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Sweden
From 1990 the swedish team plays in every big tournament and fights always for a medal: it comes to the European championships as a big pretender to the podium. After four wins thursday, in the qualifying group last match with Italy, the team of Bengt Johansson losed the first time, sure to take however the group leadership and the semi-final. And at tomorrow 8pm, in the match against Russia in Palaonda, Johansson will let play the veterans Magnus Wislander, Staffan Olsson (both 34 years old) and Pierre Thorsson (32): together, they have sample over than 700 international matches, they didn’t play with Italy to be at 100% tomorrow. «We’re in semi-final, now we want the success» says Johansson about the classical match between Sweden and Russia: this is a replay-match of the final game in the last World championships.
Its successes
World cahmpionships: gold 1954, 1958, 1990; silver 1964, 1997; bronze 1938, 1961, 1993, 1995.
Olimpic games: silver 1992, 1996.
European championships: gold 1994, fourth place 1996.
Russia
As the world and european champions wrote their players‘ list for the European championships in Bolzano and Merano, nobody thought that now they could be among the best teams. But, also without many important injuried players like Gopin, Kudinov, Atavin and Grebnev, the team of Vladimir Maksimov has qualified to the semi-final. They didn’t play good in the 22-21 win with Czech Republic and in the tied match with Macedonia (26-26), but in the decisive match with Croatia (29-14) the russian team played as it knows: and the goalkeeper Lavrov, the both palymakers Kuleshov and Pogorelov and pivot Torgovanov are players that by themselves can change a match.
Its successes
World championships: gold 1982, 1993, 1997; silver 1978, 1990.
Olimpic games: gold 1976, 1988, 1992; silver 1980.
European championships: gold 1996; silver 1994.
Spain
Spain comes in Bolzano and Merano in the same conditions as Russia: during the whole European championships coach Roman Seco could not count on many important players like Masip, Garralda and the injuried Inaki Urdangarin, prince of Mallorca, that didn’t come in Alto Adige. However the team has played very good already in the first match against Croatia (18-18) and then has won all other matches. Defense is team’s power source, with both giants Chtchepkine and Perez, but no other team plays faster in offense than Spain and its playmaker Talant Dushebaiev.
Its successes
World championships: fifth place 1986, 1991, 1993; seventh place 1997.
Olimpic games: bronze 1996; fifth place 1980, 1992.
European championships: silver 1996; fifth place 1994.
Germany
Germany is the one team that experts, before the European championships, didn’t expect to see in semi-final. But after the unlucky loss with Sweden in first match (20-21) Heiner Brand’s team has played better match by match and now has reached its best international result from World championships 1995 in Iceland, where it ended at forth place. The «dinosaurs» Martin Schwalb (34 years old) and Bogdan Wenta (36) so as the whole team have played the way everyboby wanted. Defense, with excellent goalkeeper Jan Holpert, has been the starting point from which they run to the european gold: the first medal from Olimpics 1984 is very near.
Its successes
World championships: gold 1938, 1954, 1978; silver 1970 (DDR), 1974 (DDR); bronze 1978 (DDR), 1986 (DDR). Not qualified to the World championships 1997.
Olimpic games: gold 1980 (DDR); silver 1984.
European championships: eigthth place 1994; ninth place 1996.
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