2006 Women's World Championship - Greece
Greece optimistic about future (FIVB)
06/07/2005
Athens,
Greece, June 7, 2005 – A new and rejuvenated Greek
women’s national team is hoping to kick start a bright
future when they host a 2006 Women’s World Championship
second round tournament – Europe Pool E in Athens
starting on Friday.
Following an emotional ride through the 2004 Athens
Olympic Games, where the Greek women’s team finished
ninth, a lot of first string players retired, and now
having survived the aftermath, a new era is dawning on
Greek women’s Volleyball. Pic: Greek fans can't wait to see their women's side
in action
The first sample of the renewed optimism within Greek
women’s Volleyball was when, almost without any
preparation, the girls of new coach Dimitris
Andreopoulos finished second behind Turkey at the
recently completed Spring Cup. But what was so
impressive was not the medal, but the appetite, the
freshness, the liveliness and the exceptional climate
that existed within the team.
That effort is a sign, Andreopoulos hopes, that his side
(ranked 13th in the world) might surprise some onlookers
when the 2006 Women’s World Championship tournament,
which also features France (56th), Belarus (56th) and
the Ukraine(32nd), starts.
"We had very little preparation before the Spring Cup,
where we had six games and used all of the squad,”
Andreopoulos said. “At the 2006 Women’s World
Championship tournament we will fight for victories but
we are not in a position to say if we can advance to the
next round and this is due to the fact that we are a
completely new team, with the average age being very
young.
“The team wants time in order to show what they can do
but the climate and the freshness that exists is
something unusual."
With 179 caps to her name Charikleia Sakkoula is
Greece’s most experienced player and she expressed
optimism that this new Geek side can write their own
history. Sakkoula, who is the oldest player at 31-year’s
of age, stressed: "Before we went to the Spring Cup in
the Czech Republic we had had hardly two days training
all together and we played there as a team for the first
time.
“The climate is positive, with a hunger for success I
haven’t seen for a while. Our first objective is to
advance into the next phase of the World Championships
and from there we have another occasion to test
ourselves.
“When I heard of the retirements of others I felt
curious. I went to ground and I did not know what I will
face. I was circumspect. All however, were forgotten
immediately, because as soon as I saw the new players I
filled with optimism ".
