05/11/2019 11:00
Round 2 re-ignites battle for coveted #CLVolleyM group phase spots
CEV Champions League Volley 2020
Luxembourg, November 5, 2019. After the Drawing of Lots held some ten days ago in Sofia, the battle for a spot in the group stage of the CEV Champions League Volley 2020 Men resumes this week with four fixtures scheduled for Round 2. Benfica LISBOA open the programme on Tuesday afternoon when the Portuguese champions host Montenegro’s rookies OK BUDVA. On Wednesday, Shakhtior SOLIGORSK and C.S. Municipal Arcada GALATI will be hosting Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA and Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD before Mladost ZAGREB go for a ‘MEVZA derby’ with SK Zadruga AICH/DOB on Thursday to complete the first set of fixtures in the second round of the competition.
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Mladost ZAGREB (CRO) vs. SK Zadruga AICH/DOB (AUT)
• Mladost ZAGREB are the reigning men’s and women’s Croatian national champions and, together with Fenerbahce, the only club to compete in the CEV Champions League in both genders. Their women’s team lost in Round 2 to Khimik YUZHNY of Ukraine.
• After 19 years of absence, Mladost ZAGREB returned to contest the CEV Champions League for the first time last year.
• The venue Dom odbojke Bojan Stranić is the home of Croatian Volleyball and the only Volleyball-exclusive venue in Croatia.
• Mladost and SK Zadruga AICH/DOB have been playing together for years in the MEVZA League. Ten days ago, they locked horns in Bleiburg, the home venue of AICH/DOB, with Mladost recording a 3-0 victory.
• Back in the 1996/1997 season, Mladost finished third in the former CEV Champions Cup. Mladost’s current sports executive, Darko Antunović, was a player of Mladost at that time.
Toni Kovačević, assistant coach, former player of Mladost and Sisley TREVISO, as well as of the Croatian national team: “After making it through the first round, our appetite has definitely grown and we want to make it to the next round. Our players played the first round very well and that gives us hope for more success but this is a new round and we start again from scratch. We have played with them in the MEVZA League and we won, but it does not mean anything now.”
Ivan Raič, player of Mladost and MVP of the previous two matches with IBB Polonia LONDON: “I hope we will show the same quality as we did in London – a good game and tactically doing everything as we planned. We are definitively awaiting this match in a positive mood. We won against them in the MEVZA League, but that does not have to mean or assure anything. This is a completely new level.”
Benfica LISBOA (POR) vs. OK BUDVA (MNE)
• After securing their spot in Round 2, Benfica claimed another two matches in their national league before the home fixture with OK BUDVA.
• Benfica did not drop a single set in their 1st Round matches with Mladost BRČKO of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Marko Bojic, who previously played for SC Portugal LISBOA, returns to Portugal, but this time wearing the shirt of OK BUDVA.
• The match with OK BUDVA will start at 17:30 pm at Pavilion nº 2 da Luz.
Marc-Anthony Honoré, player of Benfica: “We are preparing so that we are physically well ready for the match. I think it is going to be a high-level game and we are ready to hit the ground running at home. The level of the Champions League is higher, and we need the help of the public to create a great atmosphere. I hope that’s the case on Tuesday.”
Shakhtior SOLIGORSK (BLR) vs. Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA (FIN)
• The last time Shakhtior SOLIGORSK played against a team from Finland was in December 2017 in the CEV Cup, when they beat Hurrikaani LOIMAA 3-0 away and 3-1 at home.
• Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA have an experienced team and they currently top the charts of their national league. Their star players are Olli Kunari, Mikko Oivanen, and Mikko Esko. They all played in some of the leading clubs in Europe earlier in their careers.
• Moreover, SASTAMALA have transferred Erik Sundberg and David Pettersson of Sweden to compose a very balanced group.
• Shakhtior are the reigning national champions of Belarus and they make this season their third appearance in the CEV Champions League. They have never reached the pool stage of the competition.
• The current President of the Belarus Volleyball Federation, Mr Eduard Venski, spent many years in Finland and more precisely at Sastamala, becoming a multiple national champion with that team.
Viktar Beksha, head coach of Shakhtior SOLIGORSK: “I like the passion and energy that my players have shown while preparing for this Champions League Round. Our goal and wish is to deliver a performance that will please the fans in attendance in Minsk.”
C.S. Municipal Arcada GALATI (ROU) vs. Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD (SRB)
• The city of Galati will host the most important sporting event in the last decade. Romanian champions C.S. Municipal Arcada GALATI play on Wednesday, at 17:00 local time, in the Danube Sports Hall, Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD, Serbia’s champions.
• Being the first time in the club’s history they feature in the prime competition in Europe, the team from Galati coached by Sergiu Stancu will face a top opponent, the Serbian national champions. Serbia’s quality speaks for itself as they recently claimed the EuroVolley title, even though all of the starting players from the national team play abroad.
• The atmosphere in the Romanian team is very good; everyone is aware of the opponent’s value and motivated to secure qualification to the next round.
Sergiu Stancu, head coach of C.S. Municipal Arcada GALATI: “Vojvodina is an experienced team that in the last two years missed qualification for the pool stage in the last preliminary round. They are now set to take the next step. Our team has internationally experienced players; we are ready and I believe we have our chances of qualifying for the next round. In my opinion, the order of the matches at this level does not really matter, but on Wednesday, I make a call to all of our supporters. We are proud that, after winning the Championship title last year, we participate in the 2020 edition of the Champions League. We hope that people really come to support us because in these matches the contribution of the fans is very important. We will meet a very important opponent and for the city of Galaţi it is important to participate in a competition of this level.”
Guillermo Hernan Ruperez, captain of C.S. Municipal Arcada GALATI: “We are in a good shape and we will focus on achieving the best possible results from these preliminary rounds. It will not be easy, we have often played with teams from Serbia, they have the mentality of winners who only succumb after the last ball has touched the floor, but we want very much to qualify. We will try to make it to the pool stage of the competition.”
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