CEV President Roko Sikirić: "We expect a great show in Łódź"

The stage is set for one of the most highly anticipated events on the European volleyball calendar, as Łódź prepares to host the CEV Champions League Men Final Four, with four fantastic matches scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Atlas Arena.

With the continent’s top clubs converging to fight for the coveted title and anticipation building ahead of the most prestigious weekend in Europe’s premier competition, the Final Four officially got underway with a high-profile opening press conference in Łódź.

Attending were Mr. Roko Sikirić, President of the CEV, Mr. Sebastian Świderski, President of the Polish Volleyball Federation, Adam Pustelnik, the Deputy Mayor of Łódź, as well as the coaches and captains of all four participating teams – Halkbank Ankara, Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, Aluron Warta CMC Zawiercie and Jastrzębski Węgiel.

“In the name of the European Volleyball Confederation I would like to welcome you here today. It is nice to see everybody being here and following us in this competition. As we are here today reaching the pinnacle of the season where we will conclude our European club competitions season and where we will crown the new winner of the Champions League, I sincerely want to thank you all. I want to thank all the athletes, clubs and the coaches that have sacrificed themselves during this season,” said Mr. Sikirić.

“I sincerely want to thank the Polish Volleyball Federation, the city of Łódź, that have provided us the opportunity to be in such a beautiful and supportive city, a city of volleyball, but as well as our sponsors that have supported us during this journey. We will be playing in one of the historical venues for volleyball. A few days after we announced the host city, the hall has been sold out, so we expect a great show. We know that we are in a great place and the best place to conclude this season.,” added the CEV President.

The floor was then passed to Mr. Sebastian Świderski, President of the Polish Volleyball Federation. “It is a great privilege to host the Final Four here, in Łódź and I would like to also thank the city municipality. I congratulate all teams for being here, I wish them good luck and, above all, good health in this tournament. May the best team win. Thank you,” said Mr. Świderski.

Adam Pustelnik, the Deputy Mayor of Łódź, also underlined the importance of hosting such a prestigious competition in the city, with thousands of fans expected to see the matches live.

“It is a great privilege for us as Łódź that another big event related to volleyball is in our city. We are happy that two teams are from Poland. Of course, naturally, this will attract many residents of our city and many Polish fans who will enjoy these fantastic emotions during the next three days. We thank the CEV for putting their trust in us, for the first cooperation of this kind,” said Pustelnik.

The attention was then moved to the four participating teams and the first ones to deliver an opening statement were the representatives of Halkbank Ankara and Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, the two teams meeting in the first semi-final, scheduled for Friday.

Perugia’s captain, setter Simone Giannelli, was the first one to offer his thoughts and told the audience how important is this Final Four for him and for the team: “We are very happy to be here, but we know that we face a very good team. We will be trying to win the title for the first time in Perugia’s history. Personally, I played two finals and unfortunately I took the silver medal each time.”

Micah Ma’a, Halkbank Ankara’s captain, was the next speaker, explaining his journey from America to Europe and towards the Final Four this season. “It's an honour to be here representing Halkbank and myself here.  I didn't grow up like many players watching a lot of Champions League. I was far away in Hawaii, a small island in the middle of the ocean. But very quickly I understood the importance of this event. And the opportunity that we have here this year. We're excited about it.”

The second semi-final is scheduled for Saturday, a true Polish derby between Aluron Warta CMC Zawiercie and Jastrzębski Węgiel.

“It is an honour for us to be again between the top four teams in Europe. We know our opponents very well, we played domestically a lot. It will be a big fight. But we are prepared for the battle on Saturday,” said Benjamin Toniutti, Jastrzębski’s captain.

Mateusz Bienek, Zawiercie’s captain, also said: “For sure, for our club it is an amazing moment and a historic moment because we are playing for the first time in our history in the Final Four.  So we are happy and proud to be here.”

All press conference participants were then made available for exclusive and pool interviews with the attending media.