Milenkoski: North Macedonia’s EuroVolley appearance is an objective achievement

North Macedonia's men's volleyball team ended its fourth consecutive EuroVolley campaign in the group stage after competing in Group B in Sofia, a pool that contained several of the tournament favourites.

Group B featured the title holder Poland, Portugal, Ukraine and Israel, and was widely regarded as the toughest group at this year's continental event because of the presence of multiple top-ranked teams.

The team finished fifth in Group B, claiming a single victory in the final round against Israel. That win brought three sets and three points, a result that will likely place North Macedonia around 20th in the overall standings.

Coach Josko Milenkoski sums up the mission

"The Macedonian national volleyball team finished its participation in yet another, the fourth in a row, European Championship. The very fact that we were again among some of the best European and world teams can be said to be a great satisfaction, especially for the effort invested, the hard preparations, previous results and the undisputed quality. The three big favorites in the group – Poland, Bulgaria and Ukraine would probably have been first in any group even if they played elsewhere at this EuroVolley, and they will surely confirm that with results in the remainder of the continental competition. The fact that many of the best world players are on those teams gave the group even greater weight. With their play they confirmed both the quality and the great potential they possess. On the other hand, Portugal, especially Israel, are also teams of European class, frequent participants in the final stages of the Golden European League. These are facts that indisputably show North Macedonia played in the toughest group at the Championship, but regardless of that, in any group we might have been in, the placement might have been the same. Still, this is the European Championship and it is a gathering of the world’s best in volleyball. The mere fact that eight teams from 16th to 24th place have the same number of wins and the same or fewer points than North Macedonia can be a great satisfaction and pleasure. Nevertheless, equal or better achievements than the Netherlands, Israel, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey… should characterize our performance as an objective achievement. The facts, the numbers, the statistics and the table speak for all of this," Milenkoski said and continued:

"Regarding events on the court, video analyses showed there were both good and bad moments during the matches. In some phases of play and in certain elements we were on par with the opponents, while in other elements such as serve and reception we were inferior, especially versus the three best teams in the group. The serves of those top-class players, serves of 125–130 kilometres per hour, represented a major problem for us. That is a serve force even the serving machines we use in training do not reach. Our receivers and libero play in the national championship where there are no such serves and they were placed in a very difficult situation. But the reality is that even in the mutual duels of those teams we witnessed many points from ace serves and this is a new trend in volleyball that we must follow. Everything else was within the expectations and real possibilities of our national players. I can say only words of praise for the attitude, effort, desire, motivation and responsibility they showed toward the national jersey. I speak on behalf of the entire coaching staff that we are grateful for everything that has been achieved in the past period. And much has been achieved – the fourth European Championship in a row and continuous participation over the years in the European League, for a relatively small federation and team. From this perspective perhaps more could have been done, but from another perspective, in time I think we will feel what participation in such major events has meant."

The players have already returned home and, after a short break, will rejoin their clubs to prepare for the new season.

Photo: press material from the event