About two weeks ago Olympic won the men’s volleyball challenge cup. Undoubtedly, this is a great European success for the club, which, however, has celebrated participation and victories in more important competitions in the past.

In recent years, the “exit” and good “course” for Greek teams in Europe has been focused on less important competitions, while a few years ago we saw the “big ones” play a major role in the Champions League. Greek volleyball is shrinking?

Trainer Yannis Lajosthe person who drove it Olympic in his first European title in an interview with kathimerini.gr, he sounds the alarm and focuses on the problem of the lack of Greek players and the technical preparation of the players.

In 1991, Olympiacos, led by Giannis Lajos, reached the Champions Cup final. He played the mighty Herald of Veron and was defeated.

In the 1995–1996 season, the SEF hosted the “Final Four” of the Cup Winners’ Cup. Olympiacos also participated in this. On her birthday (October 3, 1996), the Piraeus team, with Giannis Lajos at the helm, won the Bayer Wuppertal final with a score of 3: 2 and won the first trophy in the club’s history.

In subsequent years, the Red-Whites have had participation – and distinctions – in finals from the Cup of the best teams to the Champions League. Hercules also came very close to winning the Champions League.

However, in recent years, Greek teams have not participated in the final stages of the top European organization. “Since the economic crisis began, our clubs have not spent money on good foreign players and give an opportunity to young Greek athletes. But because there was a gap in development, we ended up with 40 year olds and 20 year old volleyball players playing on the same team. This is one of the reasons why Greek volleyball has declined. On the contrary, in Italy and Poland volleyball is at a high level.“, – stressed experienced coach Yannis Lajos.

A big problem, according to Mr. Lajos, exists in the field of technical training of players. “In order to keep up with the pace of world volleyball development, our players must have excellent possession of the ball. It doesn’t exist. So our game is over, it cannot be fast, and we are behind the Europeans. Even some players that we have in the national team are substitutes in their teams. This applies not only to men’s volleyball, but also to women’s volleyball.»

In previous years, when Olympiacos and Iraklis played a major role in the Champions League, some of the best players in the world competed in our country.

“The teams are giving their best, but the money they have at their disposal is nowhere near what it used to be when Hercules and Olympiacos played in the Champions League Final Four. When you see an Italian team, you are impressed by the names that play on it. The volleyball they play is impressive. Greek clubs cannot play this volleyball. The European Federation for promotion creates events of the 3rd or 5th class. Italians who play in the 1st division will not play in the 3rd,” the famous coach tells us, and when we ask him for his opinion on what needs to be done, he replies: “We will have to be patient. Coaches should teach children modern volleyball. Also, there are no passers in Greece and the teams are constantly changing most of the players on their rosters so they are not tied. On the other hand, role model players must be found in order for children to enter the sport. In order for Greek volleyball to reach high heights again, the authorities must see it as a whole, and not just from one side.