WATCH: Libero Grebennikov following in some big footsteps

That’s where Jenia Grebennikov has ended up, following in the footsteps of Jean-Francois Exiga and Hubert Henno, two more outstanding French liberos.

Jenia Grebennikov interview - Watch here.

Grebennikov, 27, is firmly established on the star-studded French national team, but his next major tournament will be with Lube Civitanova in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship in Poland, which starts on December 12.

The Italian team will be making their debut in the tournament, but as reigning Italian champions with some of the world’s best players on their team, they are unlikely to be overawed.

Interviewed here by another great libero, Krzysztof Ignaczak of Poland, Grebennikov admits he had to escape the shadow of Exiga and Henno, but as the Best Libero in the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship (2014), the CEV European Championship (2015), the FIVB Volleyball World League (2016) and the CEV Champions League (2017), he has cemented his place among the great liberos of France.

The talented athlete played a number of sports as a youngster, but his Russian father was also a volleyball player and coach of his hometown team, Rennes, so the choice was obvious. And despite hoping to be a spiker, his father told him it was better to be a great libero rather than an average spiker.

And there is no doubt he has become a great French libero, otherwise he probably wouldn’t have found his way to Lube Civitanova.