Champions League history – Turkish teams the dominant force of the last decade

As you all well know, the CEV Champions League Volley is the most elite competition in international Volleyball and a success story that has now lasted for some 20 years. As we all enjoy a bit of a break from the daily routine during this festive period, we thought it would be cool to share a review of the last Champions League decade, at least in the women’s competition, with video highlights featuring some of the very best players in Volleyball history.

Teams from three countries – Turkey, Italy and Russia – have been able to seize such a coveted crown, with those from Istanbul especially dominant, courtesy of the four titles claimed by VakifBank in 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018. This is an all-time record, which VakifBank share with Italy’s Volley BERGAMO. What is especially interesting in this journey down memory lane is to see how many elite players have contributed to VakifBank’s success – such as Malgorzata Glinka, Jovana Brakocevic, Maja Poljak, Gözde Kirdar, Naz Aydemir, and Zhu Ting to name only a few. Kirdar is the only one among these players to feature on the roster of VakifBank on all four occasions.

Fenerbahce and Eczacibasi contribute to bring Turkey’s tally to six titles in a decade – Fenerbahce were truly dominant in 2012 in Baku when Kim Yeon-Koung propelled the Yellow Angels to their only Champions League title to date. Eczacibasi, on the other hand, triumphed in 2015 in Szczecin, with Jordan Larson, Poljak, Neslihan Demir Güler, Bethania de la Cruz and Christiane Fürst among those wearing the shirt of the ‘Tigers’ at that time.

The only teams capable of breaking the Turkish rule come from Italy and Russia. Ekaterina Gamova helped Dinamo KAZAN secure the only Russian triumph in the CEV Champions League thus far when the team from Tatarstan reigned supreme at the 2014 Finals held at the iconic Crystal Hall in Baku.

Two years later, Pomì CASALMAGGIORE were able to spring a surprise by seizing the Champions League title in Montichiari to crown their maiden appearance in the competition with a sensational ‘coup’. Francesca Piccinini and Margareta Kozuch were highly instrumental towards the achievement of a success that has already gone down in the history books, since the underdogs from Lombardy did not drop a single set in their matches with heavyweights such as Dinamo KAZAN and VakifBank.

Speaking of Italian success, we move fast forward to celebrate the historic Super Finals held in May of 2019 in Berlin – where Paola Egonu set the pace for Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA on their way to a 3-1 victory over their domestic rivals of Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO. Since the 2020 season ended abruptly because of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, NOVARA are still the Champions League titleholders.

With the pool stage of the 2021 edition well underway, we can look forward to Champions League action to resume in the New Year and you can already start making your predictions as to which team will emerge as the next champions of Europe…