European men's club volleyball gets a new ruler this weekend. The final tournament of the CEV Volleyball Champions League will be played in Turin on May 16th and 17th, and four teams that have marked the season in different ways will fight for the trophy: defending champion Perugia, Polish representatives Projekt Warszawa and Zawierće, who are the current vice-champions, and Turkish Zirat Banka, writes odbojka.me.
The semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday. Peruđa and Projekt Varšava will play first (17:00), while Zirat Banka and Zavjerće will face off in the second match (20:30). The final is scheduled for Sunday.
A repeat of last year's final is therefore possible, when Perugia won 3:2 in a dramatic duel with Zawierć in Lodz and climbed to the top of Europe.
Perugia now arrive in Turin as an even more complete team than last season, a team that has dominated the European scene for two years. Angelo Lorenzetti's team is on a 12-game winning streak in the Champions League, having won an incredible 26 of their last 27 international matches in all competitions.
Captain Simone Giannelli emphasizes that experience must not relax the team.
"We are very happy to be in the final tournament again, because it is never something that is taken for granted. We have a long season behind us and we want to enjoy this experience," said Gianelli.
One of Perugia's key players this season is Wasim Ben Tara, who has already scored 127 points in this year's Champions League.
"The most important thing is that the team wins. I don't think about individual numbers, but about how to help the team," said Ben Tara before the semi-finals with the Project.
The team from Warsaw, on the other hand, is probably the biggest surprise of the final tournament. The Polish club reached the final four through a dramatic path – from third place in the group, through the golden set against Trentino, and all the way to the quarter-final triumph against local rivals Lublin.
Warsaw changed coaches during the season, and the team was taken over by young Kamil Nalepka, who managed to completely turn the atmosphere around.
One of the team leaders, Jakub Kočanovski, believes that it was the tough games that strengthened the team.
"No great success comes easy. You have to go through tough times to get to the top. I think that's what got us to the Final Four," said Kočanovski.
Special attention is also being paid to Zirat Banka, which is having one of the best seasons in the history of Turkish men's volleyball. The Ankara-based club reached the final tournament undefeated – winning eight sets and losing only three throughout the competition.
The team's mainstay is Dutch setter Nimir Abdel-Aziz, currently one of the best players in the Champions League. He scored 132 points from the attack, 17 aces and 12 blocks, averaging almost six points per set.
"When you get to this stage, you don't dream about the trophy anymore - you fight to win it," Abdel-Aziz said.
Ziraat coach Mustafa Kavaz believes that the biggest difference compared to previous years is that the team has finally become a real team.
"We had quality players before, but now we have created a much stronger unity, both on and off the field. Mental strength was the key to our success," said Kavaz.
The Turkish team's opponent will be Zavierce, the Polish club won silver last season, and this year it seems even more secure and stable.
Michal Vinjarski's team lost only four sets on the way to Turin, and was particularly impressive in the quarterfinals against Luba Civitanova, who was eliminated by two maximum wins from the Polish team.
Libero Jakub Popivčak did not hide his satisfaction after placing among the top four teams in Europe.
"If someone had told us that we would get through Lube without dropping a set, we would probably have thought they were crazy. We did something big," said Popivčak.
Captain Mateusz Bjenjek is currently the most efficient middle blocker in the tournament with an impressive 71 percent success rate in attack, while playmaker Miguel Tavares is among the best technicians in this year's Champions League.
All four teams come to Turin with realistic ambitions to win the European title. Perugia is defending its throne, Zirat is seeking the first ever trophy for Turkish men's volleyball, while both Polish representatives are looking to confirm the PlusLiga's dominance on the European stage.
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