VICTORY WOULD BE SENSATIONAL IN THE EUROPEAN WORLD OF VOLLEYBALL

Men's Indesit European Champions' League 2005/06

Vienna, Austria, December 19, 2005. When aon hotVolleys' manager Peter Kleinmann has the starting six of Sisley TREVISO - his team's next opponent - in mind, he starts to sing songs of praise.

The aon hotVolleys will face the Italian top team this coming Wednesday in the hotVolleys third home match of Pool C in this season’s IECL. The list of success of the TREVISO players is very long but Peter Kleinmann knows it off by heart. The only thing he doesn’t yet know is how the aon hotVolleys will be able to beat the Italian team of superstars.

“Sisley TREVISO is the most renowned and best team in the world of volleyball”, he stated, “All players of the Italian starting six played in the Olympic final in Athens in 2004.” In addition, Sisley TREVISO has won the European Cup eight times and the Supercup twice. Overall, the team sacked 118 titles. “The encounter on Wednesday can be compared to the recent encounter of the popular Viennese team Rapid versus Juventus Turin in the football Champions League”, explained Peter Kleinmann, “We definitely are the underdogs in this match - no doubt.”

Thinking about the recent 1:3 defeat against Hypo Tirol INNSBRUCK, the hotVolleys’ archrival in the Austrian Volleyball League, the aon hotVolleys’ manager also admitted that the last four matches of his team didn’t take the desired course. “At the moment we’re not playing our best volleyball. Our performance is not as good as it was two months ago. Thus, a victory on Wednesday would really be sensational.”

Nevertheless, the last test for the encounter on Wednesday went very well: The aon hotVolleys scored a clear 3:0 victory against the Hungarian champion Kaposvar. “This is the right result at the right time. It will boost our confidence so we can put up a good fight against the Italians,” Peter Kleinmann said contently.

Barbara Schnürch
Press Officer
aon hotVolleys VIENNA

 

 

KEY DUEL FOR THE DUTCH TEAM

Rotterdam, Netherlands, December 19, 2005. Following a two-week rest Ortec ROTTERDAM Nesselande is looking forward to the match against Unicaja ALMERIA in Pool A in the men's Indesit European Champions' League on Tuesday, 20th December. Location of this meeting is the top sports centre in Rotterdam, where the players will start at 20.00hrs local time. Nesselande will meet their former national coach Bert Goedkoop as well as mid-player Mike van de Goor.

The match will be between current number three and four from Pool A of the Indesit European Champions' League 2005/06. Nesselande, with one victory more to book than the Spanish, will make a serious step in the direction to the following round if they decide this match in their favour. Given the coming tough away-matches against Knack Randstad ROESELARE and Iraklis THESSALONIKI, the game on Tuesday can be described as a key duel. Coach Peter Blangé is aware of this, stating: “We have won against them before but that doesn’t mean we can be relieved. Looking at the remaining programme this match is crucial.” The earlier match against ALMERIA was labelled as “a fantastic game from our side”.

In the national competition the ROTTERDAM team are aiming for the first place, not having met many obstacles so far. During the first half of the competition Blangé’s squad lost only three sets to their opponents.

Steef van Duin
Press Officer
Ortec ROTTERDAM Nesselande

 

 

FIRST VICTORY FOR BUDUCNOST PODGORICKA BANKA?

Podgorica, Serbia & Montenegro, December 19, 2005. The champions of Serbia & Montenegro are still waiting for a first victory in Pool D of the Indesit European Champions' League. Buducnost PODGORICKA Banka will try to overcome BOT Skra BELCHATOW from Poland, who were defeated in the two previous games against EMU RPA PERUGIA. The match will be played in the Moraca sports hall with a capacity of 4’300 seats.

Still waiting for a first victory in this year's Indesit European Champions' League, Buducnost PODGORICKA Banka hope to obtain their first success Wednesday evening facing BOT Skra BELCHATOW from Poland. The champion of Serbia & Montenegro played some very good matches so far, except for the game against Italian EMU RPA PERUGIA, but unfortunately lacked the luck to win at least one game. Hence, Buducnost PODGORICKA Banka want to make their crowd a present by beating the Polish champion. Success in this match would be a great introduction to the final tournament of the national cup, which is scheduled for this weekend. Buducnost PODGORICKA Banka have already played against BOT Skra BELCHATOW last month in Poland, having lost 1:3. Wednesday's game is the opportunity for revenge, although the guest team is the big favourite.

The atmosphere has lightened up a little thanks to the victory in the national league against Partizan BELGRADE (3:0), which ended the series of four defeats in a row. We played a nice match in Poland, and we hope to do it again.

“BOT Skra BELCHATOW have secured their place in the next round of the competition, so they are coming without any pressure to win in Podgorica”, expressed Igor Kolakovic, head coach of Buducnost PODGORICKA Banka, “We will give our best to win, and hopefully we will manage. Due to their qualities and strength it will be difficult to beat the Polish team, no matter if they lost twice to EMU RPA PERUGIA. I think that our fans will have an opportunity to see another very good European team, and I hope that the atmosphere in the hall will be like against Lokomotiv BELGOROD. Support means a lot to us.”

The match is scheduled for Wednesday, 21st December at 18.30hrs local time in the Moraca hall in Podgorica. It will be televised in Montenegro on RTV Crna Gora - Drugi program.

Sasa Joncic
Press Officer
Buducnost PODGORICKA Banka

LEVSKI SICONCO WILL FIGHT FOR EACH POINT AGAINST LOKOMOTIV BELGOROD

Sofia, Bulgaria, December 20, 2005. “Levski Siconco will fight for each point against the Russian champions from Lokomotiv BELGOROD”, stated head coach Martin Stoev at the press conference before the match of Pool D in the Indesit European Champions’ League, which will be played at the “Universiada” Hall in Sofia at 17.30hrs local time on 21st December.

“Lokomotiv’s weapon is the strong serve, which contributes to a good block”, continued Stoev, “But if the Russians don’t manage to serve well, we shall offer strong resistance with all the potentials of our team. The players of Lokomotiv aren’t too strong in defense, so there is the possibility for us to achieve a lot. We will fight for each point and our main aim is the victory. It is hard to guarantee success facing such a strong team, but we’ll try to do our best.”

Levski Siconco SOFIA have problems with two of their middle blockers, but they hope the players will recover until the beginning of the match. The other players are healthy and in good condition. According to Stoev, Lokomotiv is not unbeatable, although they currently lead the pool.

“This match is important not only for us but for the Bulgarian volleyball in general”, said the manager of Levski Siconco, Georgi Zaharinov, “Success may ensure a place for a Bulgarian team for the next year. We shall provide our guests all the conditions necessary for a good stay, trainings and preparation, as the regulations of CEV require.”

Lokomotiv arrive in Sofia with a flight from Moscow at 11.00hrs on 20 December. The players will be accommodated in hotel “Eddy” at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. They will train twice in the “Universiada” Hall before the match with the Bulgarian champions.

The hosts are expecting their devoted fans to stand by them during the match against the Russian giants - the team with most titles.

Boyko Okov
Press Officer
Levski Siconco SOFIA