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2ND EUROPEAN LEAGUE ABOUT TO START
European League 2005
Luxembourg, June 1, 2005.
Following the tremendous success of the first European
League edition in 2004 a new selection of eight strong European men’s
teams will battle it out in the months of June and July once again,
starting this weekend.
From 3rd June to 10th July the men’s national teams of
defending champion Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Slovakia,
Spain, Russia and Turkey will compete in the six-leg League Round in
order to qualify for the Final Four tournament which will take place
from 23rd to 24th July in Kazan, Russia.
Starting on the weekend of 3rd to 5th June 2005, eight national teams are separated into two pools of four teams each, playing each other twice home and twice away (total twelve matches per pool). Whilst Russia, Germany, Finland and Estonia meet in Pool 1, defending champion Czech Republic, Spain, Slovakia and Turkey complete Pool 2.
The organiser of the Final Four, i.e. Russia, is directly qualified following the six legs League Round. The two best ranked teams of each pool will qualify for the Final Four in Kazan (RUS) from 23rd to 24th July 2005. In case Russia is not amongst these four teams, the two first ranked teams of each pool and the second ranked team with the best score will qualify for the Final Round.
Pool 1 is comprised of 2004 runner-up Russia, Germany, Estonia and Finland, where the favourites to proceed to the final on paper are Russia and Germany. However, during the FIVB World Championship 2006 prequalification round end of May Finland with new head coach Mauro Berruto won their encounter 3:1 against Germany in Tampere (FIN), whilst the Estonian team surprisingly beat Austria and Latvia in Vila de Conde (POR), finishing second behind Portugal.
The clear favourite in Pool 2 is the Czech Republic who won the premier edition of the European League last year, beating the Russians 3:1 in the final. They will meet Slovakia, Turkey and newcomers Spain. The last encounter between Slovakia and Turkey was decided 3:1 in favour of the Turks, namely during the FIVB 2006 World Championship prequalification round in Varna (BUL) mid-May.
European League 2005
Pool 1: Estonia, Finland, Germany, Russia.
Pool 2: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey.
Match Program
Pool 1: RUS, GER, FIN, EST
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1st leg |
03-05 June 2005 |
GER - FIN |
|
EST - RUS |
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2nd leg |
10-12 June 2005 |
FIN - RUS |
|
GER - EST |
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3rd leg |
17-19 June 2005 |
FIN - EST |
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RUS - GER |
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4th leg |
24-26 June 2005 |
RUS - FIN |
|
EST - GER |
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|
5th leg |
01-03 July 2005 |
EST - FIN |
|
GER - RUS |
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|
6th leg |
08-10 July 2005 |
FIN - GER |
|
RUS - EST |
Pool 2: CZE, ESP, SVK, TUR
|
1st leg |
03-05 June 2005 |
SVK - ESP |
|
CZE - TUR |
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2nd leg |
10-12 June 2005 |
SVK - CZE |
|
14-15 June 2005 |
ESP - TUR |
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3rd leg |
17-19 June 2005 |
ESP - CZE |
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TUR - SVK |
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4th leg |
24-26 June 2005 |
CZE - ESP |
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SVK - TUR |
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|
5th leg |
01-03 July 2005 |
TUR - ESP |
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CZE - SVK |
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6th leg |
08-10 July 2005 |
ESP - SVK |
|
TUR - CZE |
Final Round:
23-24 July 2005 in Kazan, Russia.
More on the web at www.cev.lu
26-31 July 2005: FIVB Grand Prix Qualification, Baku, Azerbaijan.
02-11 September 2005: Men’s Senior European Championships 2005, Rome (ITA) and Belgrade (SCG).
16-25 September 2005: Women’s Senior European Championships 2005, Pula and Zagreb, Croatia.
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