Flavio Gulinelli
They will open on Friday by playing Belarus, a game that is very much likely to determine the final standings of the Pool.
The runner-up at the end of the second round robin will get a last chance to qualify for the 2013 European Championship via the third qualification round scheduled for next May and where it will cross the ways of the second-ranked team from Pool F that comprises France, Spain, Latvia and Hungary.
“We caught a slow start in Vila do Conde and lost some important points” says head coach Flavio Gulinelli (pictured). “We could not stand the pressure resulting from playing at home. If I look at the results of the first tournament, I believe that our match with Belarus will determine the final standings of the Pool. We have to go for the win and we know that Belarus is a well-organized and structured team”.
Libero Ivo Casas (also pictured) shows confidence and caution at the same time: “The second round robin will be more complicated as we play in Turkey and they were able to stretch our game to the tie-break in Vila do Conde. We need to improve our attitude as we did not play consistently enough against Belarus and Great Britain. We need to start pressuring our opponents right from the very beginning and if we manage to do so, everything will work better and maybe we can even finish first in the group”.
