Brazil
Cuba
Poland
Venezuela
Argentina
Greece |
Intercontinental Round full of colour on
and off the court
Lausanne, Switzerland, July 4, 2005 –
The World League, as the premier men's
annual Volleyball event, draws the best
of the best. Not only from the 12 teams
who participate but the fans, who this
year turned out in brilliant support and
numbers right around the world during
the six weeks of high intensity
Intercontinental Round action.
Volleyball venues right across Europe,
Asia and Central and South America were
packed full of colour and noise while
thousands cued up for tickets, hoping to
catch a glimpse of the heroes.
It all made for a wonderful Volleyball
experience as the top men's Volleyball
teams around the world rode on the back
of the chants, music and applause of
their fans.
From Brazil, where the home stadium is
regularly decked out in yellow, to the
red hot atmosphere of Bulgaria where
visiting teams would dread to play, the
Volleyball public had a ball, painting
themselves up and not holding back to
show precisely where their loyalties
lie.
For the record, it’s no surprise that
the teams with some of the best home
performances have reached the final
round. Defending champions Brazil had
the best record by winning all six of
their matches on home soil with an
average turnout of over 12,000 fans!
Cuba also had unbelievable home support
with a similar number of fans turning
out on average at home games but on the
court they weren’t quite as successful,
winning four and losing two.
Poland were very impressive and really
turned it on for their colourful fans
who averaged 9,000 per home game,
winning five matches and losing only
once.
Final round hosts Serbia and Montenegro
were also in ominous form during the
Intercontinental Round, winning all but
one of their six home games – their only
defeat being at the hands of Poland.
Out of the teams not to have reached the
final round, Portugal were by far and
away the best having recorded at home a
5-1 win-loss ratio.
But now, with the World League down to
four teams the heat really comes on. Not
only for the players, but the fans. Who
will turn out in greater numbers in
Belgrade to support their team as they
strive to become the 2005 World League
champion? |
Bulgaria
Portugal
Serbia and Montenegro
Japan
Italy
France |
Competition Formula