One of the most special periods in Turkey’s sports history, the story of the women’s volleyball team, is behind us. Now let’s look back to the summer of 2023. With longing, excitement, and pride…
Turkey’s women’s volleyball started to make a name for itself on the world stage, corresponding to the first years of the millennium. Under the leadership of Neslihan Demir, who is still very young but is not far from gaining fame beyond the borders of the country; The European Championship adventure of the national team, consisting of names such as Özlem Özçelik, Natalia Hanikoğlu, Seda Tokatlıoğlu, is unforgettable. The tournament played in our country in 2003 was also the beginning of the Turkey’s Women’s volleyball team era. The impact of the team, which defeated strong rivals such as Russia, Serbia, Montenegro and the Netherlands on the way, and won hearts even though it lost to Poland in the final, was greater than expected at first. After 20 years, we say with full confidence: “We are a volleyball country!” The fact that we can say this is the result of a chain reaction that started in those days. Therefore, it is not possible to talk about today’s successes independently of the heroes of the past.
Of course, taking a look at the stages that the Turkey’s Women’s Volleyball Team has gone through can help you understand how difficult the path is. His journey to becoming an actor on the stage where many different schools of thought collide around the world did not take place in a tournament. The team, who won the Mediterranean Games in 2005, returned to the podium with the title of third in Europe in 2011, and experienced Olympic excitement for the first time in 2012, set their sights on the sport after 2017, when Italian coach Giovanni Guidetti, who has also coached VakıfBank since 2008, took office. set his sights on new horizons. As a result of the serious investment made and the increasing habit of winning, Turkey had already become one of the world giants in club volleyball. However, carrying the same momentum to the international competition arena was not an easy task. According to iconic passer Neslihan Demir, the mission of the Turkish National Team for which she plays was to strive to challenge elite level opponents. There was still a little more time left to be among the top teams…
Guidetti’s period, which is now the focus of criticism, some justified and some very cruel, was a process of transformation in this sense. The top team, which was challenging the favorites, was slowly evolving into one of the favorites with its deep talent pool and young core. The 2019 European Championship, which gave a taste of déjà vu as part of it was played in Turkey, symbolized the transition to the next stage for the Sultans of the Net. Despite the final loss against dominant Serbia, it was difficult not to feel hopeful for the future. We had world-class talent in many positions, and many of them were just getting started. Of course, the goals that could not be achieved, even though they were often approached, brought pressure on the Italian coach. In particular, the number of matches in which the team faced higher-profile opponents was not small. In the “target” matches with teams such as Serbia, Italy and the USA, the results were mostly disappointing. The quarter-final loss to South Korea at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games was etched in memories as one of the breaking moments of the said period.
