26/11/2019 21:00
Last two tickets to #CLVolleyM group stage up for grabs on Wednesday night
CEV Champions League Volley 2020 - Men
Luxembourg, November 26, 2019. It is time for the very last matches separating four teams from reaching the group stage of the CEV Champions League Volley 2020 – Men. Benfica LISBOA and Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD re-start their quest for such a coveted spot from the boost of a 3-0 home victory they claimed last week, but Mladost ZAGREB and Shakhtior SOLIGORSK will be determined to use the home-court advantage to the fullest in order to go for a winner-takes-all Golden Set. As usual, fans will be able to follow the action on the CEV’s very own OTT platform, EuroVolleyTV.
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Mladost ZAGREB (CRO) vs. Benfica LISBOA (POR)
• Mladost is the Croatian national champion both in the men’s and women’s competition, and, together with Fenerbahce, the only club that competes in Champions League in both genders.
• After 19 years of absence, Mladost made their CEV Champions League comeback last year.
• The venue Dom odbojke Bojan Stranić is the home of Croatian Volleyball and the only volleyball-exclusive venue in Croatia.
• Mladost will try to secure their spot in the group stage of the CEV Champions League with the support of a full house.
• In the 1996/1997 season, Mladost finished third in the former Champions Cup. Mladost’s current sports executive, Darko Antunović, played for the team at that time.
Radovan Malević, head coach of Mladost ZAGREB: “We have been preparing ourselves for the match very long - tactically, technically and psychologically. I think this will be one of the factors, which will be having a huge impact on the result. We are doing everything possible within our scope of experience and knowledge so we could prepare ourselves in the best possible way and I am convinced our players will show their best, and I am also sure it will be enough for the victory against a well-organised, experienced and good Benfica team.”
Bernard Bakonji, captain of Mladost: “Unfortunately, we lost 0-3 in Portugal, but nothing is over yet. Our own court will decide who progresses. We fought back well in the last match, but in the key moments their experience prevailed. I am most definitively convinced we will play the best match possible and I hope we will make it to the group phase of the Champions League, which is everyone’s ultimate goal.”
Nuno Pinheiro, player of Benfica: “We had a good game last week. The result was a bit misleading because it was a very tight match with close sets – where we even trailed at some point. It will be more complicated than the first game because Mladost will play at home. They will give their all to get through to the next round, but we believe we are ready. We have experience in these moments since we have several players who have been through this in previous seasons. We must be at our best because Mladost is a very strong team.”
Shakhtior SOLIGORSK (BLR) vs. Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD (SRB)
• Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD sensationally beat C.S. Municipal Arcada GALATI in the 2nd Round after losing the first match in Romania.
• Vojvodina made one further step towards reaching the group stage with a 3-0 home victory over Shakhtior last week in Serbia, standing out especially with their blocking game (12 stuffs vs. only two for their rivals).
• The opposite hitter of Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD Aleksandar Blagojevic is the third best scorer in the competition this far on 62 points. Andrei Radziuk leads the way for Shakhtior with 29 points.
• Vojvodina NS Seme NOVI SAD edged another Belarusian team, Stroitel MINSK, in the semis of the 2015 Challenge Cup, which they eventually won beating Benfica LISBOA in the finals.
Viktar Beksha, head coach of Shakhtior SOLIGORSK: “We have drawn conclusions from the mistakes that we made in Novi Sad. We need to improve our block and defence. We will try to please our fans with a great game against Vojvodina.”
Sinisa Gavrancic, head coach of Vojvodina: “We expect to play better in Minsk than we did at home; we are preparing for that and I believe that with a good game, a serious approach, courage, we can reach the group stage of the Champions League. It would be a great success. Their advantage is that they play at home but we are ready for a big fight. I think my players showed character, they already had some important matches, even situations where they were able to turn the tide. We are especially optimistic after the first duel, we saw that we could beat them, but of course there is no relaxation.”
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