“We’re not allowed to celebrate yet”
Experienced veteran warns German volleyball players after statement victory
October 4, 2023, 7:21 a.m
On the way to the Olympic Games in Paris, the German volleyball men have to clear a lot of obstacles. At the qualifying tournament in Rio de Janeiro they managed to do this against co-favorites Brazil. Nothing has been won yet, warns veteran Georg Grozer urgently.
The German volleyball players have put an exclamation mark in the fight for tickets for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Georg Grozer and Co. won against hosts and fellow favorites Brazil at the qualifying tournament in Rio de Janeiro with 3:1 (21:25, 25:19, 25:19, 28:26). This means the Germans have three wins from three games.
“I have goosebumps, I can’t believe what we did here today,” said Grozer, who contributed 27 points to the victory: “Congratulations to the team, that’s unbelievable, I have to process that myself first.” However, the 38-year-old also warned: “We can’t celebrate yet, we still have a long way to go.”
Setback for Captain Kampa
A downside is the loss of captain Lukas Kampa, who will miss the remainder of the tournament due to a calf injury. “It’s very annoying. After initially hoping, the diagnosis was too bad and we have to react,” said Kampa: “I’m extremely sad, but at the same time I’m still very confident that we can achieve our goal.” Jan Zimmermann takes his place.
The Germans will continue against world champions Italy early on Wednesday evening (6:30 p.m. CEST). “It’s going to be a tough one,” said Grozer, whose team won the first two games against Iran and Cuba. Other opponents in Group A are the Czech Republic (October 7th/1.30 a.m.), Qatar (October 8th/1.30 a.m.) and Ukraine (October 8th/10 p.m.).
From the three groups of eight, only the best two teams will secure participation in the Olympic Games, which host France has already secured. The last time a German team was represented at the Summer Games was in London in 2012. If Germany does not occupy one of the two required places, there would still be another chance to reach the world rankings. The German women, who finished their qualifying tournament in fifth place, are also hoping for this.