Familiar foes face off in crucial #CLVolleyM Final Four opener

It is all or nothing for Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia and Halkbank Ankara, as both teams have lost the chance to secure their domestic titles this season. However, with the prospect of the CEV Champions League Men trophy, everything is dialed up even more.

Neither Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, nor Halkbank Ankara have ever won the trophy before, both conceding losses in one final. While Perugia lost the trophy in 2017, Ankara conceded the last match of the competition in 2014, but one of them will surely qualify to the last act of the Final Four in Łódź come Friday evening.

The Italian side has been one of the most consistent teams in the European premium competition, but without securing the title, as they reached the semi-finals six times, in the 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, losing the semi-final five times.

Yet their time looks to be now, after a fantastic season in the European premium competition, and with a star-studded line-up, led by captain Simone Giannelli, and with a supporting cast of outside hitters Yuki Ishikawa and Kamil Semeniuk and middle blocker Agustin Loser.

“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,” said Giannelli.

So far, this season, Perugia have dropped a single match, conceding only five sets. The only loss? Well, exactly against their rivals in this semi-final, Halkbank Ankara, as the two sides met already in the 4th round.

After a 3:0 away win, Perugia lost against Halkbank, 2:3, in the last match of the 4th round, when the Italian side had already secured the first place, after five consecutive wins in straight sets. In the quarter-finals, they dominated fellow Italian side Mint Vero Volley Monza, taking two 3:1 wins.

In the last 11 years, the two sides have also locked horns nine times, with Perugia emerging victorious seven times. Before the loss conceded on 29 January, the previous four matches won by Perugia were in straight sets.

Nevertheless, Halkbank Ankara are no pushovers and always provided some entertaining performances throughout the season, eliminating Allianz Milano and PGE Projekt Warszawa on the way to the Final Four, needing a win in the golden set in both doubleheaders.

So far, the Turkish side has lost four of the 10 matches played this season and their disappointing performance in the domestic league prompted a coaching change, with Igor Kolakovic being replaced by Radostin Stoychev in April.

Stoychev is no stranger of the Turkish side, having already led Halkbank to their best performance in history, the second place in the Champions League in the 2013/14 season, but it remains to be seen how much of an impact can he make in a short amount of time.