Berlin captain Ruben Schott (l.) showed emotions on Wednesday and pulled his colleagues around libero Satoshi Tsuiki along with him.
Photo: imago/Andreas Gora
Ruben Schott threw his arms to the side angrily. “Come on!” he shouted at his colleagues, as if to say: It doesn’t work that way. Finally wake up! The captain of the German volleyball champions Berlin Volleys had just deliberately played a ball into the block of the French counterpart Tours VB in order to start a new attack with the expected rebound. But his colleagues didn’t protect him. The ball fell into the field and the second set was lost: 1:1. The first leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League in front of their own audience threatened to slip out of the Berliners’ hands. Then the captain’s hour came.
Less than an hour later, the scoreboard showed 3-1, the fans were just as reassured as captain Schott. Although his outburst didn’t have the desired effect on everyone, it did have enough of his colleagues to win sets three and four quite clearly. And if there was a problem again, like in the middle of the last round, then Schott did it alone: the Bundesliga leaders won eleven points through opposing mistakes, and Schott scored six of the remaining 14 to make it 25:22 with cracking aces and a 100 percent attack rate . Someone went ahead.
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»Someone has to do it. In recent years we have sometimes treated each other too kindly. We all really like each other,” Schott told “nd” after the game. But that doesn’t rule out the possibility of being openly annoyed about other people’s mistakes during the game. »We are still professional volleyball players and want to win. We demand in every training session that no ball falls to the floor without someone throwing themselves at it. In the same way, we can’t accept that in the game either.”
The choice for best player of the match was actually not one. Schott, who usually goes down in the statistics when it comes to scoring points behind his more attacking teammates Marek Šotola and Timothée Carle, was this time also quantifiably the best man at the net with 18 points. Much more important, however, were his obvious leadership qualities. “I now feel a responsibility as a captain and now a somewhat older player,” said the 29-year-old Berlin native. »I have to provide impulses so that everyone fulfills their tasks.«
Such a development was not at all foreseeable at the beginning of his career. When Schott was allowed to play for the BR Volleys for the first time as an 18-year-old in 2013, he seemed as if he just didn’t want to attract attention. “I was the chick in the team and preferred to stay by myself,” Schott remembers of that time today. In 2017 he went to Italy. »The four years abroad were very good for me. After my return, I was introduced more and more to this captain’s role, which I now fulfill. Others find this easier because they are already extroverts. But for me this longer route was just right.«
The outside attacker gained his final boost of self-confidence last summer during the successful Olympic qualification with the national team. This was accompanied by the confidence to make clear statements to colleagues in difficult situations. Schott also became the mouthpiece of the new Berlin coach Joel Banks, who is on the same wavelength as him when it comes to commitment. »Ruben is a fighter. It’s not for nothing that he’s our captain. He shows a huge character,” enthused Banks in the nd interview after the game. »It’s not about what you do, but how you do it. How do you stand on the field, with what intensity do you play? Ruben represents everything that is good about BR Volleys.«
The Englishman also lost his temper several times on Wednesday evening. »That was definitely not our best game. But sometimes that is irrelevant. I’m not asking us to be perfect every time. But I demand more emotional engagement. The group stage is over. “Maybe this could be the last game in front of our fans and we’ll be completely silent at the end of the second set,” said Banks, explaining his heckling. »Of course Tours is a strong opponent, but we still have to give everything we can to catch up more quickly. We, on the other hand, leveled off. That was unacceptable.”
At the second leg in France in a week, Banks expects an “aggressive, even hostile atmosphere” towards his players, but welcomes it: “If you know you’re going to hell, you can at least prepare for it.” Waking up in time is a must then it won’t be a problem anymore.
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