10/04/2015 14:50
Coaches and captains predict great Volleyball night for final act of CEV Cup
2015 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Sopot, Poland, April 10, 2015. It’s almost time to go in Gdansk-Sopot where more than 4,000 fans are expected to attend the re-match between PGE Atom Trefl SOPOT and Russia’s Dinamo KRASNODAR that on Saturday night will crown the eventual winners of the 2015 CEV Volleyball Cup – Women. The match is set to start at 8pm CET and will be streamed live and for free on LAOLA1.tv. On Friday afternoon the coaches and team captains shared their impressions and feelings with the media as only 24 hours are left before the final showdown.
“I am extremely happy to be here. It was a great shock for me to see this huge arena, this competition hall left all of us quite astonished,” said Dinamo’s team captain and Russian Volleyball icon Liubov Shashkova (Sokolova). “Our opponent really has perfect facilities and the best infrastructure compared to what we dispose of back home. We know that Poland is a country that goes just crazy for Volleyball and that the local people really love our sport, so we expect a great audience for tomorrow’s re-match. I am pleased with that because it is a real pleasure to play before so many fans. We will try to do our best and we hope to win again as we did last Tuesday in Krasnodar.”
The captain of the Atomic Girls, Izabela Belcik, added: “We know that a few days ago in Russia we did not show our skills and real value and because of this we suffered a heavy defeat. We are nevertheless confident that tomorrow we will deliver a top performance and we will be playing our best. We have been preparing for this by watching videos of previous matches and trying to learn from our mistakes. All players are extremely determined to fight through to the end. I am convinced that the fans will get to see a close match.”
Home mentor Lorenzo Micelli looked very calm: “Before we start talking about the match I would like to stress that it’s a great pleasure to host here our opponents and guests from Russia. We hope that they will be enjoying their stay in our beautiful city. What can I say about this ‘grand finale’? Dinamo KRASNODAR is definitely a world-class team. They have got excellent players and are well prepared. However, it’s also undeniable that on Tuesday we did not show our best. We have agreed that we will change this once we take the court on Saturday. My team is made of real fighters and everything is possible as long as they show their strength. This game is very important for all involved, so I am pretty sure that we are all going to witness some great Volleyball actions on both sides of the net.”
Konstantin Ushakov, the mentor of Dinamo KRASNODAR and a former member of Russia’s men’s national team, was less talkative: “I do not have a lot to say. I will keep it really short and simple. I know that both teams are the top ones in this edition of the CEV Volleyball Cup. We are all going to enjoy a great Volleyball night tomorrow. I wish the best team will win in the end!”
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