Busy summer for Petar Dirlic. After finishing in second place in the European Golden League last June 16th in Osijek as captain of Croatia and the most prolific player of the event (170 points in 8 matches), the opposite team of Cucine Lube Civitanova is leaving for the Far East . Thanks to the mid-June victory in the tie break with Estonia in the Semi-final of the Golden League, tomorrow, Monday 1st July, the Croatian giant will reach China with his national team to take part in the Challenger Cup (from 4th to 7th July), viaticum to enter the Volleyball Nations League 2025. A priority for the attacker fresh from his year in Milan and eager to wear the shirt of Lube in the next competitive season of SuperLega Credem Banca.
Challenger Cup – Linyi (China)
Quarter finals
Thursday 4 July
China – Mexico, 9.30 am Italian time
Belgium – Croatia, 1.30 pm Italian time
Friday 5 July
Ukraine – Chile, 9.30 am Italian time
Egypt – Qatar, 1.30 pm Italian time
Semifinals
Saturday 6 July
Semifinal 1, 10am
Semifinal 2, 2pm
Finals
Sunday 7 July
3rd place, 7.30 am
Final, 11am
Petar Dirlic (opposite Cucine Lube Civitanova):
“Second place in the European Golden League is a good result, what really mattered was getting through the Semi-final and qualifying for the Challenger in China. Obviously the 3-1 defeat against Ukraine in the decisive match didn’t go down well with me because both with Croatia and with the Clubs I would like to always win, especially the Finals, but we played below our level and this must not be repeated. From an individual point of view, I am aware that I have done my part by closing the tournament as a top scorer, I feel the warm hand. I am the captain of the national team and I want to give my best even in training by motivating my teammates. Attitude that I will maintain in Civitanova. I will also give everything in China to chase the pass to the VNL 2025. We are in shape and have individual quality, we can win in the quarter-finals with Belgium by repeating ourselves after having already established ourselves in the Golden League. I also continue to follow the developments at Lube and I am more convinced than ever that we will find a balanced team capable of fighting at high levels. Maybe we are young, but the roster includes athletes who are already used to winning like Chinenyeze and Loeppky. Among other things, we have a libero in top form like Balaso who is a guarantee. Despite the average age in the group, there will be no lack of quality and experience to compete with everyone. I can’t wait for the chance to be put to the test.”
