The Slovenia men's national volleyball team represents Slovenia in international volleyball competitions and friendly matches, and is governed by the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia. The team made its debut at major tournaments in 2001, when it competed at the European Volleyball Championship. Between 2015 and 2021, Slovenia reached the final of the European Championship three times and finished as runners-up on all three occasions after losing to France, Serbia and Italy, respectively.
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| Association | Volleyball Federation of Slovenia (OZS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | CEV | |||
| Head coach | Gheorghe Crețu | |||
| FIVB ranking | 7 (as of 2 December 2023) | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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| World Championship | ||||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 2018) | |||
| Best result | Fourth place (2022) | |||
| European Championship | ||||
| Appearances | 10 (First in 2001) | |||
| Best result | Runners-up (2015, 2019, 2021) | |||
| www.odbojka.si (in Slovene) | ||||
As of December 2023, Slovenia is ranked 7th in the FIVB World Rankings.
History
editThe Slovenia national team played its first official match on 24 April 1992, under the leadership of Viktor Krevsel.[1][2] They make their first appearance at the European Volleyball Championship in 2001, where they finished in 12th place.[1]
In March 2015, Andrea Giani was announced as new head coach of the Slovenian national team.[3] In October 2015, Slovenia won its first medal at the 2015 European Volleyball Championships after losing in the final against France (3–0). Tine Urnaut won one of the individual player awards for the best outside spiker.[4]
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In January 2017, Giani resigned as coach,[5] and in March 2017, Slobodan Kovač took over the team.[6] In May 2017, Slovenia qualified for the 2018 edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, their first ever World Championship appearance.[7]
In January 2019, the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia and Kovač both agreed to part ways and terminate the contract.[8] He was replaced by Alberto Giuliani.[9] In 2019, Slovenia hosted the 2019 edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men's Challenger Cup at home in Ljubljana. The team reached the final, where they defeated Cuba 3–0 and earned the right to participate in the 2020 Nations League, replacing Portugal; however, the competition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Slovenia qualified for the 2021 edition instead.[10] At their Nations League debut in Rimini, Italy, the team reached the final round as the only challenger team, where they lost 3–0 both to Poland and France in the semifinals and in the third place match, respectively.[11][12]
At the 2019 European Championship, Slovenia was one of the four co-hosts of the tournament.[13] The team reached the final again, where they lost 3–1 to Serbia, clinching their second silver medal in four years.[14] Two years later, at the 2021 European Championship, Slovenia once again reached the final. After defeating hosts Poland in the semifinals, they lost the final 3–2 to Italy to claim their third silver medal.[15] Gregor Ropret was selected in the All Star Team as the best setter through fan votes.[16] Giuliani decided to step down as Slovenia head coach in September 2021,[17] and was replaced by Mark Lebedew from February 2022.[18] After failing to reach the top 8 in the 2022 Nations League, he was sacked and replaced by Gheorghe Crețu in August 2022, just two weeks before the start of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, hosted by Slovenia and Poland.[19][20]
Team
editCurrent squad
editThe following is Slovenia's roster for the 2024 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League.[21]
Head coach: 
Gheorghe Crețu
- 1 Tonček Štern O
- 2 Alen Pajenk MB
- 3 Uroš Planinšič S
- 4 Jan Kozamernik MB
- 6 Urban Toman L
- 8 Rok Bračko OH
- 10 Sašo Štalekar MB
- 13 Jani Kovačič L
- 14 Žiga Štern OH
- 16 Gregor Ropret S
- 17 Tine Urnaut OH
- 18 Klemen Čebulj OH
- 19 Rok Možič OH
- 20 Nik Mujanović O
Competitive record
edit- Key
Champions Runners-up Third place As host
Olympic Games
edit| Olympic Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | SW | SL | Squad |
| 2024 | Qualified | |||||||
World Championship
edit| World Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | SW | SL | Squad |
| 2018 | Second round | 12th place | 8 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 16 | Squad |
| 2022 | Semifinals | 4th place | 7 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 11 | Squad |
| 2025 | Qualified | |||||||
European Championship
edit| European Championship record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | SW | SL | Squad |
| 2001 | Group stage | 12th place | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 15 | Squad |
| 2007 | Group stage | 16th place | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | Squad |
| 2009 | Group stage | 15th place | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | Squad |
| 2011 | Playoffs | 9th place | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | Squad |
| 2013 | Group stage | 13th place | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | Squad |
| 2015 | Final | Silver medalists | 7 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 12 | Squad |
| 2017 | Quarterfinals | 8th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | Squad |
| 2019 | Final | Silver medalists | 9 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 13 | Squad |
| 2021 | Final | Silver medalists | 9 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 11 | Squad |
| 2023 | Semifinals | Bronze medalists | 9 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 9 | Squad |
World League
edit| World League record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | SW | SL |
| 2016 | G3 Final | 25th place | 8 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 6 |
| 2017 | G2 Final | 13th place | 11 | 10 | 1 | 32 | 10 |
Nations League
edit| Nations League record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | SW | SL | Squad |
| 2021 | Semifinals | 4th place | 17 | 12 | 5 | 40 | 24 | Squad |
| 2022 | Preliminary round | 10th place | 12 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 24 | Squad |
| 2023 | Quarterfinals | 7th place | 13 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 20 | Squad |
Challenger Cup
edit| Challenger Cup record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | SW | SL |
| 2019 | Final | Champions | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
European League
edit| European League record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | SW | SL |
| 2007 | Semifinals | 4th place | 14 | 9 | 5 | 34 | 25 |
| 2011 | Semifinals | Bronze medalists | 14 | 10 | 4 | 33 | 19 |
| 2014 | Semifinals | Bronze medalists | 10 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 9 |
| 2015 | Final | Champions | 12 | 12 | 0 | 36 | 5 |
| 2018 | Pool stage | 12th place | 6 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
Head coaches
edit| Name[22] | C | From | To | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viktor Krevsel |  | 1992 | ||
| Luka Lobnik | | |||
| Viktor Krevsel | | 1993 | 1996 | |
| Vladimir Janković |  | 1996 | 1997 | |
| Gregor Hribar | | 1997 | 2005 | |
| Iztok Kšela | | 2005 | 2008 | |
| Gregor Hribar | | 2008 | 2010 | |
| Veselin Vuković |  | 2010 | 2012 | |
| Luka Slabe | | 2012 | 2015 | |
| Andrea Giani |  | 2015 | 2017 |  2015 EC |
| Slobodan Kovač |  | 2017 | 2019 | |
| Alberto Giuliani | | 2019 | 2021 |  2019 CC 2019 EC 2021 EC |
| Mark Lebedew |  | 2022 | ||
| Gheorghe Crețu | | 2022 |  2023 EC | |
References
edit- ^ a b "O reprezentanci". odbojka.si (in Slovenian). Volleyball Federation of Slovenia. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Poznate zanimiva dejstva o zgodovini in statistiki odbojke?" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
Slovenska moška odbojkarska reprezentanca je prvo uradno tekmo odigrala 24. aprila 1992.
- ^ "Andrea Giani został trenerem reprezentacji Słowenii siatkarzy". Onet Sport (in Polish). 16 March 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "France celebrate historic European crown, Slovenia happy with silver". CEV. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ T. J. (26 January 2017). "Andrea Giani ne bo več vodil slovenske reprezentance" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ Sportal (2 March 2017). "Novi slovenski selektor je Slobodan Kovač" (in Slovenian). Siol. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
- ^ T. J. (28 May 2017). "Odbojkarji so si priigrali premierni nastop na svetovnem prvenstvu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
- ^ "SLO M: Kovac is no longer head coach of Slovenia". worldofvolley.com. WoV. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Alberto Giuliani to coach Slovenia". volleyballworld.com. 24 February 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Year in review: Slovenia men, Canada women join VNL elite". volleyballworld.com. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Poland resist Slovenia challenge, advance to Men's VNL final". volleyballworld.com. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Solid France snatch bronze from Slovenia in Men's VNL for second podium appearance". volleyballworld.com. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ D. S. (9 September 2019). "Domači EP za Slovence dodaten motiv, želijo si polne Stožice" (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ Okorn, Tomaž (29 September 2019). "Srebrne junake v finalu ustavila Srbija: srce je hotelo, telo ni dalo" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "Italija strla slovenski odpor, zmagala s 3:2 in postala evropski prvak v odbojki, Sloveniji srebro!". Dnevnik (in Slovenian). 19 September 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Fans clear on EuroVolley men All Star team". CEV. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "SLO M: Giuliani steps down as Slovenia head coach". worldofvolley.com. WoV. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Mark Lebedew takes charge of Slovenia". volleyballworld.com. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Slovenske odbojkarje bo na svetovnem prvenstvu vodil Cretu" (in Slovenian). RTV Slovenija. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ "Lebedew ni več selektor moške reprezentance" (in Slovenian). Volleyball Federation of Slovenia. 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ "Slovenia VNL 2024". volleyballworld.com. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Selektorji moške reprezentance". odbojka.si (in Slovenian). Volleyball Federation of Slovenia. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
External links
edit- Official website (in Slovene)
- FIVB profile