The 1997 Men's European Volleyball Championship was the 20th edition of the event, organized by Europe's governing volleyball body, the Confédération Européenne de Volleyball. It was hosted from September 6 to September 14 in two cities in the Netherlands – Den Bosch and Eindhoven –.
Qualification
The top four placed teams from the 1995 edition of the Men's European Volleyball Championship — Italy, Yugoslavia, Netherlands (also host) and Bulgaria — were automatically qualified for the 1997 edition. The other teams had to qualify in 1996.
Teams
Squads
Preliminary round
Group A
| Team | Points | G | W | L | PW | PL | Ratio | SW | SL | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | %3b_Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(2003%e2%80%932006).svg.png){kind=small} FR Yugoslavia | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1.513 | 12 | 4 | 3.000 | ||
| 2. |  Italy | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1.366 | 12 | 4 | 3.000 | ||
| 3. |  Slovakia | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.875 | 10 | 10 | 1.000 | ||
| 4. |  Russia | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1.093 | 10 | 9 | 1.111 | ||
| 5. |  Germany | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.803 | 7 | 12 | 0.583 | ||
| 6. |  Greece | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.701 | 3 | 15 | 0.200 |
- Saturday September 6
| Italy | 3 – 0 | Greece | 16-14 15- 4 15-03 | |
| Slovakia | 3 – 1 | Germany | 13-15 15-12 15-09 15-10 | |
| Russia | 3 – 0 | FR Yugoslavia | 16-14 15-11 15-13 |
- Sunday September 7
| Germany | 3 – 1 | Greece | 17-15 15-09 07-15 15-08 | |
| Slovakia | 3 – 2 | Russia | 06-15 15-10 16-14 10-15 15-12 | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 3 – 0 | Italy | 15-13 15-09 15-05 |
- Monday September 8
| Germany | 3 – 2 | Russia | 15-09 15-10 06-15 04-15 16-14 | |
| Italy | 3 – 1 | Slovakia | 15-13 12-15 15-11 15-05 | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 3 – 1 | Greece | 15-05 14-16 15-06 15-06 |
- Wednesday September 10
| Italy | 3 – 0 | Germany | 15-10 15-09 15-04 | |
| Russia | 3 – 0 | Greece | 15-05 15-09 15-12 | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 3 – 0 | Slovakia | 15-07 15-04 15-08 |
- Thursday September 11
| Italy | 3 – 0 | Russia | 15-06 15-10 15-12 | |
| Slovakia | 3 – 1 | Greece | 15-10 15-11 02-15 15-13 | |
| FR Yugoslavia | 3 – 0 | Germany | 15-08 16-14 15-07 |
Group B
| Team | Points | G | W | L | PW | PL | Ratio | SW | SL | Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Netherlands | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.484 | 15 | 0 | MAX | ||
| 2. |  France | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1.023 | 10 | 8 | 1.250 | ||
| 3. |  Ukraine | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1.036 | 11 | 10 | 1.100 | ||
| 4. |  Czech Republic | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1.942 | 10 | 12 | 0.833 | ||
| 5. |  Bulgaria | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.833 | 8 | 12 | 0.666 | ||
| 6. |  Finland | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.652 | 3 | 15 | 0.200 |
- Saturday September 6
| Netherlands | 3 – 0 | Finland | 15-03 15-07 15-02 | |
| Czech Republic | 3 – 1 | France | 16-14 07-15 15-01 15-12 | |
| Ukraine | 3 – 2 | Bulgaria | 08-15 15-07 11-15 15-10 15-09 |
- Sunday September 7
| France | 3 – 0 | Finland | 15-05 15-13 15-07 | |
| Netherlands | 3 – 0 | Ukraine | 15-06 15-10 15-01 | |
| Bulgaria | 3 – 2 | Czech Republic | 05-15 15-10 15-11 10-15 15-11 |
- Monday September 8
| Ukraine | 3 – 0 | Finland | 15-12 15-01 15-09 | |
| France | 3 – 0 | Bulgaria | 15-10 17-15 15-02 | |
| Netherlands | 3 – 0 | Czech Republic | 15-07 15-02 15-06 |
- Wednesday September 10
| Bulgaria | 3 – 1 | Finland | 15-12 09-15 15-07 15-11 | |
| Ukraine | 3 – 2 | Czech Republic | 11-15 15-09 10-15 15-13 15-11 | |
| Netherlands | 3 – 0 | France | 16-14 15-06 15-05 |
- Thursday September 11
| Czech Republic | 3 – 2 | Finland | 12-15 15-11 15-11 10-15 15-11 | |
| France | 3 – 2 | Ukraine | 15-13 15-08 13-15 03-15 19-17 | |
| Netherlands | 3 – 0 | Bulgaria | 15-03 15-09 15-10 |
Final round
| Semi Finals | Final | |||||
| 1997-09-13 | ||||||
| France | 0 | |||||
| 1997-09-14 – Eindhoven | ||||||
| FR Yugoslavia | 3 | |||||
| Netherlands | 3 | |||||
| 1997-09-13 | ||||||
| FR Yugoslavia | 1 | |||||
| Netherlands | 3 | |||||
| Italy | 0 | |||||
| 3rd place | ||||||
| 1997-09-14 | ||||||
| Italy | 3 | |||||
| France | 1 | |||||
- Friday September 13 — Semi Finals
| FR Yugoslavia | 3 – 0 | France | 15-06 17-15 15-11 | |
| Netherlands | 3 – 0 | Italy | 15-09 15-06 15-13 |
- Saturday September 14 — Bronze Medal Match
| Italy | 3 – 1 | France | 15-02 15-06 10-15 15-08 |
- Saturday September 14 — Gold Medal Match
| Netherlands | 3 – 1 | FR Yugoslavia | 15-11 10-15 15-10 15-09 |
| 5-8th place | 5th place | |||||
| 1997-09-13 | ||||||
| Slovakia | 0 | |||||
| 1997-09-14 | ||||||
| Czech Republic | 3 | |||||
| Czech Republic | 0 | |||||
| 1997-09-13 | ||||||
| Russia | 3 | |||||
| Russia | 3 | |||||
| Ukraine | 0 | |||||
| 7th place | ||||||
| 1997-09-14 | ||||||
| Ukraine | 3 | |||||
| Slovakia | 0 | |||||
- Friday September 13 — Classification Matches
| Czech Republic | 3 – 0 | Slovakia | 15-10 15-11 15-11 | |
| Russia | 3 – 0 | Ukraine | 15-10 15-04 15-12 |
- Saturday September 14 — Seventh Place Match
| Slovakia | 3 – 0 | Ukraine | 15-03 15-13 15-03 |
- Saturday September 14 — Fifth Place Match
| Russia | 3 – 0 | Czech Republic | 15-10 15-09 15-09 |