Volleyball
#EuroVolleyM - A letter from Romania’s captain Laurentiu Lica
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Article Wed, Apr 17 2019
Luxembourg, April 17, 2019. Hi everyone! I am Laurentiu Lica, captain of the Romanian men’s national team and I am very happy to play at CEV EuroVolley 2019 Men in the same pool as France. For me, France means a lot – in terms of my Volleyball career and my private life as well.
We will be playing in Montpellier and we will open EuroVolley with France, nothing could be more exciting, but let me tell you why. Many things bring me close to Montpellier. I have so many memories, but I know for sure what is the most beautiful of them. It is not a big Volleyball victory or a sensational attack. It is a little dearer to me, there in the Charles de Gaulle esplanade where my little daughter Emea took her first steps. There is no way one can forget about this, nor the walks beyond Palavas-les-Flots or the endless walks in that zoo that Emea just loves.
The first team I ever played for in France was Ajaccio, in Corsica. My coach was the father of the Ngapeth brothers and even in the first year, an excellent one for me, I received a prize. I was the foreign spiker scoring the most points in the championship.
Laurentiu Lica portrayed with wife and daughter.
After that, I left for Beauvais for two years, where I progressed tremendously. With that team, I won the French Cup and in the same season, we were the fifth in the championship.
After that, it came Montpellier, where I found a superb city. A quiet city with lots of culture and fun. Maybe that is why I am a little angry that for the fans there we only managed to get to the French Cup final, but lost it to Lyon. The tenth place of that season did not please me at all, since the supporters of Montpellier deserved more.
After Montpellier, I played at Chaumont and Martigues, and then I came back to Romania.
Now I hope you understand why I was enormously happy when I learned that we would play the pool phase of EuroVolley 2019 in France. We have a good team and I hope we will show ourselves in the best possible way in front of the local audience. For us, having been able to qualify after a 24-year break is a very big deal. The click of our generation occurred in the double match with Finland. First, the group responded perfectly to the Helsinki match and then we played the home match without making any mistake. There have been previous qualifying campaigns where we almost made it, but we always failed in the decisive match. This time was different and after so many failures we played with courage, we defeated Finland in Craiova 3-1 and we achieved our dream.
Laurentiu Lica (#11) portrayed with the shirt of MONTPELLIER Volley UC.
I think perseverance is the word that characterizes this generation, so many defeats, so many failures, but we have kept on going forward. We knew we were on the right track and now that we have made it, we are looking forward to the matches in France, where we have so much to show.
Surely, for me as the team captain the responsibility is bigger; I have to convince the boys that we can qualify from this group, that we can beat the big teams. I have to convince the young or the very young players that we are capable of that. I do not forget that I once had the same age, at the age of 16 I started for the seniors in the second league and when I was 18, I played in the first division in Romania for the first time. After the great experience in France, now I still play in Romania, for Craiova, the team with which I won the title three years ago. Last season I won the Romanian Championship with Tricolorul Ploiesti, now I am back with Craiova and I try to repeat the stunt.
My wife Ely is always by my side and she supports me through everything I do. The period in France was like a dream for us, so the whole family waits for EuroVolley with great excitement. The opening match will be a special one, we play the first match with France, in Montpellier, where I was on the same team with Julien Lyneel, and now we will be opponents. I hope that we can cause a sensation. I have many friends in Montpellier and I know they will come to this game. There are also many Romanians living and working in the area. I hope they come out and support the Romanian team, I will just say, we will not disappoint you!
We will be playing in Montpellier and we will open EuroVolley with France, nothing could be more exciting, but let me tell you why. Many things bring me close to Montpellier. I have so many memories, but I know for sure what is the most beautiful of them. It is not a big Volleyball victory or a sensational attack. It is a little dearer to me, there in the Charles de Gaulle esplanade where my little daughter Emea took her first steps. There is no way one can forget about this, nor the walks beyond Palavas-les-Flots or the endless walks in that zoo that Emea just loves.
The first team I ever played for in France was Ajaccio, in Corsica. My coach was the father of the Ngapeth brothers and even in the first year, an excellent one for me, I received a prize. I was the foreign spiker scoring the most points in the championship.
Laurentiu Lica portrayed with wife and daughter.
After that, I left for Beauvais for two years, where I progressed tremendously. With that team, I won the French Cup and in the same season, we were the fifth in the championship.
After that, it came Montpellier, where I found a superb city. A quiet city with lots of culture and fun. Maybe that is why I am a little angry that for the fans there we only managed to get to the French Cup final, but lost it to Lyon. The tenth place of that season did not please me at all, since the supporters of Montpellier deserved more.
After Montpellier, I played at Chaumont and Martigues, and then I came back to Romania.
Now I hope you understand why I was enormously happy when I learned that we would play the pool phase of EuroVolley 2019 in France. We have a good team and I hope we will show ourselves in the best possible way in front of the local audience. For us, having been able to qualify after a 24-year break is a very big deal. The click of our generation occurred in the double match with Finland. First, the group responded perfectly to the Helsinki match and then we played the home match without making any mistake. There have been previous qualifying campaigns where we almost made it, but we always failed in the decisive match. This time was different and after so many failures we played with courage, we defeated Finland in Craiova 3-1 and we achieved our dream.
Laurentiu Lica (#11) portrayed with the shirt of MONTPELLIER Volley UC.
I think perseverance is the word that characterizes this generation, so many defeats, so many failures, but we have kept on going forward. We knew we were on the right track and now that we have made it, we are looking forward to the matches in France, where we have so much to show.
Surely, for me as the team captain the responsibility is bigger; I have to convince the boys that we can qualify from this group, that we can beat the big teams. I have to convince the young or the very young players that we are capable of that. I do not forget that I once had the same age, at the age of 16 I started for the seniors in the second league and when I was 18, I played in the first division in Romania for the first time. After the great experience in France, now I still play in Romania, for Craiova, the team with which I won the title three years ago. Last season I won the Romanian Championship with Tricolorul Ploiesti, now I am back with Craiova and I try to repeat the stunt.
My wife Ely is always by my side and she supports me through everything I do. The period in France was like a dream for us, so the whole family waits for EuroVolley with great excitement. The opening match will be a special one, we play the first match with France, in Montpellier, where I was on the same team with Julien Lyneel, and now we will be opponents. I hope that we can cause a sensation. I have many friends in Montpellier and I know they will come to this game. There are also many Romanians living and working in the area. I hope they come out and support the Romanian team, I will just say, we will not disappoint you!