A new champion to be crowned in Łódź, as Perugia and Zawiercie collide in the final of the #CLVolleyM

No matter who the winner will be in the final of this season’s CEV Champions League Men, one thing is certain: it will be the first title for either Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia or Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie.

Surprisingly enough, the last club to reach the final in their maiden appearance in the Final Four of the European premium competition – exactly the case of Zawiercie right now - was Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, when the Italian side first made their appearance in the final, conceding it against Zenit Kazan, 0:3, in the 2016/17 season.

It will also be a battle between the teams which lost the lowest number of matches this season, with Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie coming into the final in the Atlas Arena with nine wins in nine matches, while Perugia conceded a 2:3 loss in the last match of the 4th round against Halkbank Ankara, with eight wins in eight matches apart from that blip on the radar.

For Zawiercie, playing in their second season in the European premium competition, the match will also be special, as their coach, Michal Winiarski, the best receiver of the 2011/12 season in the CEV Champions League Men, can become the first Polish coach to secure the title in the entire history of the competition.

“It is a historic moment for the club and a historic moment for all of us. We need to rest and go in the final with the same hunger,” said Mateusz Bieniek, after the fantastic comeback against Jastrzębski Węgiel in the semi-final.

In the Polish derby, Zawiercie dropped the first two sets, but then managed an astonishing comeback, thanks to their depth and a fantastic performance from Karol Butryn, who came back from injury and deputized on the opposite position from the third set onwards.

Zawiercie can also become the first club since the 2018/19 season to finish the season unbeaten and secure the title, after Cucine Lube Civitanova secured the title in that season with 11 wins in 11 matches.

But on the other hand, the challenge posed by Perugia looks to be the biggest one yet for the Polish side, as the Italian side has serious weapons in their roster, being able to provide some excellent performances in high-profile matches.

Perugia, which lost a final in 2017, can become the fourth Italian side to win the title and have won six of the nine matches played against Polish opposition in their history in the European premium competition.

While Winiarski can become the first Polish coach to win the title in the Champions League, Perugia’s coach, Angelo Lorenzetti, has reached the final of the competition for the fifth time in his career, after the ones in 2002/03, 2007/08, 2021/22 and 2022/23, becoming only the third coach to do so in the history of the competition.

However, Lorenzetti has never won the title, therefore this could be his maiden trophy, in a star-studded career.