Greece look to set foundations for Silver League gold
Piraeus, Greece, June 25, 2019 - Greece host Romania Wednesday in the first leg of the 2019 Men's European Silver League final in the Piraeus suburb of Rentis, looking at building the foundation necessary to pick up the gold medal of the competition after the return match next week in Alexandria.
The two teams topped their respective pools in the League Round of the competition, though for Greece it was just on set-average to runners-up Austria. Romania are so far undefeated in the Silver League this season.
This is the 55th time the two sides go head-to-head, dating back to the just the second match of a men's National Team of Greece in 1957 and including the years of intense rivalry with the Balkan Championships of the 1970s and 1980s. Greece lead the series 28-26.
"Romania are a good team, on the rise in recent years," said Greece head coach Dimitris Andreopoulos, speaking to Athens daily 'Ta Nea' ahead of Wednesday's game. "They have experienced players who play in European clubs and they're always a team to take seriously. After all, in the world of National Team nothing should be taken for granted."
Looking forward to the rest of the season, Andreopoulos added: "It's a difficult summer, but what's important is that the players show spirit and desire. Some things had been missing in previous years, such qualification to a final phase of a competition or a general distinction for the National Team. Now that we have this, everybody is working with a lot of pleasure."
The matches against Romania are also a king of prelude to the European Championship in September, when Greece and Romania face off again in Pool A at Montpellier, alongside Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy and hosts France.
