RUSSIA AND FINLAND REACH FINAL

European League 2005

Kazan, Russia, July 23, 2005. Russia and Finland will play Sunday’s final of the European League 2005 after the semifinal action here in Kazan (RUS) on Saturday. Whilst host Russia defeated Spain (3:1), Finland caused a major upset by nailing Turkey (3:1). 

The Finnish victory over Turkey in the first semifinal of the European League was a surprise. Not having scored many great results within the last decade the Finns are making huge progress. “The Finnish Olympic Committee is helping us a lot now”, team manager Jarmo Salonen stated. “Their goal is to have as many ball sports as possible at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Therefore volleyball received a lot of support. Playing the final of the European League is a great motivation for us in order to reach Beijing.”

The young Finnish formation defeated Turkey demonstrating real fighting spirit. Whilst the Turkish team performed less confident, Finland took risks at each shot and showed some great block and defense actions. Although the Turks won the first set, Finland managed to level (1-1) completely changing the momentum. With 21 points Mikko Oivanen was the best scorer. His twin brother Matti Oivanen booked 18 points for his team including 5 kill blocks.

 

Russia will be the opponent of Finland in Sunday’s final. The home team defeated Spain, but with difficulty. With Russia winning the first set easily (25-18) Spain kept a small lead until the end of the second set, finally drawing balance (23-25). Supported by more than 3’000 fans in Kazan the Russian formation pulled themselves together again, booking the third set clear with 25-12 and the fourth and final set 25-20 (3:1). The team of head coach Zoran Gajic, who won the Olympic gold in 2000 as coach for Yugoslavia, will meet Finland in Sunday’s final, whilst Spain will try to capture bronze against Turkey.


To view the picture gallery please click here.

 

European League Final Four: 23-24 July, Kazan (RUS)

Semifinal Results

TUR - FIN	1:3	25-18, 26-28, 23-25, 23-25
RUS - ESP	3:1	25-18, 23-25, 25-12, 25-20

Further Match Schedule (local time CET+2)

Sunday, 24 July	15.00	TUR - ESP
	17.30	RUS - FIN

More on the web at www.cev.lu

Enjoy & Be There:
26-31 July 2005: FIVB Grand Prix Qualification, Quba, Azerbaijan.
28-31 July 2005: Under 20 European Beach Volleyball Championships 2005, Tel Aviv, Israel.
04-07 August 2005: Under 23 European Beach Volleyball Championships 2005, Myslowice, Poland.
06-09 August 2005: Nestea European Championship Tour - Swiss Open, Lucerne, Switzerland.
11-14 August 2005: Under 18 European Beach Volleyball Championships, Illichivsk, Ukraine.
25-28 August 2005: Nestea European Championship Tour Final, Moscow, Russia.
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.