The German volleyball players want to win a medal in Paris. In the last group match, exceptional player Grozer immediately shows where they are headed. The Germans command respect.
Volleyball player Georg Grozer was not known as a morning person. But in the first set against Argentina, the 39-year-old exceptional player didn’t care about the 9:00 a.m. start time. He wanted to dispel any doubts about Germany’s progress.
“That’s my job here as a grandfather. Of course, I wanted to send a signal that I’m here, that I really want to win. And I think that helped the team move forward,” said Grozer after the 3-0 (25:13, 25:21, 25:21) win. For the first time since 2012, Germany is in the quarterfinals at the Olympics.
Grozer has been considered Germany’s outstanding volleyball player for well over a decade. Even at almost 40 years of age, “Hammerschorsch” is still the undisputed leader of the team with enormous energy and determination.
Ten points in the first set
The whole team played strongly from the start, said the 39-year-old. “I think that was very important today. The whole team was incredibly aggressive. I think we really destroyed them in the first set.”
Grozer scored ten points in the first round alone with extreme efficiency. In the end, he scored 16. His teammates also posed major problems for the Argentine defense with their striking power in the arena in the south of Paris. Overall, the Germans, who had some support in the hall, generated a lot of serve pressure.
“We saw again today: We have so many people who can do something important in crucial moments, who can make a difference,” explained captain Lukas Kampa. “The other teams notice that too. You can feel it in the village, that respect is growing, in the volleyball bubble, that they notice: We mean business.”
Kampa and Grozer want to do better than in London
The 37-year-old and Grozer were the only ones to take part in the last Olympics in 2012. Back then, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals against Bulgaria. This time, they want to continue. “We are playing for a medal and that will remain the case,” said Grozer. The only German medal to date in the men’s category came in 1972 when the GDR team came second.
Kampa, who had a series of serves with a total of four aces in the second set, is also optimistic. “If we manage to stay stable, then the journey can go very, very far and I think then, no matter what time, we will have nothing to reproach ourselves for,” said the setter. Being part of the Games again is “a great gift.”
Early start no problem
Due to the tournament’s ranking system, the opponent and playing time in the round of the last eight will probably not be determined until after the end of the group phase on Saturday evening.
The Germans are no longer averse to another early shift like they did against Argentina and Japan. “I would almost say it’s good for us if we don’t have too much time before the game starts. It’s better if we get up, look each other in the eye, have a little breakfast and then we get going, instead of waiting all day,” said Kampa.
Source: Stern
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