Baku, Azerbaijan, July 3, 2014. Azerbaijan entertains Poland for both teams’ last two pool matches of their inaugural seasons in the 2014 CEV Volleyball European League - Men. The two sides, currently placed in the bottom of the standings in Pool A, will face each other on Friday, July 4, and Saturday, July 5, starting at 17:00 local time at the AYS sports hall in Baku.
While Poland still has a realistic shot at the semifinals, Azerbaijan has won only 1 point so far and, stuck in the last fifth place, has no prospects of making it among the best four of the tournament.
Still, the team from the southeastern corner of Europe is hoping to finish its debut participation in the European League on a high note, with a successful weekend against the Poles in Baku.
“Winning over Poland is very important for us,” Leonardo Silie Tabares, head coach of Azerbaijan, pointed out on the eve of this weekend’s double-header. “Our team will show a good game and will try to win the matches.”
On the other hand, Poland has 8 points and if it wins the six points in Baku, it will be in contention for the second place in the pool, having in mind that Romania with 13 points has no matches left to play and Greece with 12 points has a tough away job against pool leader Montenegro.
All four matches of the upcoming final weekend of play in Pool A will be streamed live on LAOLA1.tv.
Click here for more info on the 2014 CEV Volleyball European League - Men.