Berlin Recycling Volleys against Linus Weber and his love Warszawa

In the top duel of Pool A of the CEV Champions League, the second-placed BR Volleys will welcome the leaders PGE Projekt WARSZAWA to the "Volleyball temple" on Wednesday (29 Jan at 8.00 pm). 

First place has already been awarded to the team from the Polish PlusLiga. Nevertheless, every set win can help the Berlin team for the seedings of the Play Offs. There will be a reunion with Linus Weber, who has celebrated a German championship in the capital 2019 and stood out in Warszawa's first-leg victory.   

‘Finally a home game again!’ Linus Weber is bubbling over with anticipation for Berlin. His appearance at his old place of work requires a lot of preparation. He has received 75 ticket enquiries. Günter Eck, the man who discovered him in his hometown Gera, will be watching, ‘he taught me how to play volleyball’, as will other mates from his time in Thuringia, friends and family from Berlin and Potsdam. ‘It's a small group coming together, which makes you happy as a player who plays abroad,’ says Weber. Small group? Only a few visiting teams can count on the support of so many fans in the Max-Schmeling-Halle. And the 75 are only coming because of him. A total of 120 Warszawa supporters are registered.

It is a return of a special kind. The opposite attacker won his only championship title to date in 2019 with the Berlin Recycling Volleys - as a 19-year-old. Back then, the two-metre man was actually still part of the VC Olympia Berlin team but had dual playing rights. Because Moritz Reichert and Egor Bogachev were injured at BR Volleys, he was given a share of the game as an outside hitter.

His goal, as the young player already made clear, was to play opposite. The king position. Linus Weber has never lacked self-confidence. And why should he? He was recognised early as one of the biggest talents in German volleyball. At the age of 17, he won silver at the European Championships in Poland with the German national team. The national coach at the time, Andrea Giani, nominated him for the team. One reason: Weber had scored 46 points in an international junior match.  

The enthusiasm in Berlin for the young star was dampened when he unexpectedly signed a contract in Milan instead of in the German capital after winning the championship. Two years later, he faced the BR Volleys in the jersey of VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN. Weber played a good season, but in the play-off final in front of an empty crowd due to the pandemic, the team from Lake Constance hardly had a chance against the defending champions. The series went to the current record champions 3:2, 3:0 and 3:0.

The Thuringian then moved to Italy again, this time to Pallavolo PADOVA, before making what he saw as the best move of his career in 2022. He wanted to go to the top, and the newly founded ‘Project Warszawa’, as the club calls itself, also wanted to go to the top. The Polish PlusLiga club initially gave the 22-year-old a one-year contract, followed by a two-year deal. In their first season together, Warszawa finished fifth and qualified for the European CEV Challenge Cup. This was followed a year later by winning the CEV Challenge Cup, third place in the PlusLiga and qualification for the Champions League. As is usual for Polish clubs, they also play at the top of that league.

The BR Volleys had to learn that in the first leg at the beginning of December. The score was 0:3 from their perspective, with the best player and MVP on the Torwar Hall floor being Linus Weber with 20 points, including four aces and three blocks.

He makes no secret of the fact that he is in love with Warszawa, and not just because he has a Polish girlfriend. It's a great feeling for him to be part of something that is constantly growing. ‘It's a lot of fun. I'm still in a development phase of my career, I know myself that I still have a lot of potential,’ Weber has realised, ’so I'm in the best environment here to continue to develop individually, but also to play volleyball at the highest level.’

He proudly lists all the players who have been by his side on the court in the two and a half years: Damian Wojtaszek, Andrzej Wrona, Jakub Kochanowski, Piotr Nowakowski - ‘these are all people who have become world champions at least once in their careers’. Add to that Kévin Tillie, two-time Olympic champion, ‘people with an incredible wealth of experience who know how to do it. I get a lot of help, they've taught me a work ethic that I didn't have in Germany or Italy. They live volleyball, that inspires me.’ And also the second German in the team, outside hitter Tobias Brand, who was in Paris with the national team. 

What's more, the enthusiasm for volleyball in the country is infectious - no comparison to Italy, he says. Also in terms of the professional environment, media interest and infrastructure. ‘In Italy, most teams play in the same venues as they did 20 or 30 years ago. In Poland, completely new functional halls have been built in most of the larger cities,’ he enthuses.

That's why the PlusLiga level is so high, which means, among other things, Weber has to fight hard for his position in the team. The other oppsite, Bartlomiej Boladz, is a strong competitor who took the opportunity last season, when the German was suffering from Pfeiffer's glandular fever, to make himself the centre of attention.

In the meantime, the playing times are ‘fifty-fifty’, as Weber says, ‘that makes the team better, every one of us can play. Other teams would wish for a situation like this.’ The 25-year-old is someone who always tries to see the positives in difficult situations. Like when he was not selected for the Olympic Games in Paris.

‘Of course I had my problems accepting Winia's (national coach Michal Winiarski) decision at first. In hindsight, I see the time I had as a gain.’ He had a very good pre-season preparation, worked a lot and did good rehab. He has not only developed athletically, but on all levels.

‘In the summer, I founded a company in Potsdam with a friend. It's off to a relatively successful start, so I've also developed on a business level.’ He is also young and has further opportunities to take part in the Olympic Games. And his next appearances for the national team, for which he has played 64 international matches? Talks are being held, let's see. His happiness does not depend on it. You can tell: Negative thoughts are not his thing.

He has words of praise for the BR Volleys. As the strongest team in the Bundesliga anyway, ‘and internationally they always present themselves superbly in the Champions League. They always make it past the group stage. Then they would just need a bit of luck as to who they meet in the Play Off’. However, a return to Germany is not on the cards. He feels far too comfortable in Warszawa for that. Not just because of the volleyball. ‘I'm very enthusiastic about the cultural life, I like the lifestyle. I can imagine a future in Poland. The younger generation has a great love of life.’ Just like Linus Weber.