16/07/2014 09:00
Two close friends to meet in European League Finals
2014 CEV Volleyball European League - Women
Bursa, Turkey, July 16, 2014. The finals of the 2014 CEV Volleyball European League – Women starring the national teams of Turkey and Germany have got some extra flavour as their respective head coaches, Ferhat Akbas and Giovanni Guidetti, are close friends but this time around will be standing on two opposite sides of the net. The last stage of the 2014 CEV Volleyball European League – Women will get underway this afternoon with the first match taking place at Cengiz Göllü sports hall in Bursa before Turkey and Germany cross their ways once more on Saturday, July 19, in Rüsselsheim.
If Germany will try to retain the title they won last year in Varna, Turkey are still vying for their first crown in the competition after settling for silver in 2009 and 2011. Though both teams were the dominant force in their respective preliminary pools, Guidetti and Akbas know that everything starts from scratch now.
The final matches have a special meaning for both as since the beginning of the 2012/2013 season they have been working together at VakifBank ISTANBUL, where Akbas is Guidetti’s assistant.
Guidetti is very proud of his Turkish colleague and friend: “We have been working together for two years and have spent a lot of time together,” he says. “The European League is a different kind of competition where teams want to develop young players. And it is a lot of fun at the same time. I am very happy and proud him, he has been working very well with his team.”
In return Akbas shows as much appreciation and esteem for Guidetti: “We played eight finals together and we won seven while standing on the same side of the net. He has taught me a lot of things and I am grateful for that. I am very happy to work with him at VakifBank. This will be the first time we will be standing on two different sides of the court. It will be an interesting game and I hope the best for both teams. I would like to thank him once more because he is a good teacher and a good friend at the same time.”
Though Akbas calls him a teacher, Guidetti stresses that Ferhat is not any student: “He is not a student at all. The secret of our success is the workflow we have developed. Of course I am the head coach and he is my assistant, and we have some other colleagues with us, but we do share everything all the time. We decide everything together. In this sense he is not a student at all. I have learned a lot from him and he is helping me a lot. Usually the staff is keen to accept anything that the head coach says. However, Ferhat often says the opposite of what I am saying. This is very important because in the end we all realise that the truth stays somewhere in between. We are fighting in a constructive way and we find good solutions together.”
Anytime they won a match or tournament, they hugged each other first. This time around they will hug each other before the start of the match before moving to their respective benches. Coach Akbas feels like the team that is in good shape can seize the day: “Both teams are young and the one that plays better on the match day will win. Germany has tradition and good players. We will see what happens on the court.”
Guidetti recounts that Germany will be missing Louisa Lippmann for the match in Bursa: “I have to admit that we are not that ready for the first match. I hope things change by the time we play the return game in Germany. Louisa Lippmann, our best player so far in the competition, is currently injured and won’t play here in Bursa. However, there is still a chance that she recovers and will play the second match. She has progressed a lot throughout this campaign and I am very proud of her. That’s why I do put more hopes on the second match.”
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