Vyacheslav Zaytsev

For the basketball player, see Vyacheslav Zaytsev (basketball).

Vyacheslav Zaytsev
Personal information
Full name	Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Zaytsev
Nationality	Russian
Born	(1952-01-12) 12 January 1952 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Setter
National team
0000 Soviet Union
Honours Men's volleyball Representing Soviet Union Olympic Games 1980 Moscow Team 1976 Montreal Team 1988 Seoul Team World Championship 1978 Italy Team 1982 Argentina Team 1974 Mexico Team 1986 France Team World Cup 1977 Japan Team 1981 Japan Team 1985 Japan Team Goodwill Games 1986 Moscow Team Friendship Games 1984 Havana Team European Championship 1975 Yugoslavia Team 1977 Finland Team 1979 France Team 1981 Bulgaria Team 1983 East Germany Team 1985 Netherlands Team Universiade 1973 Moscow Team European Junior Championship 1971 Spain Under-20
Last updated: 21 December 2017

Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Zaytsev (Russian: Вячеслав Алексеевич Зайцев, born 12 November 1952) is a Russian former volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1976 Summer Olympics, in the 1980 Summer Olympics, and in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Zaytsev was born in Leningrad. In 1976, he was part of the Soviet team which won the silver medal in the Olympic tournament. He played all five matches.

Four years later, he won a gold medal with the Soviet team in the 1980 Olympic tournament. He played five matches. With the Soviet Union, Zaytsev won two other Olympic silver medals, two World Championships and six European titles.

He was a major player to help Soviet Union men's national volleyball team to dominate the World in late 1970s to early 1980s by winning 1977 FIVB Men's World Cup, 1978 FIVB Men's World Championship, 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, 1981 FIVB Men's World Cup and 1982 FIVB Men's World Championship in row.

At the 1988 Games, he was a member of the Soviet team which won the silver medal in the Olympic tournament. He played five matches. Zaytsev played for Avtomobilist Leningrad (now Spartak St. Petersburg), with which he won two CEV Top Teams Cup and two Challenge Cups in 1982–1983. He finished his career in Italy, playing in Spoleto, Agrigento and Città di Castello.

Family

He is married to Irina Pozdnyakova, a former competitive swimmer. They have 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.