Romania’s coach Guillermo Naranjo: Our EuroVolley pool is tricky and dangerous

Guillermo Naranjo Hernandez is in his fifth season head coaching the women’s national volleyball team of Romania. The 49-year-old Spaniard is about to guide the team through their second European Championship together. Three years ago, they finished 11th, and now they are heading to Baku for the matches in Pool C of CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026, where they will compete against hosts Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain for a spot among the top four in the pool and advancement to the eighthfinals.

During his tenure, Naranjo led Romania to two third-place finishes in the CEV Volleyball European Golden League. Romania is the second national team in Naranjo’s coaching career. He was at the helm of Greece from 2018 to 2021. He has coached club teams from Germany, Romania, Poland and Turkiye, winning several national trophies and medals. With his current team, Volei Alba Blaj of Romania, he reached the final of the 2025 CEV Volleyball Cup and settled for silver.

As Romania is gradually wrapping up its preparation for CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026, Naranjo took the time to answer cev.eu’s questions.

How is your team’s preparation for EuroVolley going? Were the recent friendly matches useful, and what conclusions did you draw from them?

Guillermo Naranjo Hernandez (GNH): Very well. We had a first game against Ukraine, so it was actually a very good preparation for our standards. We are a European League team, and we had the opportunity to play against Ukraine, which is a VNL team. On August 1, we played one friendly game in Blaj, where their training headquarters are, and we won 3-1. The feelings were good. Then, we had these two away games with Czechia. They are an excellent team, very strong, also a VNL team. The first game, they went over us completely, 4-0. But in the second game, the feeling was better. Also, we were a little bit more rested, because the trip was very long with some layovers. We lost again, but we lost 3-2 in a good competitive game. In Milan, we played two friendlies against the team that will represent Italy at the Mediterranean Games. 13 of their 14 players compete in the Italian A1 division, so it's a very, very good team. I think the games were pretty good. We lost the first one 4-0, but it was not as bad as it looks, because the first three sets went beyond 25. In most of the sets we were in front, but a few small details decided them. We won the second one 3-1. We could rotate most of the players. Overall, it was a very good training camp and finishing with a victory was important mentally.

I think it was a very good preparation because we played against two teams from VNL and this Italian team. I think it was really, really good. I spoke with the girls and I told them that we shouldn't really care so much about the result of these games, because they are very good teams. The point and the goal of these games was to have an opponent in front of you that will call for your best performance. I think this was perfect for us. So far it was good, it was exactly how we planned. 

Also, we have been preparing all these friendly games exactly the same way as we would be preparing for the official European Championship games – video preparations, analysis and everything – just to try to get into the day-by-day routine and to be ready for the European Championship.

How would you evaluate Romania's performance in this year’s CEV European League?

GNH: This year was not good for us, because we had a few players who couldn't come for the first part of the summer and our roster is not so big. We have some mothers in the team, some players who are a little bit older, and some players who needed some rest after the club season. And on top of that, with the young and short roster that we went to the European League with, we had a very important injury. Adelina Budai-Ungureanu, who is a key player, broke her knee in one of the games. So, in the end it was not so good for us, because we didn't have the squad. But in the last five years, besides this one, it’s been good. We made three Final Fours and also last year we got a bronze medal. I mean, the team used to perform well in the European League, but this year was a problem because of all these absences.

One of the teams you will meet in Baku is your native Spain. What are your thoughts on this? Does that make it a special game for you?

GNH: I don't have thoughts. Before Romania, I was a national team coach of Greece, and we I played against Spain, like, four times. With Romania, I also played them another time in the European League. So, I mean, for me, it is nothing special, just another game, other than, of course, listening to the national anthem of your country, which is always nice to hear.

What are the team's goals at EuroVolley?

GNH: This European Championship is very important for us also because of the World Ranking. Before the World Championship last year, we didn’t qualify because of one position. For one position, we stayed out of the World Championship. Now, we want to go to next year’s World Cup, and this European Championship is going to be very important for the ranking.  So, if 32 teams go, right now we are 27th and two more teams have to come from Africa (I think, I’m not sure), then in reality we are 29th, let’s say… So, we need to stay focused and try to do our best to lose the least points possible.

How would you evaluate the team's chances to reach that goal?

GNH: Our pool is tricky and dangerous for our goals.

OK, we have the Netherlands and Belgium, who I think, in general, are way ahead of us. So, normally we shouldn't really have any chance against them, other than compete and try to find a good rhythm and try to grow through these games. I think it's good that we play the first game against the Netherlands, because normally, in the first game of the European Championship, there is a lot of nerves and excitement. If you already play against a team that is playing for the same goals like you, it can be a little bit tricky and dangerous. So, I think playing the Netherlands is good for us because, let’s say, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Then we have Azerbaijan. This is very tricky. And it's very tricky because right now they are 47th in the world, because in the last two years they did not have a good squad to compete in the European League, so they lost a lot of points. But now, for this tournament, they have a new team. They have Liza (Yelizaveta) Ruban, an excellent outside hitter. She was my player at Alba Blaj last year and we won the championship, we won the cup and we played the CEV Cup final with her. She is a very good player. They have Polina Rahimova – everybody knows her, Ayshan Abdulazimova, the middle blocker... So, it's a very strong team. And they play at home, so for sure it's not going to be an easy game. And if you lose to the number 47 in the world, you lose a lot of ranking points. So, this game is tricky, very tricky. There will be a lot to lose there... and a lot to win!

Then, we have Belgium the next day and then we have a free day. And then, we have Portugal. OK, let’s say, on paper, it's the worst team of the pool, but still, it’s a good team, it’s a dangerous team. We had them in the European League and we won 3-1, but they can have some good momentums, they play defense, they can fight and they are difficult. But the problem is that right after that day we have Spain.

I think that game is going to mean a lot. Probably the winner will go to the next round, or something like that… It’s not going to be an easy game to play. And they are in a similar situation to ours. They are number 30 in the World Ranking, so they are going for the World Cup as well. This last game is going to be like a final, and for sure it's not going to be easy. I know Spain and they are fighters! They fight for every single ball.

So, I hope that we can arrive in Baku in good shape, healthy and without physical problems. Let's see…

Romanian club volleyball, which you are also a part of, has been quite competitive internationally in recent years. What will it take to bring the national team to that level?

GNH: I think we need our players to start playing abroad. We don't have so many players playing abroad. From this team that I have now, only two players play abroad... from 15. The Romanian league is OK, but it's not Italy, it's not Poland, it's not Türkiye, it's not Germany... Next season it is going to be stronger, this is for sure, because there are a few teams there that are signing a lot of players and I think there are going to be six strong teams.

In the Romanian league, it's mandatory to play with two Romanian players, so for the Romanian players, it's interesting to stay in Romania. The good players from the national team have a good status in Romania and they stay there. And it's not only about the level of the league. When you go abroad, you learn a lot of things. You get mature, you learn how to suffer, you learn how to be uncomfortable, you learn how to have all eyes on you, because you are the foreigner and you have to perform well. When you are at home, you don't have this kind of pressure, this kind of stress, because normally the pressure and expectations are more on the foreigners. I think this is the way you grow to be a world-class player. I don't think any world-class player, except in the strongest leagues, plays only at home. The best players of the world play abroad. They have the stress, they have the responsibility of being the go-to player at 24–24, you know.

And then, we have been missing a little bit of consistency in some players. At EuroVolley 2023, we were the youngest team and we finished 11th. We had a very, very good European Championship. But compared to that team, I think almost half of the team is new. There are new players. Some players retired, we have some injuries, some players went to the United States and they are playing college volleyball there now and are not available for the national team at this time. And I think it is important in a national team like ours – that is not a top, top team – to try to have continuation in the project, continuation in the work that you are doing with the players. When new players come into the main six, they need time to adjust.