Mercury rising as Verona awaits super finalists
Preview
Who will compete in the women’s Super Final of the CEV Champions League Volley 2021 on May 1 in Verona? Half of the answer to that question will become known on Tuesday and the other half - on Wednesday, as the second-leg semifinal matches take place in the Italian towns of Villorba and Busto Arsizio.
This week’s action will open with the all-Italian semifinal clash between reigning club world champions A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano and defending Champions League continental title-holders Igor Gorgonzola Novara on March 23 at 20:30 local time in Villorba. Imoco were merciless in the first-leg game at Igor and mastered a convincing 3-0 victory. They need to win at least two sets at home on Tuesday to avoid the golden set risk and advance directly to the final.
With the success in Novara, Imoco extended their winning streak to 56 matches across all competitions. The Champions League Super Final on May 18, 2019 against Igor was the last game they lost in the competition. Their victorious run since the start of the 2019-2020 edition now spans over 16 consecutive matches. Last week’s result put an end to Igor’s series of 12 Champions League wins in a row.
Imoco also lead 24-11 in the head-to-head series with Igor. This includes the total of four encounters earlier this season, in which the girls from Novara managed to win just one set. In the Champions League alone, they are level at 2-2.
The club from Conegliano have won two silvers and a bronze in Europe’s top-tier club competition and hope to reach the top of the podium for the first time. The 2019 gold was Igor’s only Champions League podium.
Daniele Santarelli“(The teams from) Conegliano and Novara know each other very well. It is the fifth game between us this season and in recent years we have been playing each other for the most important trophies. Tomorrow will be another important chapter in history. We know that they will not be the team we saw last Wednesday, but they will come to our house to give us a battle from the start. It will take our best performance in all the fundamentals of the game to win and hit our goal, the Super Final."
Head coach of A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano
Sarah Fahr“Our biggest mistake would be to think we already have the ticket for the final in our pocket after the first match. (The team from) Novara will come to Palaverde to play all their chances. So far this season, they have shown that they can put us in difficulty. To win and qualify for the Super Final we will have to play a tough match tomorrow. We are working well at the gym to be at the best of our potential."
Middle blocker of A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano
Stefano Lavarini“Compared to the home game, for sure, we must offer a better performance in any situation. I have some big regrets about the home game, as we played head to head for a set and a half, but then we just didn’t fight any more, and at this point of the competition, when you play such a great opponent, you can’t do that. I’ll ask the girls to fight and give their best, and then we will see what happens.”
Head coach of Igor Gorgonzola Novara
Wednesday’s game between hosts Unet e-work Busto Arsizio and Turkish giants VakifBank Istanbul, set to get underway at 18:00 local time, seems to have a much more unpredictable outcome after the shocking 3-2 comeback victory, achieved by the Italian side in Istanbul last week.
Another win this week in Busto Arsizio would push Unet through to their second Champions League final, after 2015. Back then, they took silver. They also have a 2013 bronze out of their three appearances in the competition. Four-time club European champions VakifBank, however, will do their best to take revenge with a 3-0 or 3-1 win, which would send them to the ninth continental final in the club’s history. Should another five-set battle take place, a tie-breaker win for VakifBank would set the stage for a golden set decider.
Unet are now on a six-match winning streak in the Champions League, while last week’s result put an end to VakifBank’s positive series of 15 Champions League wins in a row. The two sides had never met before last Wednesday’s game in Istanbul.
Rossella Olivotto"We start from 0-0. The result of the first leg does not give us much of an advantage, and in any case it is better not to make calculations against a strong team like VakifBank. In Istanbul we definitely understood that we can play on par with them. But at home we will have to do even better. I'm sure that Guidetti's team will arrive in Italy ready to attack from the first minute in order to reverse the situation. But we are very charged and we will give our best to achieve the goal."
Middle blocker of Unet e-work Busto Arsizio
Giovanni Guidetti“We are very excited for the match we have to play. The Super Final is exactly where we want to be. We want to play a real match, we want to play a great match against a great team, and we want to deserve to be in Verona. So we are very excited for this challenge. We believe in ourselves; we believe in our power. We want to go to the Super Final and our focus is to be the best VakifBank that we can be in Busto Arsizio.”
Head coach of VakifBank Istanbul
Melis Gurkaynak“We focused on the mistakes we made in the match we played in Istanbul and worked hard to correct them. We must return from Italy with a victory towards the Champions League trophy, which has been our goal since the beginning of the season. We are aware that we are going to a match at a very high combat level. Right now, our only goal is to return from Busto Arsizio with a victory and play the final on May 1.”
Middle blocker and captain of VakifBank Istanbul
All semifinal matches to be streamed live on EuroVolleyTV.
Visit the semifinals’ match centres.