiraly does seem a lot sharper in attack in this match. Perhaps that is one reason they those not to serve to him later.
Speaking of sharper, Savin seems much more engaged and playing better. He spends more time blocking in different positions, against Powers or Kiraly, a tactic for which he was well known in earlier tournaments. He also makes some great defensive plays.
Powers is not nearly the factor he would be a year later, while on the other side of the net Schkurikhin is an absolute powerhouse.
Overall there seems to be a lot less tension in the match, as though the stakes were much lower. This can be attributed to the different lineups, and to the fact that the stakes were much lower.
Pure Speculation – Some stories that I have heard suggested that USSR were past their best in 1985 as there had been a loss of leadership in a generational change. In 1985 Vilde and Antonov were significant players but seemed also to be the recipients of a lot of ‘advice’ from their more experienced teammates, particularly Zaitsev and Savin. In the decisive World Cup match, the Soviet Union lost two sets despite big leads suggesting these changes were significant. In this match the close ups of the players give away a lot less negative interactions. Given how close the teams were in 1985, with the Soviets being weakened by those changes, one could be inclined to conclude…
For what it’s worth, here is a Data Volley match report of the video below, incomplete as it is. 84 JAPAN CUP
56 views
533
177
4 weeks ago 00:34:33 1
Правительственная телеграмма в ООН. ВрИО Министра МВД СССР П. В. Афанасенко
1 month ago 01:01:49 1
⚖️ ТОРГИ ЗАКРЫВАЮТСЯ: план раздела Украины. Шевченко: жизнь Трампа висит на волоске! Капкан молдаван
1 month ago 00:00:34 1
USSR VS GERMANY
1 month ago 01:16:04 1
Комментарии Министра МВД СССР к приказам Военной коллегии Верховного суда СССР
1 month ago 00:09:16 1
@Press_tsentrSM Государство СССР восстановило все органы власти.The USSR restored all authorities
1 month ago 00:02:09 1
POLSKA vs AMOGUS
1 month ago 00:52:31 1
Анталия. Орёл и Решка. Перезагрузка-3 (English subtitles)
1 month ago 01:02:41 1
Подрывная Деятельность, Перевороты, Пропаганда, Юрий Безменов, КГБ-ЦРУ, Кудеталогия
1 month ago 00:09:13 1
Томская область: быть хозяевами на родной земле
1 month ago 00:48:25 1
Северная Македония. Орёл и Решка. Девчата
1 month ago 00:07:20 1
Каргасокский Совет народных депутатов РСФСР Томской области восстановлен часть 1
2 months ago 00:00:11 1
「 Shinobu tries AMERICAN BREATHING☠️」 #fyp #shorts #kny #demonslayer #viral
2 months ago 00:19:18 1
Восстанавливаем Советы народных депутатов ч. 33 Фальсификат в Конституции СССР.
2 months ago 00:48:33 1
Summit Series 1974 10 06 74 Canada vs USSR Series film
2 months ago 01:56:30 1
Summit Series 1974 10 05 74 Canada vs USSR gm 7
2 months ago 00:15:37 2
Anatoly Karpov vs Boris Spassky | USSR Championship 1973 | Round 7
2 months ago 00:49:18 1
Dr. Gilbert Doctorow: Iran Strikes Israel, Next Move? - Russia vs. NATO
2 months ago 01:09:51 1
Премьера 🎦🎬Государственный Именной Сертификат Союз Советских Социалистических Республик🚩
2 months ago 01:22:10 1
1988 Olympic Games Finals USSR vs Yugoslavia
2 months ago 00:08:15 1
Viktor Korchnoi vs Mikhail Tal, USSR Chess Championship 1962
2 months ago 00:26:49 1
Генеральный секретарь ЦК КПСС Корякин В.С. признан во всем мире!
2 months ago 00:47:22 1
Египетские пирамиды, Египет. Орёл и Решка. Чудеса света (eng, rus sub)
2 months ago 00:53:21 1
Марсианская пустыня Вади-Рам. Иордания. Орёл и Решка. Чудеса света (eng, rus sub)
2 months ago 00:59:32 1
Иордания, Амман (Надя Дорофеева/DOROFEEVA и Владимир Дантес/DANTES ). Орёл и Решка. 10 лет