Knack Randstad ROESELARE to miss 2012 CEV Champions League?
Roeselare, Belgium, March 27, 2011. Since 1997 the final of the Belgian national league has been always an affair between Noliko MAASEIK and their archrivals of Knack Randstad ROESELARE. However, this year it looks like there is going to be a major change on top of the charts, after ROESELARE lost this past weekend 0:3 to Noliko while Euphony ASSE-LENNIK climbed up to second place in the provisional standings by defeating AVERBODE 3:1. There are only two more rounds left before the end of the Playoffs and as per the rules established by the Royal Belgian Volleyball Federation, the teams ranked first and second at the end of this campaign get the right to represent the country in the next edition of the CEV Champions League.
Euphony ASSE-LENNIK, which is currently mentored by the former head coach of France’s BEAUVAIS Oise, Alain Dardenne, played pretty well in the 2011 CEV Cup and is currently ranked second in the national league after claiming 3:0 wins over Noliko MAASEIK – that made it to the Playoffs 6 of the 2011 CEV Champions League – and 2010 national champion Knack Randstad ROESELARE.
“We had set three goals for this season: first, to make it to the Playoffs 12 of the CEV Champions League; second, to notch the national cup and last but not least to retain our title in the national league. We achieved our first two goals but it would be a pity if we finally did not qualify to the finals of the national league” says the general manager of ROESELARE, Diederik Degryse. “Of course such results have some commercial implications, especially for the next season”. In order to make it to the finals, Knack Randstad ROESELARE needs to score two 3:0 or 3:1 victories in the next games against Prefaxis MENEN (away) and AVERBODE, this one to be played at home. At the same time Euphony ASSE-LENNIK shall lose some points in their next matches with HALEN and Prefaxis MENEN. “If we do not make it to the finals, it will be only our fault. If you lose matches at home as well as away in this section of the season, it is clear that we are not playing that well. We finished the regular season on top of the standings with a margin of 4 points over Noliko MAASEIK and even twelve over ASSE-LENNIK. But this is sport. Perhaps this is a good moment to step back, analyze the situation and think about the future of this team” says head coach Dominique Baeyens.