11-APRIL-2013
FLAVIO GULINELLI : “PORTUGAL
DESERVES TO PLAY THE WORLD LEAGUE”
 

The Senior Men National Team trainings for the World League Intercontinental Stage participation are set for later this month.

“I wish I could have four or five weeks of work before we start competing,” says the national coach, Flavio Gulinelli, adding:
“The World League provides the opportunity for the younger players to grow more. Like the cases of Alexandre Ferreira, Tiago Violas, Marco Ferreira and Gil Marcel”.

And how does the Italian coach received the news that Portugal would return to play in the World League?
“It is certainly good news, I shared and discussed with Alex and Marco Ferreira. It's a situation that our team deserved, especially in The Netherlands, where we played those two Playoff games last year. The Netherlands coach himself admitted that we deserved to be in the competition.
For us, it is very good, as playing at this level turns out to be an excellent preparation for the 2014 World Championship qualifiers. We want to achieve a good ranking, but our most important goal is to qualify for the World Championship, which is a dream for any team and country”.

This year's World League edition is to be held in different molds: The Intercontinental Stage will be played by 18 countries divided in 3 pools, which are composed of 6 teams each.
The Pool A will consist of Brazil, Poland, USA, Bulgaria, Argentina and France, the Pool B by Russia, Italy, Cuba, Serbia, Germany and Iran, and Pool C with Canada, South Korea, Finland, the Netherlands, Japan and Portugal...

“At first glance, our pool has less weight than the other two, but in our group, qualifies only the first ranked team. And it will not be easy to play against Canada, Japan, South Korea, Finland and the Netherlands, as they show have a good level.
Anyway, it's not like in last year's edition, in which we had to face Bulgaria, Argentina and Germany, teams that were, respectively, fourth, fifth and sixth ranked at the Olympic Games.
That was a very difficult pool and our team was not fully prepared to deal with them.
This year will be different and the idea is to take this opportunity to prepare the team for the 2014 World Championship qualifiers.
It is not easy to manage travels, trainings and rest, but the fact that we are the hosts of the competition in the last weeks may be beneficial to us”.

During the pause of the National Team competitions, Flavio Gulinelli guided Castellana Gotte, team which debuted in the Italian Serie A1, and which turned out to be a great sensation by reaching the playoffs.

“It was the sensation team of the championship, but I confess that we have not reached what I wished. Actually, it was a very good time, because despite we started with difficulties, we won 8 of the 11 games we've played in the second round.
We just failed to eliminate Vibo Valentia, as reaching the quarter-finals and face the Trentino [Italian champion and world] would be for us, as if we had won the championship.
And we were close to do so (1-2), but the main objective, which was to grow as a group and develop the younger players was reached.
Alex was even one of the surprises of the championship. He arrived at the club to be the third wing spiker and eventually managed to hold the position practically all season”.

The National Team begins its participation in the 24th edition of the World League with three away duels: Finland from May 31 – June 1, Canada (June 7-8) and the Netherlands (June 22-23), finishing the Intercontinental Stage at Guimarães, hosting Japan (June 29 - 30) and South Korea (July 6 -7). [Calendar]

It will thus return to the Multiusos of Guimarães, which has been the stage for World League matches: 2002, 2005 and 2012.
The Finals will be held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, July 17-21, and played by 8 teams: the hosting country, the top three ranked of Pool A and Pool B and also the top ranked of Pool C.

More info: www.fivb.org