VARNA. The Finnish national volleyball team’s streak at the European Championships was interrupted on Monday evening in Varna, when the team lost to Ukraine 2–3 (23–25, 17–25, 25–23, 26–24, 13–15) in the final match of the first group.
The Ukrainian camp was not warmed by the meager victory. The team led the match by 2-0, but the young Finnish team rose to the level and took the game to the decisive fifth set. Ukraine took care of it with 15–13 points.
After the match, the captain of Ukraine Oleh Plotnytskyi said in an interview with the tournament organizer that the victory or the possibility of reaching the playoffs didn’t matter at all.
– This is not a game, but simply bullshit. It is better to lose 0-3 than to win 3-2. This is complete bullshit, Plotnytskyi opened up even later for Ukrainian media.
The European Championship tournament in Ukraine has fallen far short of expectations so far. The team lost its first three matches in the first group before the victory over Finland. The next place depends on a thin seam and requires at least a three-point win from Tuesday’s match against Spain.
– It doesn’t matter if we have opportunities to continue. If we play like this, it’s better to go home, Plotnytskyi commented.
The captain’s actions confused not only Ukrainians but also Urheilu’s experts Timo from Tolva and Mikko Esko.
– That’s not how a team plays after a won game. However, Ukraine still has opportunities for anything, and it’s a good team. He abandons his team with such comments, top passer Esko says.
Esko, who has played more than 300 matches in the Finnish shirt, feels that similar behavior would not have been possible during his time with the national team.
– The Finnish national team has always been so united that soloing has not been accepted. In general, such exits are very rare.
Long-time coach Tolvanen agrees.
– There can be many reasons, but it is strange that the captain robs his team like that. If something like that happened in our own team, we would certainly sit down for a while and go over what caused it.
“No joy at all”
Plotnytskyi, 26, a general player representing the Italian club Perugia, is the biggest star of the Ukrainian national team. He already showed earlier during the EC tournament that he was very hurt by his team’s actions.
– I really don’t know why this is. We should play it safe and enjoy this. Now we are lost, he told Urheilu before the Finland match.
Esko and Tolvanen, who watched the European Championships in Varna, say that the Ukrainian game was difficult from the beginning. The frustration has spread far from the team.
– We beat Finland, but we don’t feel any joy. Should have won 3–1 or 3–0, Ukrainian chipper Vasyl Tupchii upset the Ukrainian journalists.
Humanly speaking, Ukraine’s difficulties on the pitch are no surprise. Head coach of the team, Latvian Ugis Krastins said earlier that not many players have visited their home country since the war of aggression against Russia that started in February of last year.
The national team’s everyday life has been hectic. The team has camped and trained in different parts of Europe, mostly in Poland, Latvia and Estonia.
– With all our members, we are like a traveling circus, Krastins described to during the tournament.
– We read the news every morning. Based on that, you can conclude what mood the team is in for the rest of the day. Many players have lost their homes, some of their closest relatives live in occupied areas. If there have been bombings somewhere, I can tell which of the players is nervous.
Ukrainian players have actively collected donations for the victims of the war and the army. Plotnytskyi told that the year-and-a-half war has changed many people’s attitude towards sports. Concern for loved ones in Ukraine has been uppermost in mind.
– Volleyball is certainly not the most important thing in the world for these players in this situation, which is completely understandable. Such an opening at this stage of the competition is surprising, says Timo Tolvanen.
Community spirit put to the test
There were other difficulties in the Ukrainian camp before the Games. Captain Plotnytskyi told his country’s media as the tournament approached that a large part of the players considered skipping the EC tournament altogether.
The background was a conflict with the Ukrainian Volleyball Federation. The differences were eventually settled, and the reasons for the conflict were not made public.
However, the spirit of the team has been put to the test on the EC fields. Head coach Ugis Krastins said on Monday evening that he does not agree with his star player.
– However, a win is always a win. Will he (Plotnytskyi) change his mind soon? There is no other option. We have to recover and play. Complaining leads nowhere, Krastins told the sports website According to Tribuna.ua.