Luxembourg, April 30, 2018. The pinnacle of European club volleyball is starting with a bang on Saturday. The first Champions League semi-final will feature a clash between the newly crowned Italian and Turkish league champions. On top of that Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO and VakifBank ISTANBUL are last year’s finallists, so feelings of revenge will be part of the Italians match preparation.

In the 2017 Treviso Final Four VakifBank rose to victory in three sets to claim the title. The Turkish side won their third Champions League crown and are now, having just secured the Turkish league title on Thursday, out to extend their reign over Europe.

The challengers from Italy have their work cut out for them. With injuries for two of their main middle-blockers (Robin de Kruijf and Raphaela Folie) it will not be easy to reach the final. But with the Italian scudetto, conquered at the expense of Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA on Sunday, they might just have the winning mood needed to secure a spot in the gold medal match.

As proven in the video above, Imoco Volley are ready for the task ahead. With the seriousness expected of them in order to fight for the prizes and the wink of the team that for every Champions League match presented a different funny team picture, they’re on a quest for European gold.

The first semi-final of the #CLF4Bucharest will be played Saturday May 5th, at 15.00 CET. For more information, check here.