06/10/2017 13:39
More than 10,000 fans welcome back 2017 women’s EuroVolley gold medallists
News from the National Federations
Belgrade, Serbia, October 6, 2017. More than 10,000 people came together to welcome back Serbia women’s national team to celebrate their gold medal-winning performance from the 2017 EuroVolley in Azerbaijan and Georgia. The crowd and ambiance reminded everyone of a similar happening back in 2006, when Serbia returned home from Japan with a bronze medal from the FIVB World Championship.
After landing at Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, accompanied by a water cannon salute, the team immediately headed to the city centre of Belgrade, where the crowd anxiously were waiting for the players and coaching staff to show up. The first ones to greet the European champions were Mr Vanja Udovicic, Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Darko Udovicic, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Nikola Nkodijevic, President of the Belgrade City Assembly, and Mr Andrija Mladenovic, Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Belgrade.
From the famous balcony of the Old Palace (City Assembly of Belgrade), the players and team officials addressed a jubilant crowd.
“I liked very much the way the team performed at the European Championship, since they showed character, friendship, they supported one another and even if they hadn’t won gold, I would have been just equally proud of them. Everybody was simply perfect, from the staff to the players. I have to point out that this is the result of hard and dedicated work of the Serbian Volleyball community, from north to south, from east to west of the country. People should be very proud,” said Mr Zoran Gajic, President of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia.
“We will need a couple more days to figure this out. This was amazing, the people came to greet us and we are so grateful for having this terrific experience off the court. For me, personally, this medal means a lot. I cannot say that this is my favourite or dearest success, but surely one of the most important ones. We had many problems with injuries, we were doubtful before the start of the Championship, but when we started to play we were so good, and everybody stated that this was an impeccable tournament for us,” said Zoran Terzic, head coach of the Serbian team.
“We are still very much under the impression of everything that has happened the last few days. This is an enormous success for us. We were strong as a team, we bonded, and we trained well in the last five months and this is our reward. Thanks so much to the people of Serbia for this wonderful surprise,” said Tijana Boskovic, Most Valuable Player of the 2017 women’s EuroVolley.
Serbia claimed in Baku their second continental crown – following the title that they won at home in 2011 after beating Germany 3-2 in Belgrade.
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