The German volleyball players start the tournament for Olympic tickets as outsiders. The smash artists groan under the high strain – and take the basketball world champions as their role model.
After a summer of disappointments, the German volleyball players are looking for their Olympic luck in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain.
In Rio de Janeiro, national coach Michal Winiarski’s team will be fighting for a ticket to the games in Paris from Saturday onwards. Despite strong opponents, the smash artists’ hope remains unbroken. “The longing is extremely great to qualify for the Olympics,” says captain Lukas Kampa. The botched Nations League and the early exit from the European Championship have only strengthened the hunger for success of the recently troubled selection.
“Everything is possible”
“Anything is possible,” assures Coach Winiarski, even though five of the seven opponents in the qualifying tournament are ranked ahead of the German team in the world rankings. The clear favorites are world champions Italy and hosts Brazil, but things could also be close against opening opponents Iran and Cuba. It also goes against Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Qatar. Only the two best teams in the tournament get a place at the Olympics.
“The vast majority of us haven’t been to the Olympic Games yet. Nobody needs any extra motivation to fulfill this dream,” says captain Kampa. The last time a German team made it to the Summer Games was in London in 2012. The 38-year-old exceptional player Georg Grozer even returned to the team for the Olympic project, but was unable to prevent failure in the round of 16 at the European Championships.
Clear demand from Kampa
“I think we are smarter and more experienced after the European Championships. I think we are able to play better right from the start,” says head coach Winiarski. From the bitter 2:3 in the knockout game against the Dutch and the rather mixed European Championship preliminary round, captain Kampa made a clear demand for his team: “We have to take control from the start.” Too often the DVV selection only started their engine in the third set, says the 36-year-old.
The lack of consistency and increased number of errors may also be due to the enormous strain on the volleyball players in recent months. “It’s absurd that the calendar is designed like this,” complains Kampa about the breathless rush from tournament to tournament. That’s why some of his teammates probably have to “resort to the pharmaceutical industry,” the captain says – and expressly only means legal aids.
Seven games within nine days
But it doesn’t help: In the seven games within nine days, the national team has to secure at least second place in the field of eight in order to be allowed to go to Paris. If that doesn’t work, the only option left is the difficult path through the world rankings, which currently doesn’t seem very promising.
The volleyball players also draw confidence from their basketball colleagues’ recent World Cup fairytale. “How realistic was it that the basketball players would become world champions? I think it’s a similar situation,” says Lukas Kampa and states: “I would compare it to the fact that the spirit in the team is there that we can do it. “
Qualification tournament schedule
Source: Stern
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