3rd place: Poland
Poland came in third. I think they were the favorites to win this tournament along with Olympic champion France, but they were blocked by Slovenia in this Euro. This is the fourth consecutive tournament since 2015 in which Poland has lost to Slovenia in the European Championship tournament. They had a brilliant win in the semi-finals of this year's Nations League, so I thought they could win this year, but that didn't happen lol. The final fourth set was also a fierce battle at 37-35, but they just couldn't get one more point.
However, unlike at the Olympics, Captain Kubiak was playing at his leisure. I'm sure he was not fully satisfied at the Olympics, so I'm really glad he was in good spirits at the Euros! And the team atmosphere was great. I wonder if the presence of the mood-maker, second libero Wojtaszek, was also a big factor.
The way they used the middle serve was also interesting in this tournament. Bieniek was only used until the first serve and just before the final serve, and was replaced by Nowakowski during that time. It was a usage that could be called a reverse relief server, but Bieniek's hybrid serve was sharp in this tournament, and Nowakowski's quick serve and block were also effective, so I think it worked well.
However, the cheers of the local fans did not reach them, and they missed the top spot again this time. This also led to Coach Heinen's resignation. The year he took over, the team won the World Championships, but after that, even with the naturalized Cuban monster Leon, they were unable to win a gold medal. The twin cannons of Leon and Krek ended up without a title.
On the other hand, the three players who were on the bench this time, outside player Silivka, Semeniuk, and opposite player Kaczmarek, were in the starting lineup and won this year's European Champions League (although Kochanowski and Zatorski were also there). Volleyball is not measured by simple individual strength alone. Who will be the new coach, and what kind of Polish national team will they create? It will be interesting to watch.
Other thoughts
In addition, Serbia, the previous year's champion, unfortunately came in 4th place. Led by technician Kovacevic and ace Atanasevich, they put up a good fight against Italy, who won the championship, but they were unable to win a medal for the second consecutive tournament. Serbia's team was composed of a fairly high average age, with the youngest starter being Kovacevic at 28 years old, so we are looking forward to the emergence of a new star in the future.
The Olympic champions, France, were unexpectedly eliminated in the first round of the tournament. What's more, their opponent was the Czech Republic, and they lost in straight sets, so it was a huge shock. Although the French national team had a new coach, the famous Rezende, the starting lineup was the same as the Olympic team. Among them, new talent was emerging, including the young opposite Faure, and the atmosphere was looking very good, but they were unexpectedly eliminated. Was it difficult to maintain motivation for the Euros after winning the Olympic Games?
In the match against France, the Czech Republic's opposite Hadrava and 22-year-old Vasina played a big role. Vasina's attack success rate was an astonishing 71%. He is still in the domestic league, but I would like to see him go to Poland or Italy in the future. After such a giant killing, the Czech Republic was defeated by Italy and finished in the quarterfinals.
Russia, the Olympic silver medalist, also struggled. Mikhailov, the opposite player who was a starter at the Olympics, was forced to withdraw for treatment, and they planned to use Poletayev, who was a reserve player at the Olympics, instead, but he withdrew due to injury before the tournament. In addition to that, there were a series of injuries, and Tetukhin Jr. was called up immediately before the tournament, and Zhigalov was also called up during the tournament. In the midst of all this, Kliuka, who is normally an outside player, played opposite in this tournament. I think he did very well. He was originally 208 cm tall and had great talent. As is the case with Muserskiy, Russian big players are really skillful. Nevertheless, they lost to Poland and were in the quarterfinals.
Neither of the Olympic medal-winning teams managed to win a medal at the Euros. On the other hand, the teams that competed in the Olympics but didn't win a medal both ended up winning medals, which is quite an interesting result.
There are many other things I want to say, such as how cool Plotnicki was, go Estonia, and Ace-kun, but for now I'll leave it at that!
Wow, I'm getting excited for the club season!!!
Photo: CEV
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