Ziraat Bankkart: Time to raise the bar!

It is the fourth time in a row and the sixth time in history that a Turkish team has made it to the men’s CEV Champions League semifinals, but as Ziraat Bankkart Ankara head to the Final Four of the 2026 edition in the Italian city of Turin on May 16 and 17, could it be the first time a Turkish men’s team conquers the top of Europe?

Following the success of Turkish women’s teams earlier this month, when two of them – VakifBank Istanbul and Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul – provided for an all-Turkish continental final and booked their spots in this year’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship, maybe the time has come that a Turkish men’s team wins Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

Ziraat have already raised the bar for themselves this season. They have already secured the trophies from the other three major competitions they participated in – the Turkish national league, the Turkish national cup and the Turkish national super cup – to shape up the club’s first ever domestic golden treble, but can they add a fourth crown, the brightest one, to their historic season?

By advancing to the semifinals, head coach Mustafa Kavaz’s squad has already matched the club’s best achievement in the Champions League dating to two seasons ago, when Ziraat’s campaign was interrupted by Polish powerhouse Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj in the semifinals. Halkbank Ankara (three times) and Arkas Izmir are the only other Turkish teams to have ever reached the semifinals of the men’s Champions League. Ziraat’s city rival Halkbank were the only one to make it further to the final at a single occurrence, back in 2014, when they took silver.

Halkbank celebrated that accomplishment the season after they lifted the CEV Volleyball Cup trophy for the first time in the club’s history. Interestingly, last season Ziraat achieved their maiden triumph in Europe’s second-tier club competition. But now, they are keen not only to match Halkbank’s achievement, but to go a step further and upgrade from CEV Cup laureates to Champions League winners.

Ziraat certainly have the personnel for it. The team is spearheaded by almighty Dutch star Nimir Abdel-Aziz. With an average of 5.96 points per set, he is the most efficient scorer of the Champions League season so far (among players to have appeared in at least two matches). The brilliant opposite has also fired 17 aces, which makes him the fourth most prolific server of the competition so far. Polish outside hitter Tomasz Fornal is another bright international star in Ziraat’s lineup. He has been among the top 10 scorers in each of the past four Champions League seasons. His cross-court teammate Trevor Clevenot is a two-time Olympic champion with France and a Paris 2024 Dream Teamer. Turkish standouts like setter Murat Yenipazar and middle blocker Bedirhan Bulbul make the Ziraat constellation shine even brighter.

43-year-old Mustafa Kavaz has been with the club throughout his coaching career. He has been at the helm of the A team since the 2021-2022 season, when he was promoted from assistant to head coach. Under his mandate, the team has won at least one major national trophy each season. In 2024, they reached their first Champions League semifinal, and in 2025, they brought home the CEV Cup trophy.

Kavaz has led Ziraat through an impressive Champions League campaign on the way to the Final Four in Turin. The Turkish team has won all eight of their games this season, dropping only three sets in the process. They entered the competition from the group stage and topped the final Pool A standings on a full set of 18 points after two victories each over Italy’s Trentino Itas, Slovenia’s ACH Volley Ljubljana and France’s Tours. Ziraat jumped straight to the quarterfinals, where they hammered out two shutouts of Poland’s Asseco Resovia Rzeszow.

“We know this is not the end,” Nimir said upon that quarterfinal success. “We haven’t achieved anything yet, and we need to stay focused for what’s coming next.”

What’s coming next is a semifinal clash with another strong Polish team, 2025 Champions League runners-up and Club World Championship bronze medalists Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie. It will be the second semifinal on the Final Four program for Saturday, May 16, at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, set to serve off at 20:30 local time.