Press release

London, Great Britain, August 8, 2012 – After the match which gave the semifinal to Bulgaria, Germany coach Vital Heynen honored the power of the opponents: "It was not a tough match, but a clear match. They were clearly better than us today. We have to respect our opponent, it is not that we didn't play well, they played really well. Today we had no chance. Bulgaria are clearly the team in the mood."

His captain Bjorn Andrae replied: "There were many reasons for us losing. I'm not sure what the main reason was. We didn't find our game, we didn't put on any pressure. I am really disappointed. We have often played Bulgaria and we know we can beat them. They played much better than us today. It was just nice to be here and to make the quarterfinal. We were in a good place, we were very close."

Bulgaria coach Nayden Naydenov could not hide his happiness: "First of all the team was in normal condition and not thinking about the problems we had before coming. We tried for the team to think not about what was happening off court, but only that on court, only about volleyball. We want to teach them that when they play as a team with heart, then anything is possible. To go to the semifinals of the Olympic Games, this hasn't happened for us since Moscow, 32 years ago."

Bulgaria spiker Todor Skrimov gave his comment as well: "It is quite a surprise, because we had some problems before the Olympic Games. Key players left the national team. It was difficult at the beginning, but it helped up to improve our teamwork, and not rely on one or two players. It is like a novel to be in the semifinals. Russia is going to be a different match. We will think about it later. We just want to enjoy it now. We will try to beat Russia and get the gold medal. Our president is here, but we also know that all the country is with us."

In fact Rosen Plevneliev, president of Bulgaria, was among the spectators in Earls Court and applauded his team: "We dreamed and we worked hard and sometimes dreams come true - and this is the case. Bulgaria is ready even for a gold medal."