Champions League to see 2020 off with exciting three-day event in Roeselare
Preview
With nine round-robin tournaments in the two genders of CEV Champions League Volley 2021 already held over the previous three weeks, it is time to wrap up the first half of the pool stage in Europe’s most prestigious club competition with the last one in 2020, the three-day men’s Pool D event from Tuesday through Thursday in Belgium, featuring the teams of Russia’s Kuzbass Kemerovo, Italy’s Leo Shoes Modena, Poland’s VERVA Warszawa ORLEN Paliwa and hosts Knack Roeselare.
Kuzbass and Leo Shoes are the two teams to open the Pool D race for quarterfinal spots, facing each other on Tuesday at 17:30 local time at the iconic Tomabell 2,000-seater, until recently known as the Schiervelde. Knack and VERVA are next, at 20:30. These are the starting times of the matches on Wednesday and Thursday as well.
Leo Shoes Modena are travelling to Roesalare on Monday afternoon, after celebrating a domestic straight-set victory over Consar Ravenna on Saturday. That win placed them sixth in the current standings on a 7-7 win-loss record and served as an important confidence booster after the team had lost their previous four matches in the Superlega. They were second in the standings last season when the competition was prematurely interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The club from Modena are the third most decorated in the history of Europe’s top-tier club competition. Between 1990 and 1998, they became four-time continental champions. In their impressive club history, they also have four silver medals and a bronze, to add to the eight trophies from CEV’s second- and third-tier European Cups. Last season, Leo Shoes had already reached the semifinals of the CEV Volleyball Cup, when the rest of the race got cancelled. At the tournament in Roeselare, Leo Shoes’ outside hitters Daniele Lavia and Moritz Karlitzek are expected to make their Champions League debuts. So is legendary player Andrea Giani, but in the role of a head coach.
Andrea Giani“We'll be playing a difficult pool, against three high-level opponents. We are aware that we're going to fight three tight matches, but we're working hard to be ready for it. It will be unusual for us to play in a ‘bubble’, but we are extremely focused on us and our goals: we want to qualify for the quarterfinals.”
Head coach of Leo Shoes Modena
Kuzbass Kemerovo are the 2020 bronze medalists of the Russian Superliga. They are currently holding the second place in their domestic standings, having won nine of the 11 matches played. In their most recent game last Monday, they managed an away four-set victory at Dinamo-LO Leningrad Oblast. This will be their third participation in the European Cups, second in the Champions League. In 2019, Kuzbass reached the semifinals of the CEV Cup. Last season, when the pandemic struck, they had already advanced to the best four of the Champions League after an amazing quarterfinal comeback against Poland’s ZAKSA Kedzierzyn Kozle, the only team that had not lost a single set in the pool stage. After losing in five sets at home, the Russian squad bounced back with a four-set victory in the away game. The match on Tuesday will be Kuzbass’s first ever encounter with an Italian team.
Having reached the final of the 2012 CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup, VERVA Warszawa ORLEN Paliwa are now ready to start their second participation in the Champions League. At their rookie appearance last season, the team from Warsaw finished third in their pool on a 2-4 win-loss record. To qualify for the Champions League again, VERVA took the second place in the regular season of the 2019-2020 PlusLiga. They had the highest number of matches won (21 in 24), but, short on ranking points, fell behind ZAKSA. In the current season, the squad coached by Andrea Anastasi is in the third position domestically, on an 8-5 win-loss record. In their last match, VERVA claimed a 3-2 victory at Stal Nysa. Before facing Leo Shoes in the Match of the Week on Wednesday, the Polish side will open their Champions League campaign on Tuesday against Knack when VERVA’s Spanish setter Angel Trinidad de Haro is set to face his former Belgian team, while outside hitter Jan Fornal goes against the club his dad Marek Fornal played for in 1993-1994.
Angel Trinidad de Haro"Playing at Knack was a nice experience, Belgium is a nice place to live and play Volleyball. Knack are a good team. The players are young and know each other well since they have been playing together for nine years. Their most important player is Hendrik Tuerlinckx. I think it's hard for us to set any goals with this strange season and new format of competition. It will be important to focus on one game at a time and try to perform our best."
Setter of VERVA Warszawa ORLEN Paliwa
Piotr Nowakowski"We found ourselves in a very difficult pool. We don't think about the results. We just want to show our best side and proudly represent our club and Poland in Europe. We regret that the fans will not be able to watch our matches live. We believe that they will cheer us on in front of the TV sets."
Middle blocker of VERVA Warszawa ORLEN Paliwa
Andrea Anastasi"After a poor start of the season and problems with the coronavirus, we are playing better and better every week. I hope that we will show our best in Roeselare and we will come back to Poland in good spirits. We want to give a Christmas gift to our fans from Warsaw."
Head coach of VERVA Warszawa ORLEN Paliwa
Champions League regulars Knack Roeselare are on the verge of their 19th campaign in the competition. Their best result so far came in the 2006-2007 season when they went beyond the first playoff round after the pool stage to make it among the last seven of the competition. They also won the Top Teams Cup in 2002. Last season, Knack reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League after finishing runners-up of their pool on four wins in six matches. Domestically, they claimed the national cup and finished second in the national championship’s regular season. They are now the table leaders of the ongoing season in the Belgian league on a perfect record of 10 victories in 10 matches. On Saturday, at home, in their 228th game at the Tomabel hall, Knack defeated VBC Waremme in straight sets as the last rehearsal ahead of their new Champions League campaign (see picture above; photo: knackvolley.be). For outside hitter Matthijs Verhanneman, the match against VERVA on Tuesday evening will be a very special one as he marks the noteworthy milestone of 100 European Cup games in the Knack jersey.
Steven Vanmedegael“One of my key questions is how we will cope with three top-level matches in as many days. Especially the mental aspect makes a great difference. You always have some time between home and away matches to change some things. Now you only get a few hours to make a click. Our first game in the tournament will be crucial. Defeating VERVA could bring us in the right flow, but our first aim is to play attractive Volleyball, and then, when we score more points than our opponents, a lot is possible.”
Head coach of Knack Roeselare
All matches in Roeselare will be streamed live on EuroVolleyTV.