The Serbian squad. No surprises.
Setters: Nikola Jovovic, Aleksa Brdjovic
Opposites: Aleksandar Atanasijevic, Sasha Starovic
OHs: Nikola Kovacevic, Uros Kovacevic, Marko Ivovic, Nemanja Petric
MBs: Dragan Stankovic, Marko Podrascanin, Srecko Lisinac, Aleksandar Okolic
Liberos: Nikola Rosic, Neven Majstorovic
Yavor, come and take part in Prediction Game..
I wanna have with You challenge 
The Slovakian squad:
Setters: Juraj Zatko, Daniel Koncal
Opposite: Peter Michalovic
OHs: Martin Sopko, Stefan Chrtiansky Jr., Matej Patak, Frantisek Ogurcak, Tomas Krisko
MBs: Emanuel Kohut, Simon Krajcovic, Peter Ondrovic, Radoslav Presinsky
Liberos: Matej Kubs, Lubos Nemec
A few surprises here. Only one opposite, Milan Bencz is not in the list. Kostolani's form hasn't been impressive, that's fine, but one man only seems a bit risky. No Skladany, Kmet, Masny, or even Cerven.
Yavor, come and take part in Prediction Game..
I wanna have with You challenge
I won't have much time for predictions but will think about it, thanks for the invite 
My predictions work much better if I make them at home only 
My prediction:
Gold: Italy, Silver: Poland, Bronze: France 
But if you look at their social media accounts ,you can understand Italy doesn't have the most intense training programme. It is the last 2 days but they are still hanging out with friends.
So maybe France will beat them in group stage and force them to play against Russia and Poland.
Two matches will be crucial; France-Italy and Serbia-Russia. It will also give better idea on new Russia
My prediction:
Gold: Italy, Silver:Poland, Bronze: France
4th- Kings of 4th place
The Slovakian squad:
[...]
A few surprises here. Only one opposite, Milan Bencz is not in the list. Kostolani's form hasn't been impressive, that's fine, but one man only seems a bit risky. No Skladany, Kmet, Masny, or even Cerven.
Kmet is considered as too old by Giuliani.
Skadany and Masny are considered not good enough, as was Ondrovic who only got into the roster thru injury of Cerven (but now has nearly the best stats 
)
I won't have much time for predictions but will think about it, thanks for the invite
Yes, a matter of time.
But in short, my opinion is:
1st France
2nd Poland
3rd Germany
4th Italy
Kmet is considered as too old by Giuliani.
Skadany and Masny are considered not good enough, as was Ondrovic who only got into the roster thru injury of Cerven (but now has nearly the best stats
Thanks for the update! I didn't know you are into Slovakian volleyball so much If he has decided to drop Kmet, although I fully disagree he has no place in the NT, then it would make sense to have Ondrovic anyway. There is no world in which Zatko could be chosen over Skladany or Masny, regardless of their shape, so I find Giuliani's choices quite strange, to say the least.
[...] so I find Giuliani's choices quite strange, to say the least.
According to some sources close to the team, he only got the job because he is Italian and has a known name.
Besides that he already has some strange decisions in the past
IMHO the italian team is so satisfied about the games qualification that they are understimating this ECH, I'm following the team and it looks like they are going to a party (glamour selfie , tweets, joyful interviews etc.). Maybe they are too much relaxed, on the contrary Poland is so angry and can do well, while France, Serbia and Germany are refreshed. Bulgaria plays at home, but without Sokolov I don't think they can go any farther then final 8. Russia? No comment.
1) Poland
2) France
3) Serbia
4) Germany
p.s. Giuliani is the most overrated coach in the World.
To be fair, Italians have always been like that. Different mentality I guess. In my opinion Italy is a strong contender for gold as, believe it or not, they haven't won a gold medal since 2005.
Zaytsev has never won a gold medal in his entire career, and I doubt he's happy with that.
Ok more drama theory from me; 
I think Italy isn't in most comfortable situation. This summer they collected some players, erased some of them and created a new team. They are lucky it worked perfectly for them but an unsuccesful tournament will bring more tension to this newly created team. Right now everything is cool but Zaytsev's social media team (especially some friendly journalists ) already has started PR campaign for MVP . They are still criticizing Juantorena for his World Cup performance (first half),even writing his name in the third place (after Zaytsev and Giannelli) and describing Zaytsev as the 'symbol man ' . I'm waiting to see what will happen if they lose before semifinal. So far Osmany is so quiet , he seems to accept Zaytsev 's status (I find it very strange considering he has more success than Zaytsev in his career). Lets see how he will react if he becomes the scapegoat by some media which is very likely in case of defeat.
Biggest unknown of the tournament is definitely Russia. If they can play at the level of previous championship, they will win it again but that is a big if!
Someone must bring France back down to earth, I hope it will be as early as possible.
Kurek will be the key player of the tournament. If he is psychologically ready, Poland has good chances to get revenge from Italy.
IMO Poland/Serbia will win the title.
Anyone visiting the games in Bulgaria feel free to pm me. We can grab a couple if beers together 
Ok more drama theory from me;
I think Italy isn't in most comfortable situation. This summer they collected some players, erased some of them and created a new team. They are lucky it worked perfectly for them but an unsuccesful tournament will bring more tension to this newly created team. Right now everything is cool but Zaytsev's social media team (especially some friendly journalists
Biggest unknown of the tournament is definitely Russia. If they can play at the level of previous championship, they will win it again but that is a big if!
Someone must bring France back down to earth, I hope it will be as early as possible.
Kurek will be the key player of the tournament. If he is psychologically ready, Poland has good chances to get revenge from Italy.
Do you have a source on that? Zaytsev's wife's rants on instagram, facebook and twitter are not to be taken that seriously.
I agree on Russia, they have nothing to lose and nobody expects them to do anything good, but it's still Russia.
And France... a bag of pee and wind. Won a World League nobody cared about and now they act like they are the new Olympic champions.
Why shouldn't we consider France a main favourite? Did you see its line-up? I said even in May that France could have won WL, because the starting 7 is one of the best in the world, maybe the best in Europe (better than Italy and Poland for sure, maybe even Serbia which has better spikers but weaker reception, digging, libero and setter). They have a poor bench, ok, but they have a wonderful golden generation.
@vabo- If Italy loses , blame game will start. If Italy wins, MVP discussion will start. So I will have enough chance to give examples.
It is Russia's last chance to gain confidence before Olympic qualification,Alekno needs to use all his experience.
Serbia's OH position doesn't look reliable to me. Yes they have very good OHs but this players play better in club teams (maybe except Kovacevic brothers). Don't remind me the setter position , a nightmare 
They need 3 good matches in a row to avoid Poland in semi-final.
How is it better than Italy, Russia,Poland? They have big advantage in libero position, thats it. In order to succeed , they need to serve 3-4 matches in a row with great efficiency. This time Tounitti's block will be used.
I'm not saying that France is a bad team, on the contrary. The problem is the media circus created around a team that still has a lot to prove. I can totally see them crumbling (again) in the most important match ever, the Berlin OQT. Winning the WL and even the EC are worth NOTHING compared to going to the Olympic games.
France can win the ECH? Difficult but possible, all depends on their match against Italy.
@ scarpetta- you're right. Zaytsev is too important for this team and he knows it, unfortunately. Let's hope he learned from the WL disaster. He seemed to get along well with Juantorena anyway.
How is it better than Italy, Russia,Poland? They have big advantage in libero position, thats it. In order to succeed , they need to serve 3-4 matches in a row with great efficiency. This time Tounitti's block will be used.
I'm not saying that France is a bad team, on the contrary. The problem is the media circus created around a team that still has a lot to prove. I can totally see them crumbling (again) in the most important match ever, the Berlin OQT. Winning the WL and even the EC are worth NOTHING compared to going to the Olympic games.
France can win the ECH? Difficult but possible, all depends on their match against Italy.
I see the French team doesn't get here the recognition they deserve. Several things I wanted to say after reading your comments. First of all, France have finally won a gold medal at an international tournament and it is important, regardless of what that tournament was. This makes their generation as successful as the one led by Antiga, Granvorka, Capet, etc. We can have another discussion on this specific topic, I think we've had in the WL thread, I don't mean to continue in such a direction. However, what you didn't say is that France finally made an incredible run of good games with wins in important ones, something they always used to fail at. What you didn't say is that France actually won the most competitive World League edition in years. Not just any World League title. We rarely see such a level of volleyball in mid-summer. Second of all, believe me, they all know and tired to use Toniutti's block to break them, but as you know it didn't really work that often. And they have insane defenders, probably playing with some luck at times, but who doesn't need luck? Third, yes, there might've been media glory around their triumph, but it was well-deserved and now it actually should be over. I am quite sure they already forgot what they had achieved two months ago because, you know, life goes on. I am sure the spirit inside the team is much better, they surely have no pressure because they are not among the tournament's favourites again, they must have just more confidence, but it won't give them European gold already.
I am not saying France will become European champion. I honestly have no idea who that might be, one of the reasons I have made no predictions yet, but France finally showed they can beat anyone and that they can perform greatly in a series of games. Whether they will reach Sofia, qualify for Rio, or something else, is a totally different question. They can't become the N1 favourite overnight, but it is a huge step forward.
2015 Men's Sitting Volleyball European Championship Final Ranking:
1. 3 Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. 0 Germany
3. 3 Russia
4. 2 Ukraine