All is not rosy at Tours Volley-Ball in the fall of 2024. Without doubt the club is even going through one of its most delicate periods. But, by dominating Schönenwerd 3-1 at Grenon on Wednesday November 20, he won his ticket to the round of 16 of the CEV Cup.
Normal ? Most certainly for a club which, during its last two participations, has made it to the final each time, with a title up for grabs in 2017 and a bitter silver medal in 2022 but an absolutely remarkable journey.
No doubt it is also in view of the draw which had reserved the Swiss champion as his first European opponent. Which made TVB a de facto favorite for qualification. Which, however, does not guarantee anything, Friedrichshafen, among those eliminated from these 16es final, could testify to this…
In any case, given the general context of the Touraine club, this qualification was not a formality. The balance sheet in the championship weighs, with its corollary of doubts, always ready to interfere, of increased pressure, even tensions. Hence this general satisfaction from the Touraine camp after this 3-1 on Wednesday.
“A correct attitude of the team to fight”
By Marcelo Fronckowiak, who invited “make this moment as positive as possible”, to Michael Marshman, who urged “enjoy the good things”everyone easily found good points to raise. “First, we have a receiver-attacker who has just played four games in a row, whose name is Roland Gergye. We have a correct team attitude to fight, to fight”underlined the Touraine coach, who is not in the habit of isolating particular cases when debriefing a meeting.
However, he did it on Wednesday evening, highlighting several routes. Zeljko (Coric) is making great efforts at the moment to improve the team's offensive situation, and we are seeing the result with Hermans Egleskalns. We remember that Luca (Ramon) was very serene during the delicate moment of 2e set. I am very happy that he recovered balls, made defenses. It's something positive. The presence of Quiroga is good too, because he can play even if he can do a little more in my opinion, but we won with him. »
A horizon in the CEV Cup
It now remains to anchor this, in time and in success. “We continue to wonder, with the staff, about how to manage this team which has a lot of potential and which can have a more stable performance”indicated Marcelo Fronckowiak again.
If qualifying for the CEV Cup does not give them all the answers, it offers them a horizon. With Zagreb as its next opponent, in December, and possibly a play-off between the eighth and quarter-finals against Nicosia or Amriswil, the TVB is entitled to plan.
Zagreb-Tours on December 5
The dates for the round of 16 of the CEV Cup between Zagreb and Tours VB were made official this Thursday. The first match, played in Croatia, will be played on Thursday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m. The return match, Grenon Hall, is scheduled for Wednesday, December 18, at 8 p.m. This will be the last meeting for TVB before a short Christmas break.
