Fornal hopes for "special" ending to his Jastrzębski stint in the #CLVolleyM Final Four

Four days before Jastrzębski Węgiel entered the fray in the Final Four of the CEV Champions League Men, Tomasz Fornal announced, in an emotional video, that he will leave the club after six years.

Fornal has been synonymous with Jastrzębski Węgiel’s success over the past years, helping the Polish side make the final of the European premium competition in the past two seasons.

Both times, the Polish side had to settle for the silver medal, after losing against fellow Polish side ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, 2:3, in the 2022/23 season, and against Trentino Itas, 0:3, in the previous season.

Yet know, the cards look to be falling in the right place for Jastrzębski Węgiel.

“We are playing in the Final Four now, which is different from what we had in the previous seasons. And, on the top of it, we are playing in Poland, therefore it will be an outstanding atmosphere, which will definitely help,” says Fornal.

But once again, between Jastrzębski Węgiel and the title, there is another Polish side standing. One which Jastrzębski know fully well, after meeting so many times over the past seasons.

“I don’t know if the previous losses in the final, over the past two seasons, do motivate us. What we know is that we want to win and that is the most important thing, even if the format is different now,” adds Fornal.

This season, Jastrzębski Węgiel and Aluron Warta CMC Zawiercie faced off four times, with each team winning two matches. For Jastrzębski, the most important win came one month ago, in the final of the Polish Cup, when they secured a 3:1 (18:25; 25:22; 25:22; 30:28) win.

Yet know, the stakes are even higher. Because both Jastrzębski Węgiel and Aluron Warta CMC Zawiercie failed to win the domestic title, with Zawiercie losing the final against the CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup Men winners, Bogdanka LUK Lublin, while Jastrzębski Węgiel conceded a loss in the semi-final against Lublin and lost the bronze medal match against PGE Projekt Warszawa.

That means that for a succesful end of the season, Jastrzębski Węgiel and Fornal himself cannot afford any more mistakes, with everything riding on the last two matches played in the Final Four in Łódź.

“We know our opponents very well, of course, we played many times against them and we know how strong they are. It would be nice to win the trophy in Poland. The arena will be full, the fans will be crazy, I hope it will be a great match and we will win,” adds Fornal.

But the match against Zawiercie and a potential final on Sunday are also the last matches played by Fornal for Jastrzębski. After six successful years, he announced he will leave and decided to honour the moment with a special haircut, as he painted the team’s colours and initials on his hair.

“It will be special for me, because I will leave at the end of the season after six years. Therefore, winning the Champions League title for the first time would be a very nice ending to this chapter and to this story,” concludes Fornal.