Eight coaches to fight for the All-Star team spot in the #CLVolleyM

It was clear that all four coaches who led their teams to the Final Four were going to be nominated for the All-Star team and this is the case here, as the three Polish sides, plus one Turkish side and one Italian side going to Łódź are represented in the nominees list.

Jastrzębski Węgiel is qualified to the semi-finals of the CEV Champions League Men for the fourth season in a row and for the last three season, the coach on the bench was Argentinian mastermind Marcelo Méndez. The 60-year-old coach overlooked Jastrzębski’s challenge in the last two seasons, when they lost the Super Finals, but will now hope to secure his maiden Champions League title with the Polish side, after winning seven out of the eight matches this season.

The other Polish challenge for the trophy, which will face Jastrzębski Węgiel in the semi-finals is Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie. Their coach, Michał Winiarski, is a former Champions League winner as a player, with Trentino Itas, in 2009, and since 2022, when he took over his current side, he transformed it into a true powerhouse. With eight wins in eight matches, Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie are the only unbeaten team in the competition.

Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia are returning to the semi-finals of the European premium competition after a one-year hiatus, after making them in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Their star-studded coach, Angelo Lorenzetti, is also looking for a Champions League title, after winning the CEV Volleyball Cup Men in 2019, with Trentino.

No team in the Final Four has conceded more losses – four – than Halkbank Ankara. Basically, the Turkish side has six wins and four losses until now, but both in the play-offs and the quarter-finals they proved resilient, clinching the win in the golden set against Allianz Milano and PGE Projekt Warsaw respectively. Therefore, experienced coach Igor Kolaković, a true journeyman, who took over in 2024, is also nominated for the All-Star team.

While his side did not make the Final Four, Andrea Gardini is also nominated for the coaching position in the All-Star team, as Olympiacos Piraeus definitely had a season for the ages. Eliminating three sides on their way to the 4th round, Olympiacos did not stop there and made it to the quarter-finals, where they even delivered a fantastic comeback against Jastrzębski Węgiel in the first leg, to take a 3:2 win. In the second match, the Polish side won 3:0 and went to the Final Four, but the experienced Gardini created a fantastic side in Greece.

Mint Vero Volley Monza also won their pool, with five wins and one loss, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals by fellow Italian side Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia. That did not stop their coach, Massimo Eccheli, who has been in his position since 2021, to make the All-Star nominees shortlist for the coaching position.

No team had a better run in the competition in the 4th round than PGE Projekt Warszawa, which won all matches and dropped only two sets. They also mounted a comeback after losing the first leg of the quarter-finals against Halkbank Ankara, but they eventually conceded the golden set, 12:15, as they missed out on a Polish trio in Łódź. But their coach, Piotr Graban, also made the final shortlist for the All-Star team coaching position.

Last, but not least, SVG Lüneburg’s achievements were higlighted in this position, as the German side made their maiden appearance in the quarter-finals of the European premium competition. Coach Stefan Hübner is also nominated for the All-Star team, after Lüneburg eliminated domestic rivals Berling Recycling Volleys in the play-offs.

The 2025 CEV Champions League Volley All-Star Team voting is now open!

How it works

•    There are 8 nominated players for each position, as well as head coaches: you are asked to cast three votes for each category
•    For Middle Blockers and Outside hitters, the 2 players with the highest amount of votes will be selected as part of the ALL-Star Team.
•    The Fan Vote will count for 50% of the final voting result, with the other 50% being represented by the votes given by Champions League clubs team captains and team Head Coaches