Another Slovenian volleyball player will play in PlusLiga – Gregor Ropret joined Asseco Resovia Rzeszów

The setter of the Slovenian national team, Gregor Ropret, gave an exclusive interview to the authoritative Polish volleyball websiteplusliga.pl. Polish journalists spoke with the Slovenian player on many topics – what made him accept the offer from Asseco Resovia, where Bulgarian outside hitter Nikolay Penchev competed years ago, whether it was a mistake to be a reserve for Simone Giannelli in the Perugia team, the terms of the contract with the Polish team, his expectations for the new season in Poland, as well as the summer with the national team, including the Olympic Games in Paris, where Ropret and Slovenia will also play, and many others.

Here are the highlights from the interview:

PLUSLIGA.PL: Asseco Resovia recently confirmed your transfer to Rzeszów. How much does it mean to you to play for a top club in PlusLiga?

Gregor Ropret:I am very happy and honored that I will have the opportunity to play for a club like Asseco Resovia. For some time I wanted to play in PlusLiga and I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. However, it is not easy to get to a leading Polish club – that's why I am even happier. I think we will have a great team. I heard many good opinions about the club, especially from my teammates Jan Kozamernik and Klemen Cebulj. They praised the entire organization of the club, but also the city of Rzeszów, the fans, and the playing conditions. I'm excited about all of this and can't wait for the matches to start.

PLUSLIGA.PL: Did you have offers from Polish clubs in the past, and were you close to playing in PlusLiga?

I was in contact with several clubs, but each time there were different discrepancies. This year, everything fell into place. I contacted the club from Rzeszów quite early and we reached an agreement very quickly. In my opinion, we have a strong team that can compete with everyone in PlusLiga, and I hope we will enter the medal zone.

PLUSLIGA.PL: You spent the last two seasons at Perugia, which is a great brand and has big ambitions, but you were a reserve setter. In such a situation, isn't two years too much for a key player of the Slovenian national team?

That's true. I didn't feel that way during the first season because we also played in the Champions League. We had many matches and I played often. In the last season, however, the situation was different. I rarely went on the court and didn't get many opportunities to play. This was one of the main factors why I looked for another club where I could play a lot, and not just play the role of a reserve. Of course, Perugia is an excellent club and we had a very strong team in the last two seasons, but I felt the need for a change and really wanted to play a starting role in the new club. I am glad that in this national team season, when I immediately had to play in the strongest line-up and fight for Olympic qualification, I had no problem with the fact that I played so little in club competitions. It turned out that I can still play at a high level. That's why I wanted to come to a club like Asseco Resovia, hoping to help the club win an important trophy.

PLUSLIGA.PL: For how long is your contract with Asseco Resovia?

For now, we have agreed on a one-year contract. We'll see next year what the situation will be. We will definitely talk about it, especially if both sides are satisfied with the cooperation.

PLUSLIGA.PL: Slovenians, Serbs, and Croats usually learn Polish quickly. So, is there a chance you'll soon be able to communicate in Polish?

I think our languages are similar in some way. It's not difficult for me to learn it, but it takes time, and I don't know if it will be like that for me. I'll definitely be able to understand a lot - I can do it now when I watch something on TV on Polish channels. However, it's possible that I'll have trouble at first saying something in Polish. Still, I hope to learn another language. Why not?

PLUSLIGA.PL: Have you and your teammates from the Slovenian national team already gotten over the fourth place in the final tournament of the Nations League in Lodz, which you entered as favorites after the preliminary phase?

We certainly felt very tired after the entire Nations League. Our goals before the start of the VNL were different from those of teams like Poland, France, or Japan, who had already qualified for the Olympics. These were teams that could afford to have large squad rotations, and we had to fight for our place in Paris. For us, these competitions were important from the very beginning to earn as many ranking points as possible and to proceed to the Olympics with the highest possible position. The final tournament was not our priority, and we arrived in Lodz a bit tired. Furthermore, we lacked the same focus as before, but we still only lost to teams that were higher than us in the world ranking, i.e., Japan and Poland. So it's not a tragedy to lose to such strong opponents. Now we are focusing on returning to the best possible physical condition. We have less and less time until the Olympics, but I am convinced that if we are in Paris in the same form as at the beginning of the VNL matches, we will be able to beat everyone, including teams like Japan and Poland.

PLUSLIGA.PL: The Paris Games promise to be exciting because 11 teams from the top twelve in the world ranking will participate. There are many teams that have medal ambitions. Are you sure that the Slovenian team is also among them?

I strongly believe that this will be one of the most balanced and fierce Olympic tournaments in the history of volleyball - certainly since I've been following men's volleyball, which is for many years. I think that the qualification system for these Olympics was really good, and thanks to that, we managed to gather practically all the leading teams in the world in Paris. Certainly, a difficult task and fierce competition await us all. In this field, there are 8-9 teams that can win an Olympic medal, which in itself is incredible. It's difficult to predict anything here because in this company of teams, anyone will be able to beat anyone, and anything can happen. Each of these stronger teams will also want to go as far as possible; our team will also go to Paris with high hopes.

PLUSLIGA.PL: Slovenia will play in a group that can be described as a mini European Championship (along with France and Serbia), and Canada is increasingly dangerous, so you will face a big challenge from the very first matches.

Of course, but I think the other groups are also interesting and competitive, and it wouldn't have been easy for us in them. Ours is very balanced, and, as I mentioned, in this form, anyone can win, but also lose to anyone. In the Nations League, we won matches against these opponents, but we are aware that not all of them were at their strongest at the time. Furthermore, they were not easy matches, as we only won against Serbia or Canada in the tie-break. It will definitely be even harder to beat these teams in Paris. For every team, the Olympic Games are the most important, and the greatest concentration will be on this tournament. Everyone will be motivated to first advance to the quarterfinals and then go as far as possible.

PLUSLIGA.PL: In a difficult season like this, when immediately after club competitions you had to join the national team and play competitive matches, do you have any entertainment or hobby that makes your free time more enjoyable?

I am a very family-oriented person, so I try to spend every free moment with my wonderful family and dedicate as much time as possible to my children. However, we know that there are times during the season when it is really difficult to spend time with family. When I have free days, I like to take my children on various trips, and that gives me great pleasure. On the other hand, when we are alone with our friends, I am ready to go out for a moment and have a drink and a chat. I also like to watch some entertainment programs sometimes and relax a bit.