Men's European Volleyball Championship

The Men's European Volleyball Championship (EuroVolley) is the official competition for senior men's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV). The initial gap between championships was variable, but since 1975 they have been awarded every two years. The current champion is Serbia, which won its second title at the 2019 tournament held in four countries: Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

Men's European Volleyball Championship
SportVolleyball
Founded1948
No. of teams24 (Finals)
ContinentEurope (CEV)
Most recent
champion(s)
 Serbia (2nd title)
Most titles Soviet Union (12 titles)

History

The first tournament was held in 1948 with participation of six national teams. Being only participant from Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia captured gold. The teams from Eastern Europe dominated at the tournament for next four decades. The next two editions held in 1950 and 1951 were won by the Soviet Union (who also won two World Championships in 1949 and 1952). However, in late 1950s Czechoslovakia managed to return at first positions. They captured European gold in 1955 and repeated this success at next edition in 1958 (also winning World Championship in 1956). In 1963, twice runner-up Romania won its maiden European title at the home tournament.

The victory in 1967 marked the beginning of the 20-year era of dominance of the Soviet Union. From 1967 to 1987, Soviet team didn't lose any tournament by winning 9 European titles in a row. The names of leading Soviet players of these times such as Vyacheslav Zaytsev, Aleksandr Savin, Vladimir Kondra, Viljar Loor, Yuriy Panchenko and Vladimir Chernyshyov are known to volleyball enthusiasts all over the world. From 1977 to 1985, Soviet team was coached by Vyacheslav Platonov who led national team to five European titles in a row as well as to two World Championship titles (1978, 1982), two World Cup titles (1977, 1981) and Olympic gold in 1980. The main European rival of Soviet team at these times, Poland (1974 World Champion and 1976 Olympic Champion) was runner-up for the five times in a row (from 1975 to 1983).

Soviet domination was ceased in 1989 when Italy under leadership of Argentinian coach Julio Velasco unprecedentally won their first ever official tournament. Soviet team surprisingly failed to even reach podium after losing to Sweden (hosts) in semifinals and to Netherlands in a bronze-medal match. However, in 1991, in their last participation at the competition, Soviet Union won European title for the 12th time after 3–0 victories over a Netherlands in semifinals and Italy in the final match. Vyacheslav Platonov won European title as head coach for the record sixth time.

Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in December 1991, Italy led by such players as Andrea Gardini, Andrea Giani, Paolo Tofoli and Lorenzo Bernardi became indisputably the best team not only in Europe but also in the world. They won three World Championships in a row (1990, 1994, 1998) and also dominated at European Championships by winning five of the next seven tournaments (from 1993 to 2005). However, ironically they never managed to win Olympic gold. Netherlands who became Olympic Champion in 1996 also managed to win their maiden European title at the home tournament next year. FR Yugoslavia who won Olympic gold in 2000 also became European Champion for the first time at the next-year tournament.

After victory in 2005, the period of Italy's dominance came to end, and more national teams were managed to win their maiden European title. The next tournament was surprisingly won by Spain who managed to beat home favorites – Russia – in a closest 5th-set tie-breaker. In 2009, Poland became European Champion for the first time. The next tournament was won by Serbia for the first time since dissolution of the Serbia and Montenegro (the country which was previously known as FR Yugoslavia). In 2013, Russia (who became Olympic Champion in 2012) finally managed to win their first European title since the Soviet Union's dissolution. The next edition was successful for France who also won their maiden European gold.

The 2017 European Championship took place in Poland. It was won by Russia who defeated Germany in a 5th-set tie-breaker. The 2019 European Championship was co-hosted by Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Slovenia in 2019. Serbia won this tournament after 3–1 victory over Slovenia in the final match in Paris. The co-host countries of 2021 edition will be Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia and Finland.[1]

The 31 European Championship tournaments have been won by nine different nations. Russia have won fourteen times (twelve as Soviet Union). The other European Championship winners are Italy, with six titles; Czech Republic as (Czechoslovakia) and Serbia (one as FR Yugoslavia) with three titles; and France, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain, with one title each.

The current format of the competition involves a qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding two years, to determine which teams qualify for the tournament phase, which is often called the European Championship Finals. 24 teams, including the automatically qualifying host nation(s), compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about two weeks.

Results summary

Year Host Final 3rd place match Teams
Champions Score Runners-up 3rd place Score 4th place
1948
Details

Italy

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
France

Italy
Round-robin
Portugal
6
1950
Details

Bulgaria

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Hungary
Round-robin
Bulgaria
6
1951
Details

France

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Bulgaria

France
Round-robin
Romania
10
1955
Details

Romania

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Romania

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Soviet Union
14
1958
Details

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia
Round-robin
Romania

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Bulgaria
20
1963
Details

Romania

Romania
Round-robin
Hungary

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Bulgaria
17
1967
Details

Turkey

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Poland
Round-robin
East Germany
20
1971
Details

Italy

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

Romania
Round-robin
East Germany
22
1975
Details

Yugoslavia

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Yugoslavia
Round-robin
Romania
12
1977
Details

Finland

Soviet Union
3–1
Poland

Romania
3–0
Hungary
12
1979
Details

France

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Yugoslavia
Round-robin
France
12
1981
Details

Bulgaria

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia
12
1983
Details

East Germany

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Poland

Bulgaria
Round-robin
Italy
12
1985
Details

Netherlands

Soviet Union
Round-robin
Czechoslovakia

France
Round-robin
Poland
12
1987
Details

Belgium

Soviet Union
3–1
France

Greece
3–2
Sweden
12
1989
Details

Sweden

Italy
3–1
Sweden

Netherlands
3–0
Soviet Union
12
1991
Details

Germany

Soviet Union
3–0
Italy

Netherlands
3–0
Germany
12
1993
Details

Finland

Italy
3–2
Netherlands

Russia
3–1
Germany
12
1995
Details

Greece

Italy
3–2
Netherlands

FR Yugoslavia
3–0
Bulgaria
12
1997
Details

Netherlands

Netherlands
3–1
FR Yugoslavia

Italy
3–1
France
12
1999
Details

Austria

Italy
3–1
Russia

FR Yugoslavia
3–0
Czech Republic
8
2001
Details

Czech Republic

FR Yugoslavia
3–0
Italy

Russia
3–2
Czech Republic
12
2003
Details

Germany

Italy
3–2
France

Russia
3–1
Serbia and Montenegro
12
2005
Details

Italy / Serbia and Montenegro

Italy
3–2
Russia

Serbia and Montenegro
3–0
Spain
12
2007
Details

Russia

Spain
3–2
Russia

Serbia
3–1
Finland
16
2009
Details

Turkey

Poland
3–1
France

Bulgaria
3–0
Russia
16
2011
Details

Austria / Czech Republic

Serbia
3–1
Italy

Poland
3–1
Russia
16
2013
Details

Denmark / Poland

Russia
3–1
Italy

Serbia
3–0
Bulgaria
16
2015
Details

Bulgaria / Italy

France
3–0
Slovenia

Italy
3–1
Bulgaria
16
2017
Details

Poland

Russia
3–2
Germany

Serbia
3–2
Belgium
16
2019
Details

Belgium / France / Netherlands / Slovenia

Serbia
3–1
Slovenia

Poland
3–0
France
24
2021[2]
Details

Czech Republic / Finland / Estonia / Poland
24

Total hosts

HostsNations (Year(s))
4 Italy (1948, 1971, 2005*, 2015*)
3 Bulgaria (1950, 1981, 2015*)
 Czech Republic (2001, 2011*, 2021*)
 Finland (1977, 1993, 2021*)
 France (1951, 1979, 2019*)
 Netherlands (1985, 1997, 2019*)
 Poland (2013*, 2017, 2021*)
2 Austria (1999, 2011*)
 Belgium (1987, 2019*)
 Germany (1991, 2003)
 Romania (1955, 1963)
 Turkey (1967, 2009)
1 Czechoslovakia (1958)
 Denmark (2013*)
 East Germany (1983)
 Estonia (2021*)
 Greece (1995)
 Russia (2007)
 Serbia and Montenegro (2005*)
 Slovenia (2019*)
 Sweden (1989)
 Yugoslavia (1975)
* = co-hosts

Medals summary

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union120214
2 Italy64313
3 Czechoslovakia3407
4 Russia2338
5 Serbia2035
6 Poland1539
7 France1427
8 Netherlands1225
 Romania1225
10 FR Yugoslavia /
 Serbia and Montenegro
1135
11 Spain1001
12 Slovenia0202
13 Bulgaria0145
14 Hungary0112
15 Germany0101
 Sweden0101
17 Yugoslavia0022
18 Greece0011
Totals (18 nations)31313193

Participating nations

Team
1948
(6)

1950
(6)

1951
(10)

1955
(14)

1958
(20)

1963
(17)

1967
(20)

1971
(22)

1975
(12)

1977
(12)

1979
(12)

1981
(12)

1983
(12)

1985
(12)

1987
(12)

1989
(12)

1991
(12)

1993
(12)

1995
(12)

1997
(12)

1999
(8)

2001
(12)

2003
(12)


2005
(12)
 Albania10th11th13th
 Austria13th18th16th19th21st8th
 Belgium5th6th12th17th13th12th10th12th11th7th
 Bulgaria4th2nd3rd4th4th9th7th5th5th10th3rd3rd5th11th6th5th5th4th9th7th6th9th
 Czech RepublicSee  Czechoslovakia10th6th4th4th10th9th
 CroatiaPart of  Yugoslavia8th
 Denmark20th17th20th
 Egypt14th15th
 EstoniaPart of  Soviet Union
 Finland11th14th14th17th13th11th9th7th8th10th12th
 France2nd3rd8th8th8th10th14th8th10th4th8th12th3rd2nd5th9th9th4th6th7th2nd7th
 GermanySee  East Germany and  West Germany4th4th8th10th11th7th
 Greece20th18th12th9th8th3rd10th11th7th11th11th6th
 Hungary3rd7th5th2nd6th5th11th4th8th11th9th
 Israel10th11th12th
 Italy3rd8th9th10th10th8th8th10th8th5th7th4th6th9th1st2nd1st1st3rd1st2nd1st1st
 LatviaPart of  Soviet Union11th
 MontenegroPart of  YugoslaviaPart of  Serbia and Montenegro
 Netherlands6th9th13th12th15th9th9th12th10th10th5th3rd3rd2nd2nd1st5th8th6th11th
 North MacedoniaPart of  Yugoslavia
 Poland6th6th6th6th3rd6th2nd2nd2nd2nd2nd4th7th7th7th6th5th5th5th
 Portugal4th7th10th
 Romania5th4th2nd2nd1st5th3rd4th3rd7th5th8th7th10th12th12th
 RussiaSee  Soviet Union3rd5th5th2nd3rd3rd2nd
 Scotland22nd
 SerbiaPart of  YugoslaviaPart of  Serbia and Montenegro
 SlovakiaPart of  Czechoslovakia8th10th12th
 SloveniaPart of  Yugoslavia12th
 Spain12th12th12th11th8th4th
 Sweden16th17th9th4th2nd10th12th
  Switzerland19th
 Tunisia16th
 Turkey12th11th14th15th
 UkrainePart of  Soviet Union6th9th7th12th
Discontinued nations
 Czechoslovakia1st2nd1st1st5th2nd2nd6th6th6th4th5th2nd6th12th8thSee  Czech Republic
 East Germany9th9th4th4th7th9th9th6th6th9thSee  Germany
 Serbia and MontenegroSee  Yugoslavia3rd2nd3rd1st4th3rd
 Soviet Union1st1st4th3rd3rd1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st1st4th1stSee  Russia
 West Germany19th15th18th16th11th11thSee  Germany
 Yugoslavia5th5th7th7th7th11th3rd7th3rd10th11th8th8th6thSee  Serbia and Montenegro
Team
2007
(16)

2009
(16)


2011
(16)


2013
(16)


2015
(16)

2017
(16)




2019
(24)
Total
 Albania3
 Austria16th23rd8
 Belarus15th16th22nd3
 Belgium10th13th7th10th4th9th16
 Bulgaria8th3rd6th4th4th6th11th29
 Croatia14th15th3
 Czech Republic16th10th16th13th7th13th12
 Denmark12th4
 Estonia14th12th11th13th24th5
 Finland4th12th8th8th12th12th14th18
 France9th2nd7th5th1st9th4th29
 Germany5th6th15th6th8th2nd8th13
 Greece13th8th16th15
 Hungary11
 Israel3
 Italy6th10th2nd2nd3rd5th6th30
 Latvia1
 Montenegro18th1
 Netherlands7th7th10th9th14th10th26
 North Macedonia17th1
 Poland11th1st3rd9th5th10th3rd26
 Portugal14th20th5
 Romania21st17
 Russia2nd4th4th1st6th1st5th14
 Scotland1
 Serbia3rd5th1st3rd7th3rd1st7
 Slovenia16th15th9th13th2nd8th2nd8
 Slovakia12th11th5th11th14th15th19th10
 Spain1st9th16th15th10
 Sweden7
  Switzerland1
 Turkey15th13th11th14th11th12th10
 Ukraine7th5

MVP by edition

Most successful players

Boldface denotes active volleyball players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Multiple gold medalists

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1Aleksandr Savin Soviet Union1975198566
Vyacheslav Zaytsev Soviet Union1975198566
3Vladimir Kondra Soviet Union1971198155
Viljar Loor Soviet Union1975198355
Yuriy Panchenko Soviet Union1979198755
6Andrea Gardini Italy198919994116
Andrea Giani Italy199120034116
8Paolo Tofoli Italy19891999415
9Marco Bracci Italy1989199944
Vladimir Chernyshyov Soviet Union1975198144
Vladimir Dorokhov Soviet Union1975198144
Oleg Moliboga Soviet Union1977198344
Pāvels Seļivanovs Soviet Union1975198344
Vladimir Shkurikhin Soviet Union1981198744

Multiple medalists

The table shows those who have won at least 6 medals in total at the European Championships.

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1Aleksandr Savin Soviet Union1975198566
Vyacheslav Zaytsev Soviet Union1975198566
3Andrea Gardini Italy198919994116
Andrea Giani Italy199120034116
5Slobodan Boškan FR Yugoslavia
 Serbia and Montenegro
 Serbia
199520071146
Andrija Gerić FR Yugoslavia
 Serbia and Montenegro
 Serbia
199520071146
Nikola Grbić FR Yugoslavia
 Serbia and Montenegro
 Serbia
199520071146

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.