Volleyball
Team Slovakia rely on blend of youth and experience for #EuroVolleyM
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Article Sat, Jul 27 2019
Bratislava, Slovakia, July 27, 2019. After five weeks of vacation, Slovakia men’s national team have re-convened together to start their preparations for the upcoming EuroVolley 2019 in the city of Poprad under the High Tatras. The coach Andrej Kravarik welcomed back a few of the more experienced players, who did not perform in the European Golden League - such as outside hitter Matej Patak or opposite Peter Michalovic, who were key members of the squad during the successful qualification campaign alongside Juraj Zatko, Tomas Krisko or Matej Kubs.
The long-time captain of Team Slovakia, 37-year-old middle-blocker Emanuel Kohut, ended his career with the national team back in January after the victories against Montenegro and Iceland secured Slovakia’s ticket to EuroVolley. However, there are some promising youngsters waiting for their chance such as Marcel Lux, Michal Petras, Filip Gavenda or Julius Firkal, all already having experiences from leagues in high-rated Volleyball countries – such as Poland, Germany, Italy or Turkey – under their belt.
Slovakia will face the teams of Spain and Austria at the start of EuroVolley, before taking on Germany, Serbia and Belgium, the other contestants in Pool B, who are all semi-finalists from the 2017 edition, held in Poland.
The team mentored by Kravarik will play friendlies in Czech Republic, Portugal and Greece before the start of the continental showpiece event. “Our opponents in the friendly matches are really strong,” said Kravarik, who participated in the 2004 Olympics in Athens playing for Greece. “It will be a little bit special for me, because I lived in Greece for many years, but for our boys it will be just another opponent and that is what we want to focus on,” Kravarik added.
For Slovakia, it will be their 10th participation in EuroVolley and seventh in a row – with their best result to date a fifth place from the 2011 edition co-hosted by Austria and Czech Republic.
For further information, visit the official event website https://eurovolley.cev.eu.
The long-time captain of Team Slovakia, 37-year-old middle-blocker Emanuel Kohut, ended his career with the national team back in January after the victories against Montenegro and Iceland secured Slovakia’s ticket to EuroVolley. However, there are some promising youngsters waiting for their chance such as Marcel Lux, Michal Petras, Filip Gavenda or Julius Firkal, all already having experiences from leagues in high-rated Volleyball countries – such as Poland, Germany, Italy or Turkey – under their belt.
Slovakia will face the teams of Spain and Austria at the start of EuroVolley, before taking on Germany, Serbia and Belgium, the other contestants in Pool B, who are all semi-finalists from the 2017 edition, held in Poland.
The team mentored by Kravarik will play friendlies in Czech Republic, Portugal and Greece before the start of the continental showpiece event. “Our opponents in the friendly matches are really strong,” said Kravarik, who participated in the 2004 Olympics in Athens playing for Greece. “It will be a little bit special for me, because I lived in Greece for many years, but for our boys it will be just another opponent and that is what we want to focus on,” Kravarik added.
For Slovakia, it will be their 10th participation in EuroVolley and seventh in a row – with their best result to date a fifth place from the 2011 edition co-hosted by Austria and Czech Republic.
For further information, visit the official event website https://eurovolley.cev.eu.