Cansu Ozbay: The pressure means privilege in VakifBank, we need to know how to manage it
Cansu Ozbay has been a part of VakifBank Istanbul since 2016 and is looking forward to playing for her third #CLVolleyW gold medal in her career. Although she hasn’t turned 25 yet, the young setter enjoyed many victories with her club. While joining a team with successful career can be an overwhelming prospect for many young players, Cansu Ozbay embraced VakifBank’s culture and is looking forward to use it to the team’s advantage in the Super Final.
The excitement ahead of the SuperFinal grows among VakifBank players. 24-year old Cansu Ozbay feels no different as her team prepares for their last match of the season. The success would mean a triple gold medal treat for Ozbay for two different reasons. First of all the Turkish setter stands in a chance of winning all three trophies her team fought for this season. And the second reason? Cansu already won the Champions League twice since joining VakifBank Istanbul in 2016. The team succeeded in 2017 in Final Four in Treviso as well as a year later in Bucharest. The latter Cansu named as one of her most memorable moments since joining the club. “Personally it brought me great emotions and experience”, she explained.
The experience of playing finals is her individual strength as well as her team’s. Ozbay acknowledged that and recalled four gold medals that VakifBank won in the CEV Champions League.
Cansu Ozbay“We are used to play in the finals. We have proven ourselves by winning four titles in the CEV Champions League. I am very happy to be a part of this team. Because we are a team, we know that we cannot achieve anything without each other. I gained a lot of experience individually and experienced many championships. Therefore, my self-confidence has also increased. But every final is a new excitement. I am very excited for this one as well. I hope we will triumph once again and we will enjoy it.”
setter of VakifBank Istanbul
But has the good performance in Turkish Cup and Turkish League put a bigger pressure to deliver success on international courts? On the contrary, keeping the winning routine is important for Cansu and her teammates, as the new trophies only increase their motivation. “Our motto is "For More." We always play in a team that wants more and we are all aware of this. VakifBank always takes the court for the championship in every competition it plays. These results can only make us more hungry and more motivated for the Super Final, because we want the finish this season with a triple-cup!”, she said.
If the pressure isn’t a problem now, has it been there when the setter joined the club at age of 20? Knowing VakifBank’s history very well and facing this level of volleyball at that age can be overwhelming for the most talented of athletes. The short answer would be yes, the pressure was there, but Cansu definitely embraced it.
Cansu Ozbay“It is a great chance to play in VakifBank. Every player wants to be here. There was pressure on me, because I came to a team that had great success in Europe and the world. There were very important, experienced players. That motivated me to work hard. It is a great feeling to play in the biggest team in the world for 5 years. If you want to play here, you have to be able to fight the pressure, work hard. The pressure means privilege in VakifBank. We need to know how to manage it.”
setter of VakifBank Istanbul
Cansu Ozbay undoubtedly shows a great mindset ahead of the most important part of the season. It came as no surprise then when she mentioned a very specific element of being a setter as her favourite trait. “My favourite part of being a setter is making a decision in a fraction of a second, especially in critical moments”, she explained. That will surely come in handy on the 1st of May!
