29/07/2019 10:39
Getting to know – Team Finland’s captain and setter Eemi Tervaportti
CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men
Kuopio, Finland, July 29, 2019. Finnish national team captain and setter Eemi Tervaportti took some time off for his family and himself during the European Golden League and recharged batteries for the upcoming Intercontinental Olympic Qualification Tournament and EuroVolley.
Greece is the fifth foreign country and Olympiacos PIRAEUS the seventh club for Tervaportti as a professional Volleyball player during his nine-year-long European trip. “The experience in Olympiacos was good. Everything worked well in the club and the climate was warm. Friendly people and tasty food made the experience even better,” Tervaportti says.
The 2018/2019 season was very successful for the club. Olympiacos celebrated another triumph in the Greek national league as well as in the Super Cup and reached the semis in the CEV Cup. “The season was great for us. The only minus was our loss to PAOK in the semis of the national cup. Unfortunately, TRENTINO Itas were too tough for us in the CEV Cup,” he adds.
Tervaportti praises the famous Red-and-White fans - even though sometimes there is some extra pressure to win. “It is normal, because Olympiacos is the best club in Greece. However, our fans are always positive and supportive. Sometimes the matches are a little bit riotous.”
After a four-week national team camp in the Kuortane Olympic Training Centre, all the focus is on the Olympic Qualification Tournament running from August 9 to 11 in Ningbo, China. “The next two months will be very important for Finnish Volleyball. In the Olympic Qualification Tournament, we have a hard but quite realistic pool – with China, Argentina and Canada. Everything is possible,” Tervaportti says. “Straight after that, we will turn our eyes to EuroVolley.”
With 227 caps this far, the 30-year-old Eemi Tervaportti is the most experienced player in the Finnish national team. As a pro, he will have several years to enjoy but playing some day back in Finland is not out of his mind. “I am quite sure that it will happen but 36 matches during the regular season are too many for me,” Tervaportti quips.
Before the Olympic Qualification Tournament, Team Finland will take part in the Hubert Jerzy Wagner Memorial in Krakow together with the national teams of Poland, Serbia and Brazil.
One week after that, captain Tervaportti with his crew will be trying to catch the biggest fish in Finnish Volleyball history. That ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is still swimming free in the East China Sea...
For further information on EuroVolley, visit the official website https://eurovolley.cev.eu.
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