Greatest Men’s Volleyball Players of All Time
The world of volleyball knows a lot of great players. Alessandro Fei, Andrea Giani, Gavin Schmitt, Giba, Facundo Conte, Karch Kiraly, Mateusz Mika, Max Holt, Pavel Kruglov, Ricardo Lucarelli, Srecko Lisinac are some of the best players who really need no introduction in the world of volleyball. Each of these athletes makes the history of volleyball.
The big question is – who is the best volleyball player of all time? Here, you’ll help you come up with the answer to this important question. Now, let’s take a close look at the history of volleyball sport and try to create the list of the top men’s volleyball players of all time. We’ll tell you about all of famous volleyball players and discuss their biggest sport achievements.
The Greatest Men’s Volleyball Players
Karch Kiraly (United States)
We would like to start with the legendary volleyball player, Karch Kiraly. Kiraly played for the US national team and built a successful sport career. The athlete has been successful in both indoor and beach volleyball.
According to FIVB, Kiraly is the best volleyball players of the century. Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) named Karch Kiraly the world’s best volleyball player (1986 and 1988). The reality is Karch Kiraly is a three time Olympic Gold medalist. The volleyball player has won 3 gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1984 (indoor volleyball), 1988 (indoor volleyball) and 1996 (beach volleyball). Other player’s achievements include: best defensive player (1 time), best offensive player (3 times), comeback player of the year (1 time), most valuable player (6 times), sportsman of the year (3 times) as well as FIVB best player in the world (2 times).
Obviously, it’s something that no other volleyball players have achieved before. That’s why many experts say that Karch Kiraly is the best player in the history of volleyball. Today, Karch lives in San Clemente, California with his family.
Giba (Brazil)
Gilberto Amaury de Godoy Filho is well-known in the sport of volleyball as Giba. Many volleyball experts suggest that Giba is the world’s best wing spiker. Giba makes a difference as a volleyball player with incredibly fast speed and great athletic abilities.
Without a doubt, Giba is one of the most valuable volleyball players of Brazil men’s national volleyball team. The athlete has won 1 gold medal and 1 silver medal at the Summer Olympic Games (2004 and 2008). The player also won World League (2006), World Championships (2006) Pan-American games (2007) as well as FIVB World Cup (2007).
Ricardo Lucarelli (Brazil)
Ricardo Lucarelli is another great volleyball player from Brazil. Ricardo is a part of Brazil men’s national volleyball team. The volleyball player’s list of achievements includes the following: 1 gold medal (2016) at Summer Olympic Games; 2 silver medals at World League; 1 gold medal (2013) and 1 silver medal (2014) at World Championships. Ricardo is well-known for being the world’s best outside spiker.
Alessandro Fei (Italy)
Alessandro Fei is one of the best players in the Italian League. Alessandro Fei has helped Italy men’s national volleyball team win the gold medal at World Championship. Together with Alessandro Fei, Italy men’s national volleyball has won World League 4 times. Alessandro Fei is known for being best server and most valuable player.
Andrea Giani (Italy)
Andrea Giani has already finished his sport career and now he works as a coach. Andrea is considered to be one of the top world’s volleyball players of all time. It’s worth noting that the player greatly contributed to the success of Italy men’s national volleyball team.
Andrea Giani successfully represented his country and demonstrated excellent results at various international volleyball events. The volleyball player has won World Titles 4 times and European Titles 4 times.
Mateusz Mika (Poland)
Mateusz Mika is one of the most talented volleyball players of Poland men’s national volleyball team. The player helped the team win the bronze medal at European Championship in 2011 as well as the gold medal the World Championships in 2014. Today, Mateusz plays for the legendary Polish volleyball club Lotos Trefi Gdansk. It’s interesting to know that Mateusz Mika received the “most valuable player in the Polish club” award.
Max Holt (United States)
It’s hard to imagine the American volleyball without Max Holt. This volleyball player makes a significant contribution to the US national volleyball team as a middle blocker. It’s important to point out that Max Holt has an impressive list of awards that includes: 1 gold medal (2014) at the World League; 1 gold medal (2015) at the World Cup as well as 1 bronze medal (2016) at the Olympic Games. Max Holt is best known for winning the title of “best middle blocker”.
Facundo Conte (Argentina)
What is great about this volleyball player from Argentina is that he can successfully play at different positions. Facundo Conte can play quite well both in defence and offence. This volleyball player is well-known for being a strong outside hitter as well as a strong opposite hitter. That’s the reason why we decided to include Facundo Conte in the list of the world’s best volleyball players.
Srecko Lisinac (Serbia)
Srecko Lisinac is a young and very talented volleyball player from Serbia. Srecko Lisinac plays both for the Polish Club PGE Skra Belchatow and Serbia men’s national volleyball team. The volleyball player has a long list of achievements and awards that includes the following: 1 gold medal at FIVB World League, 1 gold medal at the German Championship, 1 gold medal at the Polish Super Cup, 2 bronze medals at Polish Championship. Above all, Srecko Lisinac has won the title of “Best Middle Blocker”.
Gavin Schmitt (Canada)
The legendary Canadian volleyball player, Gavin Schmitt, has to be included in our list as well. Gavin has won many titles during his sport career. Today, Gavin Schmitt plays for Arkas team in the Turkish League. On the other hand, Gavin is a key player of Canada men’s national volleyball team. He has been the best scorer, best server and best spiker. Gavin Schmitt has won the silver medal at the 2013 NORCECA Volleyball Championship in Langley.
Pavel Kruglov (Russia)
It goes without saying that Pavel Kruglov is one of the key players of Russia men’s national volleyball team. Pavel plays for Dinamo Moscow team in the Russian League. He demonstrates excellent results and continues to gain popularity in Russia and around the world.
Ivan Zaytsev (Italy)
Ivan Zaytsev is an outstanding volleyball player with Russian origins. Ivan plays for Sir Safety Umbria Volley Perugia and Italy men’s national volleyball team. Ivan Zaytsev is one of the best opposite hitters in Italy.
Saeid Marouf (Iran)
Saeid Marouf is a talented volleyball player from Iran. Saeid played for Zenit Kazan and perfectly recommended himself in the Russian League. Saeid is the first Iranian volleyball player who has ever played in the Russian League, Russian Cup and the prestigious CEV Champions League. Saeid Marouf is also the captain of Iran men’s national volleyball team. Saeid Marouf won the title of “best setter” at the 2014 World League.
Sergio (Brazil)
Sergio Dutra dos Santos is the former Brazilian volleyball player. He played for Sport Club Corinthians Paulista and Brazil men’s national volleyball team. Sergio is definitely one of the world’s best liberos. When he finished his sport career after the 2012 Summer Olympic Games it was very difficult for Brazil men’s national volleyball team to find another strong libero (such as Sergio) who can do great job on the court. Nowadays, Sergio works as a coach and shares his valuable experience with the players of the National Team.
Robert Horstink (the Netherlands)
Robert Horstink is an excellent outside hitter from the Netherlands. Robert is a member of Netherlands men’s national volleyball team. He represented the country at the Summer Olympic Games that took place in Athens, Greece in 2004. Robert Horstink makes a difference as an outside hitter with explosive power, intensity and high vertical jump. Robert is very good at carrying out very powerful back-row attacks.
Thanks a lot for reading our article “the greatest men’s volleyball players of all time”. We have just told you about the world’s best volleyball players. If you analyze the sport of achievements of each athlete carefully you’ll be able to see that Karch Kiraly remains the greatest volleyball player of the century. He is obviously the best volleyball player ever!