29/03/2015 00:29
Volleyball stars praise ambiance and organisation of Final Four, show will go on Sunday both on and off the court
2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League - Men
Berlin, Germany, March 28, 2015. A record of attendance was set on Saturday at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin with 9,300 fans following the semifinals of the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men. This surpassed the figure from the final match of the 2002 FIVB Women’s World Championship where 9,070 witnessed Italy claim their first, historic and to date only gold medal beating USA. Among the 9,300 who followed the actions of the world’s Volleyball elite, there were many former players, including 2012 Olympic champion Julius Brink.
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“I have decided to come since this is definitely the very best event a Volleyball fan can get to experience when it comes to club competitions,” Brink says. “The organisation of the Final Four is something great for BERLIN Recycling Volleys and the city. The club has taken Volleyball here to a totally different, sensational level. Though it is always difficult to compare any event with the Olympics, also here you can get to see the fans staring with big eyes at their idols. A Final Four can match the level and attractiveness of an Olympic tournament for national teams. I have seen that the development that the organisers have undergone is an extremely interesting journey. They have taken the very best from the entertainment industry and even for somebody coming from a Beach Volleyball background there is something to learn. The club and team have developed so much that you almost see no end to this process. This identification by the fans with their favourite players, this ‘hero status’, this is something that should be developed in Beach Volleyball as well.”
Brink was not the only VIP guest to praise the organisation of the Final Four. The mentor of VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, the arch-rivals of the BERLIN Recycling Volleys in the Bundesliga, was also amazed: “I am very pleased to be here. I have been in a Final Four of the CEV Volleyball Champions League for five times but this is the first one that I am following from the stands with all other spectators. Of course this is a totally different position, where you can enjoy it more and you feel more relaxed. There have been other Finals as good as this one – for instance I remember the one organised in Bologna – whilst others were organised at a lower level. This one here in Berlin is definitely one of the best I have ever witnessed. It’s also very nice that fans of both teams, I mean the BERLIN Recyling Volleys and my club, are sitting together and cheering the home team on.”
Somebody who also has a strong Volleyball background and has spent many years from neighbouring ‘Volleyland’ is Stéphane Antiga, who last year steered Poland’s national team to a sensational gold medal at a home World Championship: “It’s just great what you see here. The fans can sit very close to the court and there are many in attendance, especially from Poland and Germany. The atmosphere is a little different than in Poland, but anyway phenomenal.”
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