Russia – team
The Drawing of Lots scheduled for next Monday, October 15, will take place in the football stadium Parken in Copenhagen where the semifinals and finals of the Championship are set to be played.
The glass bowls for the draw are empty at the moment. But when the Drawing of Lots unfolds, the bowls will be filled with the crème de la crème of European Volleyball. A series of interesting clashes are in sight once the teams will be assigned to their respective preliminary Pool.
The starting field includes the 2012 Olympic champions from Russia (pictured) alongside the bronze medalists from Italy. They will be challenged by a series of up-and-coming forces, such as the winners of the second round qualifiers from Belarus, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany and France, plus the two hosting countries, Denmark and Poland, winner of the 2012 FIVB World League. The competitive field further consists of Slovakia and Bulgaria and quite evidently the 2011 European champions from Serbia.
The last three teams participating in the final round of the European Championship will be determined next May/June via a series of home and away matches where Croatia plays Slovenia, Greece takes on Belgium and Turkey will be challenged by Latvia.
One of the major questions prior to the DOL is who the Olympic champions from Russia will face? The 2013 European Championship in Denmark and Poland is the first big challenge for the Russian team after winning Olympic gold in London. Can they find the motivation and strength and go for European glory as well? Another issue is Poland. The group claimed the 2012 FIVB World League after downing USA 3:0 in the final. Can Poland step up once again and take a medal after claiming bronze in 2011?
A lot of prominent guests will attend the DOL in Parken. Among these are the President of the Danish National Olympic Committee, Niels Nygaard, the Councilor for Sports and Culture of the city of Copenhagen, Pia Allerslev, as well as the head coaches of Poland’s and Denmark’s national teams, Andrea Anastasi and Fred Sturm.
For the latest volleyball news click here.
