2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship
# 2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship

The 2003 Men's European Volleyball Championship was the 23rd edition of the event, organized by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted in Berlin, Germany from September 5 to September 14, 2003.

## Qualification

The first five from the 2001 edition of the Men's European Volleyball Championship — Serbia & Montenegro, Italy, Czech Republic, Russia, and Poland — plus hosts Germany were automatically qualified. The four group winners qualified, and the two best numbers two.

## Teams

### Group A

* Bulgaria
* Greece
* Netherlands
* Poland
* Russia
* Serbia and Montenegro

### Group B

* Czech Republic
* France
* Germany
* Italy
* Spain
* Slovakia

## Preliminary round

### Group A

| | Team | Points | G | W | L | PW | PL | Ratio | SW | SL | Ratio |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1. | Serbia and Montenegro | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 454 | 299 | 1.138 | 14 | 5 | 2.800 |
| 2. | Russia | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 439 | 366 | 1.199 | 10 | 9 | 1.111 |
| 3. | Netherlands | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 463 | 449 | 1.031 | 10 | 10 | 1.000 |
| 4. | Poland | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 485 | 479 | 1.013 | 11 | 11 | 1.000 |
| 5. | Bulgaria | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 320 | 416 | 0.769 | 7 | 11 | 0.636 |
| 6. | Greece | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 402 | 454 | 0.885 | 7 | 13 | 0.538 |

### Group B

| | Team | Points | G | W | L | PW | PL | Ratio | SW | SL | Ratio |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1. | Italy | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 415 | 329 | 1.261 | 15 | 2 | 7.500 |
| 2. | France | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 418 | 364 | 1.148 | 13 | 4 | 3.250 |
| 3. | Germany | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 417 | 398 | 1.048 | 10 | 8 | 1.250 |
| 4. | Spain | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 403 | 428 | 0.942 | 7 | 11 | 0.636 |
| 5. | Czech Republic | 6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 399 | 440 | 0.907 | 5 | 13 | 0.385 |
| 6. | Slovakia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 354 | 447 | 0.792 | 3 | 15 | 0.200 |

## Final round

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2003-09-13 – Berlin | 2003-09-13 – Berlin |
| Italy | 3 |
| Italy | 3 | 2003-09-14 – Berlin | 2003-09-14 – Berlin |
| Russia | 0 | 2003-09-14 – Berlin | 2003-09-14 – Berlin |
| Russia | 0 | Italy | 3 |
| 2003-09-13 – Berlin | 2003-09-13 – Berlin | | Italy | 3 |
| 2003-09-13 – Berlin | 2003-09-13 – Berlin | France | 2 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2 | France | 2 |
| France | 3 | | |
| France | 3 | 3rd place | 3rd place |
| | | 2003-09-14 – Berlin | 2003-09-14 – Berlin |
| | | Russia | 3 |
| | | Serbia and Montenegro | 1 |
| 5-8th place | 5-8th place | 5th place | 5th place |
| 2003-09-13 – Berlin | 2003-09-13 – Berlin |
| Netherlands | 3 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 2003-09-14 – Berlin | 2003-09-14 – Berlin |
| Spain | 2 | 2003-09-14 – Berlin | 2003-09-14 – Berlin |
| Spain | 2 | Poland | 3 |
| 2003-09-13 – Berlin | 2003-09-13 – Berlin | | Poland | 3 |
| 2003-09-13 – Berlin | 2003-09-13 – Berlin | Netherlands | 0 |
| Poland | 3 | Netherlands | 0 |
| Germany | 1 | | |
| Germany | 1 | 7th place | 7th place |
| | | 2003-09-14 – Berlin | 2003-09-14 – Berlin |
| | | Spain | 1 |
| | | Germany | 3 |

## Final ranking

| Place | Team |
| - | - |
| 1. | Italy |
| 2. | France |
| 3. | Russia |
| 4. | Serbia and Montenegro |
| 5. | Poland |
| 6. | Netherlands |
| 7. | Germany |
| 8. | Spain |
| 9. | Czech Republic |
| 10. | Bulgaria |
| 11. | Greece |
| 12. | Slovakia |

* 2003 Men's European champions
* Italy Fifth title

Team Roster :

* Francesco Biribanti, Matej Černič, Paolo Cozzi, Alessandro Fei, Andrea Giani, Luigi Mastrangelo, Marco Meoni, Samuele Papi, Damiano Pippi, Andrea Sartoretti, Cristian Savani, and Valerio Vermiglio. Head coach: Gian Paolo Montali.

## Awards

* Most valuable player

    Andrea Sartoretti (ITA)
* Best scorer

    Richard Schuil (NED)
* Best spiker

    Piotr Gruszka (POL)
* Best blocker

    Luigi Mastrangelo (ITA)
* Best server

    Andrea Sartoretti (ITA)
* Best receiver

    Samuele Papi (ITA)
* Best setter

    Nikola Grbić (SCG)
* Best digger

    Hubert Henno (FRA)
