16/10/2011 13:56
Generali UNTERHACHING: first place in our Pool would be fantastic
2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Men
Munich, Germany, October 16, 2011. After a strong start in the Bundesliga with four wins in four matches Generali UNTERHACHING is looking forward to its second season in the CEV Volleyball Champions League.
When it comes to this competition, Generali UNTERHACHING has a lot of fond memories. In its debut season last year the team from the little town of 22’000 just south of Munich surprised not only itself by reaching the Playoffs 12. Along the way the now three-time German cup winner played to sell-out crowds and raised the level of attention to unknown heights. “For the club, the CEV Volleyball Champions League is extremely important. We found out that the media attention for us shot up by 280 percent and that was chiefly caused by our participation in the Champions League”, coach Mihai Paduretu said at the team’s presentation prior to the start of the European campaign which on Wednesday starts for UNTERHACHING with the home game against Bre Banca Lannutti CUNEO.
After winning the German Cup for the third time UNTERHACHING was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Playoffs in its attempt to win the championship for the first time. So, the Bavarians sneaked in through the back door by getting a wild card for the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League. Their main goal this season definitely is winning the German championship to qualify directly for the big European showcase though already playing there this season is a bonus everybody welcomes. “Actually you can’t say that one thing is more important than the other” Paduretu explains, “playing in the CEV Volleyball Champions League makes players better”. Which in effect means: playing in the CEV Volleyball Champions League makes better players in the German league, playing better in the German league helps you win the championship and therefore qualify for the next edition without needing a wild card.
Paduretu had to oversee an overhaul of his team in the summer, one he didn’t plan. “We have a new team though we didn’t want a new team. It’s a different team now, but with a lot of potential. I think the team is at least as good as last year”, the coach says. So far UNTERHACHING has done a good job in building a new, competitive team. They are unbeaten after four rounds in the German league and on top of the table, winning against German champions and Champions League participant VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN on the first day of the season. “We have the potential of winning the championship - and we want to get as far as possible in the CEV Champions League for, as I said, it is good preparation for the league” Paduretu added.
One of UNTERHACHING’s stars last season was Ferdinand Tille who was voted best libero at the 2010 FIVB World Championship. He tried to find a new club in the offseason - and didn’t find one. He is still with Generali, taking part in training sessions thanks to Paduretu who on the hand states that Tille won’t be playing for UNTERHACHING for the team has a new libero in Sebastian Prüsener. Tille, still looking for a club outside of Germany, will be at the game on Wednesday nevertheless, doing color commentary for TV-Stadion Sport1+ which is broadcasting the match.
In Haching, coach, players and fans are excited about the second season in the CEV Volleyball Champions League. Captain Max Günthör rates the preliminary Pool stronger than last year. “We have to try to stay relaxed in every match”, he says and admits: “First place would be fantastic”. New attacker Christian Dünnes is “convinced that it is possible to reach that goal with this team, although the first match against CUNEO really is a tough one”. In Germany they agree that they have to win their matches against Jihostroj CESKE BUDEJOVICE, “and the matches against Stade Poitevin POITIERS will decide whether we’ll finish second or third in our Pool", Dünnes says.
For coach Paduretu CUNEO, runner-up in last year’s Italian national league, is the clear-cut favorite in the preliminary group. And Christian Dünnes, who played in Italy (for Piacenza) for four years, adds: “I often played against CUNEO - and lost most of the times. The team is loaded with top players. They are even stronger than when I played in Italy”.
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