Estonia appoints new men's national team head coach

Tallinn, Estonia, April 17, 2014.  The Estonian Volleyball Federation (EVF) named Gheorghe Cretu as the head coach of their men's national team.  The 45-year-old Romanian takes over from Avo Keel, who was leading the team in years from 2005 to 2014.

Cretu worked as assistant-coach for the Austrian men's national team in the 1999 Senior European Championship finals in Vienna.  From 2007 to 2008 he was head coach for the Romanian national team.  He has been working with different clubs in Austria, Belgium, Poland and Italy.  Cretu is also a former national player for both the Romanian and the Austrian national teams.

"Gheorghe Cretu is a good and interesting find for our team. His excellent knowledge about our players surprised us a lot," Hanno Pevkur, President of EVF, explained. Tarvi Pürn, Secretary General of the federation, announced that they signed one-plus-one-year contract with Cretu.

The new head coach Cretu expressed gratitude for this responsible task and said that he is ready for the challenge:  “I have been following Estonian clubs and the national team for many years and felt their potential.  Estonia has many young talented players to build a good team.”

Over the past nine seasons the Estonian team has had an overall record of 57 wins and 78 losses, including qualification for the 2009 and 2011 European Championship Final Round.

Estonia will play in the 2nd Round of qualification for the 2015 CEV Volleyball European Championship - Men, scheduled in May. The Estonians will face the organisers of the two tournaments in Pool C, Slovakia and Greece, as well as the best second-placed team from the three 1st Round pools. The winner of the double round robin will qualify directly for the European Championship Final Round to take place in October 2015 in Bulgaria and Italy. The second-placed team will get a chance to play in the 3rd Round of the qualification in May 2015.