Serbian volleyball is experiencing one of its toughest moments in the last three decades. After the 0:3 (14:25, 13:25, 22:25) defeat to Slovenia in the EuroVolley 2026 round of 16, local media are not sparing their criticism, and the future of head coach Gheorghe Crețu has also come into question.
For the first time since 1995, Serbia has ended a European Championship before the quarterfinals. It is precisely this historically poor ranking, and most importantly, the manner in which the elimination occurred, that sets the tone for reactions in the country.
Even the official website of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia is unusually critical. OSSRB describes the first two sets against Slovenia as the weakest for the team in this championship and probably among the weakest in the last few years. The Federation notes that it is difficult to recall such a helpless performance by Serbia in the knockout phase of a major tournament.
The second set was particularly difficult, with Slovenia leading 9:1, 16:5, and 19:6 before closing it out at 25:13. Only in the third set did the Serbs manage to find different energy and stay close to their opponent until the end.
Captain Nikola Jovović also did not seek excuses and described the team's performance as "pale," and at certain moments, "unwatchable."

Crețu's future is already a topic

After the match, Gheorghe Crețu was directly asked if he would continue to lead the national team. "That is something the federation has to decide," the Romanian specialist replied.
Crețu did not announce an intention to leave, but left the decision entirely in the hands of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia. At the same time, he defended the work done and recalled the main task set before the staff – the generational change. According to him, experienced Dražen Luburić, Marko Ivović, and Nikola Jovović played an important role in this process, while the younger players gradually received more opportunities. Crețu also pointed out that some of them have already found clubs in Italy, Germany, and Russia, where they will be able to continue their development.
"I think we did what they asked of us at the beginning – to introduce the new guys. It takes time for them to reach a certain level," explained the coach.

Sport Klub: Crețu must leave

Just hours later, the discussion in Serbia had already gone much further. Sport Klub published an extremely sharp analysis of the state of the men's national team, which begins with a warning that Serbia is on the verge of falling out of the Top 20 of the world rankings.
The author's thesis is unequivocal – after two years of support from the federation, but without the necessary results, Crețu must leave. At the same time, the media does not place all the responsibility on the Romanian specialist. On the contrary – it notes that he worked hard and gave his best, and the experienced national players spoke about the enormous amount of video work and serious attention to tactics.
However, the results for Crețu's two seasons also show the other side of the picture.

The balance of 13 wins and 21 losses explains why Creciu's future is in such serious doubt. Serbia did not achieve a great result in any of the four tournaments, and EuroVolley brought about the historically early elimination.

"Where are our talented boys?"

However, this is where Sport Klub's analysis changes direction. According to the Serbian media, Creciu's dismissal is the easy part. The real question is what his successor will get.
"Is there salvation, ladies and gentlemen, where are our talented boys?" asks the author.
The criticism is now directed straight at the way young athletes are being developed in Serbia. Sport Klub highlights the lack of significant results among juniors, problems in the development of future national team players, and the decreasing number of Serbian volleyball players reaching the highest European club level.
This is a problem that Creciu himself had warned about. According to Sport Klub, in the last two seasons, only Dražen Luburić and Nemanja Mašulović from the Serbian national team have played in the Champions League group stage. The Romanian had also insisted that Vuk Kulpinać leave Vojvodina to get an opportunity to develop in the French league.
Therefore, Creciu sees the fact that some of the young players will now play in stronger leagues as a positive sign. After the elimination, he again pointed to Italy, Germany, and Russia as places where these volleyball players can develop and subsequently help the national team.

"The alarm is on!"

Sport Klub goes even further and calls on the federation's leadership to return to the basics – schools, clubs, and youth coaches. The main question is no longer just who will be the coach, but where the tall and athletic boys will come from, who in a few years should play for Serbia.
This also changes the entire conversation around Cretu. After 13 wins and 21 losses in two seasons, a coaching change seems an increasingly real topic in the Serbian media. But even that won't answer the question of what the next coach will inherit.
"The alarm is on!", concludes Sport Klub.
After Turin, Serbia is no longer just looking for an explanation for a lost round of sixteen. The historic elimination simply brought to the surface a far more unpleasant question – whether the problem is on the bench, or if Serbian men's volleyball is already paying the price for something that started much earlier.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov