Slovenia head to Modena with focus and ambition

The men’s national team of Slovenia is travelling to Modena with high goals and great experience. After winning medals in four of the last five European Championships, three silvers and one bronze, the team is now chasing the only medal missing from their collection: EuroVolley gold. As the defending bronze medallists, Slovenia is ready to begin Pool A matches at the renowned PalaPanini. 

This tournament is the final chapter of a long and busy summer. Slovenia already had great success earlier this year, winning a bronze medal at the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Finals in China. After a short rest, head coach Fabio Soli gathered the team in Ljubljana on August 11 to start the preparations for EuroVolley. The squad played two friendly matches against Serbia in Belgrade and faced strong opponents, Poland, France, and the USA, at the Hubert Jerzy Wagner Memorial in Krakow.

Slovenia travels to Italy with a 14-player roster, mixing experienced leaders with promising young players. For head coach Fabio Soli, who will be leading the team practically at his door step, a strong and aggressive serve will be essential. “The tournament in Krakow showed us what we still need to improve to match the very best teams in the world,” Soli said. “If we want to compete with teams like Poland and Italy, we must serve very aggressively from the first point. We have to accept some errors if that helps us raise our game above the level we showed in the VNL.” Soli also pointed out that teamwork will decide the tournament: “This has been a very long summer for the players. To go all the way, we will need energy from every single player on the roster, whether that is for one point, one set, or a full match. We are heading to Modena to play our best Volleyball, improve from game to game, and go all the way to the end against the top teams. I do not want to make predictions, but I will say this: we will try to win the European Championship, because I truly believe we have the chance.”

Team captain Tine Urnaut, who is returning to the Mecca of Italian Volleyball where he last played in the 2018/2019 season, explained that the team must take things step by step. “We had tough lessons in past tournaments against teams like Czechia, so right now we are focused 100% on our first match against Slovakia. Winning the European title and qualifying directly for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics would be amazing, but we cannot think too far ahead. I hope the PalaPanini will be full, just like when I played there, and we hope to see many Slovenian fans in the stands.” 

Experienced middle blocker Alen Pajenk, who as well has already won four EuroVolley medals with Slovenia, knows that every opponent will give their maximum against them. “Every team is extra motivated when they play against us, so our first goal is to finish first or second after the pool stage,” Pajenk said. “We have younger players in the team now, but our goals stay high. The young players saw in the VNL that we can fight for medals. Everyone wants that gold, especially because it brings a ticket to the Olympics.” 

Slovenia will open their EuroVolley campaign in Pool A against Slovakia on September 11.