Greece facing tough rivals
The men’s national volleyball team faces an uphill battle at the European Championships beginning in Germany today. Greece’s opponents in the first round, being held in Leipzig, are Serbia and Montenegro, Russia, the Netherlands, Poland and Bulgaria. None of them is an easy opponent and the first three are among the world’s best. Team coach Stelios Prosalikas recognized this. «We have countries with a great tradition in the sport in our group. All have distinguished themselves at the Olympics and World and European Championships. We have the fewest distinctions of all. Despite all that, we are confident we can beat at least two of them to make it to the next phase in Berlin,» he said. Prosalikas faces a problem with the injury of all-rounder Giorgos Stefanou. «I hurt when I move, but we must learn to play under all circumstances,» said Stefanou, who plays for Panathinaikos in the Greek League. Coach Prosalikas predicted that Serbia and Montenegro, Russia, France and Italy would fight for the medals. Tickets for the team’s games are in high demand among Greek residents of Leipzig.
