06/04/2015 20:09
Coaches and captains voice their determination on eve of CEV Cup finals
2015 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Krasnodar, Russia, April 6, 2015. On Tuesday Dinamo KRASNODAR and PGE Atom Trefl SOPOT will be playing the first round of the 2015 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women finals. It’s only 24 hours to go and the respective coaches and captains shared their emotions and expectations in a press conference attended by many media, including TV stations. Dinamo have made their second CEV Volleyball Cup final this year after back in 2011 they lost to Italy’s Robur Tiboni URBINO. Dinamo KRASNODAR then went on to claim the 2013 edition of the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup edging Italy’s Rebecchin.Meccanica PIACENZA in the final, whilst SOPOT are making their first appearance in a European Cup final.
“Krasnodar is a very beautiful city; we arrived here yesterday and we got some time to have a look around and take a breath,” says the team captain of SOPOT, Izabela Belcik. “We have been walking around a bit and it is nice warm here. However, we are totally focused on tomorrow’s match and we have spent almost all of our time training or studying our opponent. We know that Dinamo KRASNODAR is a strong team. They have signed some good players for this season but we also have a strong team. Tomorrow we will try to show our best and will do everything we can to win this first round. Our fans back home are supporting us and believe in us, so we want to give them something to cheer about.”
“Dinamo KRASNODAR is a great team,” agreed her mentor Lorenzo Micelli. “We have studied our opponent thoroughly and now we know almost everything about their players and their team work. Even though we know and are aware of their strength, we are ready to fight with such a mighty opponent. They have some players who could well feature in the Champions League. I know they have been a little unlucky in the playoffs of the Russian league and that they want to redeem themselves by winning the CEV Cup.”
Local captain and Russian Volleyball icon Liubov Shashkova (Sokolova, pictured) said: “Tomorrow we have a very important match. We have focused our attention exclusively on this match, with no distractions at all. We have been watching videos of SOPOT, have studied the opponent and have worked hard for the last few days. We are in a good mood and the only thing we have in mind is to win tomorrow’s match. We will certainly need the support of our fans and their encouragement. This always provides us with an extra boost of energy.”
The coach of Dinamo, Konstantin Ushakov, agrees that his team is ready to take on the finals: “I can tell you one thing: our team is fully prepared for the finals of the CEV Cup. Everyone is aware and understands the importance of this match. We have been preparing for this very seriously. My colleague from SOPOT said that some of our players may well star in the finals of the Champions League. I agree with him, we have some world-class players but what really matters in the end is our team work. I hope that many fans will be in attendance tomorrow so that our players get to feel the right boost of energy.”
After the first round at Olimp Sports Palace, the ‘grand finale’ will then follow on Saturday, April 11, at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk-Sopot.
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