Argentina's Johansen leads Men's U23 Dream team

Opposite attacker German Johansen and setter Matias Sanchez were the two chosen players following Argentina's 4-2 (15-10, 15-11, 16-14, 14-16, 13-15, 15-9) win over defending champions Russia at Cairo Stadium Complex in Cairo, Egypt. 

The gold medal is the first ever for any team from Argentina at a world level.

Opposite attacker German Johansen scored an impressive 16 points for the gold medal winners in the final against Russia, coming atop his great contribution throughout the competition.

"It is a great achievement to win the first ever title for our country. I didn't expect to win the MVP because I'm playing for a small club in Argentina "Club De Amigos" and I don't have enough experience. I still need to work hard to increase my ambitions,"  Johansen said.

Argentina's setter played another important role through his talented combinations as he led his team and used all the skills of its star players. 

Cuba was one of the dark horses of the competition as they won the bronze medals at the expense of giants Brazil. Their efficient outside spiker Miguel Suarez was voted onto the Dream Team for his ability during the competition specially against Brazil during the bronze medal match.

"I didn't expect this prize so I am very happy to receive it. I am also very happy to win the bronze medal today and to defeat Brazil," Suarez said.

 

The other Dream Team outside spiker was Russian Denis Bogdan, whose spikes helped his team qualify for the final. 

"I am very happy with the individual award - it's for all the team. We play like one player. I hoped we would win the title too, the defeat against Argentina was very tough for us," Bogdan commented.

The best Middle Blockers were Ivan Iakovlev (Russia) and Matheus Dos Santos (Brazil) who were ahead of all other competition centres with their kill blocks statistics.

The best opposite was Hisham Ewais from organizers Egypt who put in a great performance that helped the Egyptians achieve their second best ever finish at the world level, winning fifth place.

"This prize was my goal from the start of the tournament. I'm satisfied  with my performance in all the matches I played throughout the competition," he said cheerfully.

 

"I want to thank all my teammates for helping me and I can't win prizes without them."

Finally Brazil's Rogério Filho was nominated the best libero in the tournament. 

MVP: German Johansen (Argentina)

Best Outside Hitters: Denis Bogdan (Russia) & Miguel Gutierrez Suarez (Cuba)

Best Middle-Blockers: Ivan Iakovlev (Russia) & Matheus Dos Santos (Brazil)

Best Libero: Rogério Filho (Brazil)

Best Setter: Matias Sanchez (Argentina)

Best Opposite: Hisham Ewais (Egypt)