Best players and coaches of 2021 awarded in Slovenia
News
Right in conjunction with the holiday season, the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia (OZS) has announced the names of the best players and coaches of 2021. The winners received their respective award during the Slovenian Cup finals held in Ljubljana from the hands of OZS President, Metod Ropret.
Slovenian Volleyball fans cast more than 2,000 votes – which, combined with those from the Expert Council appointed by the Volleyball Federation of Slovenia, determined the best players and coaches of 2021. The captain of Slovenia’s national team Eva Pavlović Mori claimed the award for the best female Volleyball player for the second year in a row. After playing in Turkey and France last season, she returned to Calcit Volley earlier this year, and just won her first trophy of the 2021/2022 season by claiming the Slovenian Cup with the team from Kamnik.
Klemen Čebulj emerged as the best male Volleyball player for a third consecutive year by impressing his fans with top-level performances in the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League and at the EuroVolley 2021 where Slovenia took their third silver medal in the last four editions of the event. Čebulj is also one of the best players of the elite Polish national league - where he is wearing the shirt of Asseco Resovia RZESZOW.
The recipient of the best female Beach Volleyball player of 2021 award is Tjaša Kotnik, who represented Slovenia in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games qualifiers and took two medals from FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour tournaments in 2021. Kotnik received the award for the second time.
Rok Bračko is Slovenia’s best male Beach Volleyball player of 2021. The 17-year old talent proved himself with astonishing performances at the 2021 edition of EuroBeachVolleyU20 in Turkey, where he claimed the gold medal. He is also a member of the country’s reigning national champions in Volleyball, OK Merkur MARIBOR.
The winner of the prize for the best women’s coach is Gregor Rozman - who won the Slovenian national championship with Calcit Volley KAMNIK in the 2020/2021 season and helped Slovenia’s national team secure the bronze medal in the 2021 edition of the CEV European Silver League.
The award for the best men’s coach went to Iztok Kšela, the head coach of Slovenia’s national team, the winners of the 2021 edition of #Euro VolleyU17M hosted by Albania this past summer. This was the first-ever gold medal for Slovenia in any Volleyball European championship.
Moreover, Slovenian sports journalists voted Rok Možič as the most promising Slovenia’s sports personality of 2021 at an award ceremony held in Ljubljana last week. Možič is one of the greatest talents of European Volleyball, and a member of Slovenia’s senior national team that won the silver medal at EuroVolley 2021. Možič has one of the leading roles for his team from the city of Verona in the Italian Volleyball league and is a reigning U20 European champion in Beach Volleyball as well.