18/11/2011 07:52
Azerrail BAKU wants to start with victory in Romania
News from the clubs
Baku, Azerbaijan, November 18, 2011. Azerrail BAKU expects a very tough fight for its opening match of the 2012 CEV Volleyball Champions League which is coming up in less than two weeks in Romania against 2004 Tomis CONSTANTA. Azerrail, winner of the 2011 GM Capital Challenge Cup, was assigned by the DOL to a tough Pool that includes also Italy’s Norda Foppapedretti BERGAMO and titleholder VakifBank TTelekom ISTANBUL.
“We are very happy to be back in the Champions League. This is a tough competition and we do expect classy matches for the coming weeks. If we want to make it through the Pool play, we have to stay focused in every match and every single set” says local star Oksana Parkhomenko.
Azerrail is back in Europe’s most elitist competition after a break of 4 years. “Last year we claimed the Challenge Cup but we all know there is a huge difference in quality with the Champions League. We have to play aggressively and with much attention” adds libero Valeriya Korotenko.
“Although we respect all of our opponents, we definitely shall score a couple of wins over the Romanian team. BERGAMO is one of the favorites to qualify for the final four but we may cause a surprise there. As far s VakifBank is concerned, in my opinion they are not unbeatable. They lost the final of the FIVB Club World Championship to Rabita, so we’ll try to emulate our friends” says Parkhomenko.
The roster of Azerrail for the 2011/2012 season includes 8 players from Azerbaijan’s national team plus six foreigners, among others Italy’s Sara Anzanello and US American Jennifer Tamas, who will be in Baku only upon completion of the FIVB World Cup in Japan.
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