In the final of the European Team Championships 2025 in Zadar, France will meet Romania.
For the first time in history, the Romanian men’s team have advanced to the final, surpassing their previous best result of three bronze medals. On their way to the ultimate stage, Romania defeated defending European champions Sweden and then Slovenia in an impressive and emotional semi-final performance.
Slovenia’s top star Darko JORGIC suffered his first defeat of the tournament at the hands of Iulian CHIRITA in a thrilling five-game opening match. That victory set the tone for the tie, which eventually ended in straight matches in favour of Romania.
Iulian CHIRITA: “We still can’t really believe that we’re in the final, it’s the first time ever for the Romanian men, so it’s an amazing feeling. It was a really tough match. Darko is one of the best in Europe, maybe number one or two, and he’s a really strong player. But I know him quite well, I’ve already played him twice this year, so I managed to play very well throughout the match, and I’m really happy that I didn’t lose to him again.
In the second match, Edy started to play really well, and that gave us a lot of confidence. And then Ovi, I’m really happy that he managed to win the last match against TOKIC. He’s such an interesting guy, always bringing great energy to the team. Honestly, I still don’t have words for the fact that we’re in the final. It’s unbelievable. But we’re already looking forward to giving our best and playing a really good match in the final.”
On securing the opening point for Romania, CHIRITA added:
“It was really important, because after beating their number one player, the whole team could relax more. We spoke with the coaches before the match about the lineup, and they told me, ‘You’re going to play against Darko,’ so I prepared specifically for that. Once you beat the top player from the other team, everything changes, the team feels more confident. Everyone played really well, and I’m very proud of them.”
Looking ahead to the final, he continued:
“It’s going to be really tough against France, they’re all top players. But we know Félix and Alexis quite well; we’ve played them many times. They’re very strong and very confident. Still, we have nothing to lose. We’ll fight for every point, every set, and every match. We’re ready for tomorrow, and for whatever comes after.”
Ovidiu IONESCU:“Unbelievable feeling, I still can’t believe we’re in the final of the European Championships. The team event is just amazing. Congratulations to everyone who helped and supported us; we played an incredible match.
Iulian beating JORGIC, a top-10 player, gave us huge confidence. The 3–0 score doesn’t show how tough it really was, it was much closer. It was an unbelievable performance from the whole team.
Julian’s win and then Eddie’s victory against KOZUL helped a lot. When I played the third match, I can’t say I was relaxed, but I was definitely more confident that we could finish the job and win it in the end.
We beat Sweden, and I believe that if you’re in the final, you have to believe you can win it. France are maybe the strongest team at the moment, but sport has shown many times that surprises can happen. We’ll give everything tomorrow.
Before this, we had three bronze medals, and now this is the first silver in our history. We had a great generation before us, and now, with these young players, maybe it’s not the last medal in the team event. For now, we just want to enjoy the moment and prepare for tomorrow.”
Slovenia – Romania 0–3
- Darko JORGIC – Iulian CHIRITA 2–3 (11–9, 7–11, 11–8, 6–11, 10–12)
- Deni KOZUL – Eduard IONESCU 0–3 (14–16, 5–11, 4–11)
- Bojan TOKIC – Ovidiu IONESCU 0–3 (7–11, 10–12, 4–11)
