Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Zaytsev (Russian: Вячеслав Алексеевич Зайцев, 12 November 1952 – 12 June 2023) was a Russian volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1976, 1980, and the 1988 Summer Olympics.[1] He was a setter.[2]
| Vyacheslav Zaytsev | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Zaytsev in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Zaytsev | ||
| Born | 12 November 1952 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union | ||
| Died | 12 June 2023 (aged 70) | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Volleyball information | |||
| Position | Setter | ||
| Number | 2 (1976–1980) 3 (1988) | ||
| National team | |||
| |||
Honours | |||
In 1976, Zaytsev was part of the Soviet team that won the silver medal in the Olympic tournament in Montreal.[1]
Zaytsev became the team captain in 1977 and played a major role in helping the Soviet Union become a dominant team in the late 1970s to early 1980s.[2] He won gold medals in the 1977 FIVB World Cup in Japan, 1978 FIVB World Championship in Italy, 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, 1981 FIVB World Cup in Japan,[3] and 1982 FIVB World Championship in Argentina.[4][2]
In the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow, Zaytsev led the Soviet team to the gold medal by defeating the United States in the final.[5]
In 1988, Zaytsev was a member of the Soviet team that won the silver medal in the Olympic tournament in Seoul.[1]
Among his achievements, Zaytsev also led the Soviet Union to six European Championship gold medals.[4]
In 2013, Zaytsev was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.[2]
Club volleyball
editZaytsev played for Avtomobilist Leningrad, with which he won two CEV Cup Winners' Cups in 1982–1983.[4] He finished his career in Italy, playing in Spoleto, Agrigento, and Città di Castello.[2]
Personal life and death
editZaytsev was born in Leningrad.[1] He was married to Irina Pozdnyakova, a former competitive swimmer. They had a daughter, Anna (born 1975), and a son, Ivan, who is an Olympic volleyball player. Both children hold Italian citizenship: Ivan was born on 2 October 1988 in Italy, where his father played for several years, whereas Anna married an Italian in 1993.[6][7]
Zaytsev died on 12 June 2023, at the age of 70.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Vyacheslav Zaytsev. Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Vyacheslav Zaytsev". International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ Lokegaonkar, Jay (5 February 2023). "History of FIVB Volleyball World Cup and winners list". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Vyacheslav Zaytsev". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Vecsey, George (20 July 1986). "Goodwill Games; Soviet Edges U.S. for Volleyball Title". The New York Times. sec. 5 p. 7. Retrieved 29 September 2024. (subscription required)
- ^ "Позднякова Ирина" [Pozdnyakova Irina]. USSR-Swimming.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ ИГРА БЕЗ ЗАЙЦЕВА Archived 22 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine. spbvolley.ru
- ^ Sbardella, Massimo (12 June 2023). "E' morto Slava Zaytsev, con lui Spoleto anticipò la fine della Guerra fredda". Tuttoggi (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
