Four powerful teams reaching out to women’s Super Final
Preview
A week from Wednesday, with the end of the last semifinal fixture, the match-up for the CEV Champions League Volley 2021 - Women's final should become known. The race towards the Super Finals in Verona is set to resume this week with one Turkish and three Italian teams taking to the courts for the first-leg matches of the two series.
With both matches taking place on Wednesday, March 17, the competition week will open at 20:00 local time in Turkey, where VakifBank Istanbul will try to push their campaign towards a record fifth Champions League trophy forward by taking on Italy’s Unet e-work Busto Arsizio.
VakifBank reached the semifinals after topping the final standings in Pool C unbeaten and then shutting out Poland’s Grupa Azoty Chemik Police twice in the quarterfinals. In fact, they are on a 15-game winning streak in the Champions League. The Turkish giants have made the semifinals for nine consecutive seasons. In five of the previous eight (one was not played, in 2020 because of the pandemic), they progressed to the final. Since the quarterfinals VakifBank have played three domestic matches winning all of them in straight sets. They triumphed as winners of the Turkish national cup trophy and as winners of the Turkish national league’s regular season. Coach Giovanni Guidetti’s squad achieved straight-set victories in their last nine matches across all competitions. The last time they lost a set was in their last game of the Champions League pool stage against Bulgaria’s Maritza Plovdiv. VakifBank’s Swedish opposite Isabelle Haak is the best scorer among all players still in the competition with a total of 150 points to her name since the start of the season.
Giovanni Guidetti“We have to make no mistake as we play our first match against Unet at home. We will play against a very strong Italian team. They won both matches against Eczacibasi. It will be a match that we have to play very well, because the opponent is really strong. My team deserves to play every final this season. I think we play great volleyball. We prepared for this game in the best way possible.”
Head coach of VakifBank Istanbul
Gabriela Guimaraes“We will play a really tough match. Unet played well and achieved really good results in the quarterfinals against Eczacibasi. We know that we need to play well. They play very fast and all their starters are good. The first game is at home, so we want to use this advantage. Like I said, we will work hard and study them very well. I'm really excited, because this is my first Champions League semifinal. This is extra motivation for me. I really want to be the champion of the Champions League.”
Outside hitter of VakifBank Istanbul
This will be the first Champions League encounter between VakifBank and Unet e-work Busto Arsizio. In the quarterfinals, the Italian team took two four-set wins over VakifBank’s cross-town archrivals Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul, the club they lost to in their only Champions League final in 2015. Earlier this season, Unet e-work finished second in Pool A. In their fourth campaign in Europe’s top-tier competition, the club from Busto Arsizio are aiming at their third medal, after the silver in 2015 and the bronze in 2013. Currently, they are on their longest victory run in the Champions League, after winning five games in a row. Since knocking out Eczacibasi, Unet e-work have played two domestic matches, winning their last league regular season game to finish fourth ahead of the playoffs, and losing their Italy Cup quarterfinal to another Champions League semifinalist, A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano.
Reigning world club champions Imoco went on to triumph with the national cup trophy after Sunday’s final in Rimini, in which they snatched a 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18) victory over reigning continental club champions Igor Gorgonzola Novara, the same team they are going to face again in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals in Novara on Wednesday at 21:00 local time. The two rivals also met in the most recent Champions League gold medal match. In 2019, Igor Gorgonzola took a four-set win in Berlin. The only other Champions League encounters between them were in the pool stage of the 2018 edition, when they exchanged four-set home victories. Igor and Imoco played each other a total of 24 times in the last four seasons with the team from Conegliano leading 16-8 in the series.
The 2019 gold was Igor Gorgonzola’s only Champions League podium. In 2020, they did not get to play their quarterfinal fixtures because of the pandemic. This season, the team from Novara moved through Pool E undefeated and won both of their quarterfinal matches with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul by 3-1 to extend their winning streak in the competition to 12 games in a row. Since the quarterfinals, Igor have played three games in the Italy Cup, winning in the quarters and the semis, but losing the final to Imoco. They finished the national league regular season in the runner-up position, second only to the club from Conegliano.
Cristina Chirichella“We are aware that Imoco are currently probably the strongest team in the world, but in the Italy Cup finals we showed that the gap between the two teams is not too big. Of course, we would need two flawless games to achieve a spot in the Super Finals and we will do our best to make it. We have to push hard and fight in every single rally."
Middle blocker and captain of Igor Gorgonzola Novara
Caterina Bosetti"We are disappointed about the Italy Cup final loss, but on the other hand we are also looking forward to playing Imoco again. I think we reduced the gap from the beginning of the season and we will work hard to get to their level, staying focused and being ready for a big clash."
Outside hitter of Igor Gorgonzola Novara
A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano are on a 55-game winning streak since the 2019 final. That includes the three national cup match wins last week that led them to the trophy. Their super star Paola Egonu, who played for Igor two years ago and was named MVP after the Super Final in Berlin, hammered out 37 points against her former club and claimed the MVP honours after Sunday’s match in Rimini. In the Champions League, Imoco have won two silvers and a bronze, but never reached the top of the podium. The club’s victorious run took them to the semifinals of the interrupted 2020 edition, through Pool B of the current edition, and through two quarterfinal wins over compatriots Savino Del Bene Scandicci.
Daniele Santarelli“This time of the season is not easy at all. We can't take a breather because we are in the deciding moment of the season. We got a nice Italy Cup victory on Sunday, we spent a lot of energy, but we can't afford to let the tension down. We care a lot about the Champions League and we go to Novara to play a great match. They are a solid team and have many weapons in attack. But we are still very hungry. We're ready for anything. We want to play our best game and take the first step to the final."
Head coach of A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano
Paola Egonu“We are a very strong group. All the players chip in for the victory. If we play as a team, as we did in the Italy Cup finals, we get great results. But we have seen that Igor Novara are a very strong team. On Sunday they put us in difficulty throughout the game. It will take our best performance to win again on Wednesday."
Opposite of A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano
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