The German volleyball player recalls the beginnings of Heynen's work. “It was obvious he didn't work with girls.”

MOYA Radomka Radom was aiming for the top four of the Tauron Liga before the season. Although the goal is still to be achieved, sixth or seventh place at the end of the regular phase will mean a demanding rival in the quarterfinals. Marie Scholzel is happy with the team's latest victory, hoping that it will push the whole team to a good start in the playoffs.

Radomka Radom wants to get into the play-offs well

In the last round, Radomka defeated Grupa Azoty Akademia Tarnów 3-0, which the day before, thanks to the victory of Metalkas Pałac Bydgoszcz, lost the chance to stay in the top league. Moreover, a few days later, information came to light that the club from Małopolska had been punished with the deduction of three points. In such a situation, the Tarnów team's performances are limited only to “finishing the season.”

– We played very well as a team. We didn't lose track of the game, we confidently took advantage of the opportunities our opponents gave us. Certainly, the fact that they found out about the inheritance the day before must have had an effect on them. They don't know what the future of the club will be. We are happy that we have such a safe match now. This is good motivation before the upcoming play-offs, says Marie Scholzel to “Wprost”.

Straight from the march to Tauron League

The German is one of the stars of the team from Radom. In previous years, the midfielder played for leading Bundesliga clubs, as well as for the Italian Volley Bergamo. The 26-year-old from Berlin is also an important figure in the German national team. She participated in all last year's tournaments, which is why she came to Poland almost immediately after the Olympic qualifications in Łódź.

– I didn't have much time to rest last year. I came to Radom two days after the end of the national team competition. I think that most of the country's representatives will say that they feel a lot of long-term fatigue now. And there are still play-offs ahead of us, the most important moment of the season. Sometimes some players decide to take a break from playing for the national team later. It's rather unlikely for us, because we don't have such a strong team. I'm looking forward to the next season in the national team, but I'm equally looking forward to a break before the club season, even a minimal one (laughter).

Vital Heynen superstar

The coach of the German women's national team from 2022 is Vital Heynen. The Belgian's character does not need to be introduced to Polish fans. In 2018, he led the White and Reds to the world championship. Moreover, with the national team he won medals in the European Championships and the Nations League. Working with the Germans is his first (apart from the episode with beach volleyball players a dozen or so years ago) serious experience with women's volleyball. Until recently, he also managed the Turkish Nilufer Belediyespor, but he was fired. As Scholzel says, both she and her friends were convinced of the coach's popularity at Wisła. She referred to the meetings held in Poland, during which Heynen was constantly asked for a photo or autograph.

– Each player of the German national team had the opportunity to see how big a star Vital still is in Poland. It is extremely popular. He is not so famous anywhere else, not even in his homeland, says Scholzel. – As a coach, he is different from others. He introduced many new ideas to the team, which I like. He came at the right time, because there were changes in the national team, so he could build the team anew.

– Although men's and women's volleyball is the same discipline, at the beginning it was obvious that he didn't work with girls (laughter). For years he led only men. He also had mostly men on his staff. Suddenly he joined a team where he had at least 14 girls in the team, and during training camps it was even 20. He wasn't used to it. Fortunately, he came up with a great idea to add women to the staff – added the German midfielder.

The German volleyball player compares the Tauron Liga to foreign competitions

The top midfielder of the Polish competition also tried to compare Tauron Liga with other competitions in which she played. As he says, the competition in Germany is limited to the dominance of 2-3 clubs. In her opinion, the competition in Poland is more even, although we are still far from the top of Serie A.

– The thing about the Bundesliga is that you have 2-3 strong teams and the rest are significantly behind. Tauron Liga is a more balanced competition. Certainly, neither German nor Polish clubs can compare to the top teams in Serie A. The Italian competition is the most balanced of the three. Polish clubs would probably fight for a place in the upper part of the table, but not at the top.

Radomka is fighting with UNI Opole for a position in the table

MOYA Radomka Radom is fighting with UNI Opole for sixth place in the table before the start of the play-offs. If Jakub Głuszak's players win against Metalkas Pałac Bydgoszcz on Monday, they will maintain the higher position and will play in the quarterfinals against the third team of the round (PGE Rysicami Rzeszów or BKS Bostik ZGO Bielsko-Biała). Last year, Radomka took ninth place in the final classification.