23/10/2013 19:00
Defending champions Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK want to retain their title
2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Novosibirsk, Russia, October 23, 2013. Russia’s Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK will try to defend the title they won last March in Omsk as on Thursday they play their first match in the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men hosting Austria’s rookie Posojilnica AICH/DOB. Lokomotiv just returned home after winning silver at the 2013 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship where they lost the final game to Brazil’s Sada Cruzeiro.
A press conference was held on Wednesday in Siberia’s largest city to discuss the goals and expectations of the team on the eve of their season’s opener. “Similarly to any other competition our task and goal is to win every single game we play” said head coach Andrey Voronkov. “We always go for the best result and even though we know we will have to stand some tough opponents along the way, we feel ready to embark on this mission. We were assigned to a very difficult group with three top teams – beside Lokomotiv, Italy’s Lube Banca Marche MACERATA and our compatriots of Zenit KAZAN – while Posojilnica is relatively unknown but they may cause a surprise too.”
“The CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League is the very best competition out there because there are no weak teams” added team captain Alexander Butko who attended the press meeting together with middle blocker Artem Volvich. “We have to stay focused not only on every match we play but also on every single training session. The secret will be that we believe in our strength and we stick together as a team. I think we have got everything it takes for a successful season: we are motivated, concentrated and ready to fight” he concluded.
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