Türkiye-Serbia and Poland-Italy matches will be played in the semi-finals to be played in Istanbul. Head coaches and captains of the teams attended the press conference at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall, where the competitions will be held.
Daniele Santarelli, the head coach of the National Women's Volleyball Team, stated that playing in Istanbul gives them an advantage and said, "Playing on our field is a pressure for our opponents. This is very good for us. This situation gives us an advantage. The important thing is to focus on our future performance. Serbia is an important team. We see it as an important success for us to reach the semi-finals. We will do the necessary work and focus." he said.
Emphasizing that Serbia is a very important team, the Italian coach said, "All teams deserved to be in the semi-finals. We are currently focused on the upcoming period. We are focused on the championship. We fought hard. Our quarter-final fight yesterday was very good for me. We hope to achieve great success. It will be nice to try ourselves against a strong team like Serbia." made his assessment.
Daniele Santarelli stated that they can beat all teams with the right motivation and said, "We did not start the way we wanted. However, we reached the point we aimed to reach. I am very proud that we have reached this point. Of course, when our motivation drops, this is not good. Apart from that, we have also played very well. Sometimes we win even if we cannot play the game we want. We need to do more to beat a strong team like Serbia." He commented:
Eda Erdem Dündar: Tomorrow will be difficult for us
Eda Erdem Dündar, captain of the National Women's Volleyball Team, said that the match against Serbia in the semi-finals will be difficult.
Explaining that they were excited to make it to the semi-finals, Eda Erdem Dündar said, "One of our goals was to be successful in this tournament. We focused on the semi-finals. We want to play good volleyball. Tomorrow will be difficult for us. We will play with an important team like Serbia. We are working seriously. We will do our best." he said.
The experienced player stated that they were lucky to play in Istanbul and said, "The successes in recent years have increased the self-confidence in the team. Everyone plays with great confidence. Everyone knows that we have to go step by step. Everyone in the team is thinking about the Serbia match. Our head coach, Daniele Santarelli, told us that this summer would be great. He also stated that we could win gold medals in the Nations League and the European Championship. There is a positive energy in the team. Everyone believes in each other." made his assessment.
Eda Erdem stated that it is very important to honor the National Women's Volleyball Team, which came second in the European Championship in 2003, and said:
"Feeling valuable causes you to do more. I would also like to thank our Federation from here. Our President, Mehmet Akif Üstündağ, thinks of everything. I was very happy to see the National Volleyball Team in 2003 here. I went back to those days. I also competed in the same team with most of my sisters. I think this is a very nice thing. Appreciating the achievements in volleyball and bringing together the important people in that family again shows how big a community we are. I got emotional when I saw them. Our team, which won the gold medal in the Mediterranean Games, also came, and I think it was nice to honor them here, too. They had a great tournament.
Emphasizing that they competed in a difficult group in the organization, the experienced player said, "For us, this is actually a positive thing. Because we made a fast start to the tournament. I think we opened very well in the group stage. The Latvia match was very good. Afterwards, I think the Slovenia match was also very successful. I can say that the opponent pushed us a little in the Hungary match. I think we, as a team, forgot to stay calm on the field at some moments. This is very normal because we were playing in Istanbul. We wanted to do the best in front of our own audience. Sometimes, of course, the ball may not like you." He commented:
Stating that they played well against Germany in the quarter-finals yesterday, Eda Erdem said, "We had already played with them in our group. We expected better volleyball from them after the win over Belgium. None of us expected that they would defend so well yesterday. We had a resistant team against us, but we were able to stay calm. We are doing better in that communication on the field. Everyone is talking to each other. I think there is an improvement in communication as a team and in composure on the field." he said.
Zoran Terzic: "I adapt to changes"
Serbian Women's National Volleyball Team Head Coach Zoran Terzic stated that there have been serious changes and progress in the organization compared to previous years and said, "There are serious changes in the rules of the Federation. I also see changes in the player structure. I am adapting to the changes." he said.
Serbia's captain, Maja Ognjenovic, emphasized the importance of wearing the national jersey and said, "It will not be easy to play against Türkiye at their home venue. We are facing a high-level match. The atmosphere will be challenging. It will be a different match. We know and respect Türkiye. We think that if we show a similar performance in our previous matches, we will advance to the final." made his assessment.
Stefano Lavarini: "We plan to play aggressively"
Polish National Team Head Coach Stefano Lavarini stated that he never thinks about his past successes and said, "Anyone who plays sports knows that the thing to focus on is today. I always look ahead. I even told my players from their mothers, 'You will win today.' I would tell them not to listen to their messages. Every match is different. Anything can happen in any match. We are focused on the semi-finals. "We plan to play the semi-final match aggressively." he said.
Poland's captain, Magdalena Stysiak, stated that they focused on the future rather than the past and said, "Polish people love volleyball very much. That's why we focused on the semi-final match. We are happy to have achieved our goal so far. It was not easy. We are a young team. We reached the semi-finals in the European Championship 7 years ago. We want to improve day by day. Our opponent is a strong team. We will have a good match. We plan to play our best game." he said.
Julio Velasco: "Reaching this point is also a success"
Italy National Team Head Coach Julio Velasco stated that they were happy to make it to the semi-finals and said, "I am proud to compete with the greatest teams in the world. Reaching this point is also an achievement. Things will get difficult now. We want to play our best matches and achieve the result we want." he said.
Italy's captain Anna Danesi explained that it is very important to take part in this stage and said, "We will play with very important players here. We won the last gold medal in the Olympic Games and this creates pressure. This pressure on us is an honor for us. We want to play the match as soon as possible." he said.
