Hämeenlinna, Finland, February 21, 2017. The 8th Final matchup against HPK HÄMEENLINNA was thought to be just another step towards the CEV Volleyball Cup finals for Pomì CASALMAGGIORE from the moment the draw was made. So after securing a 3–0 victory in Cremona the Italians can be confident of a quarterfinal spot, but HPK are still looking towards a European Cup final of their own.
On Wednesday, the titleholders of CEV Volleyball Champions League, Pomì CASALMAGGIORE will have a comfortable situation on their route to silverware in the CEV Cup, as the huge favourites beat HPK HÄMEENLINNA 3-0 in the first leg of the 8th Finals tie and travel now to Finland this week for the return leg.
Anything but a similar score would be at least a little surprising, the Italian head coach of HPK, Luca Chiappini confirmed. Therefore the nature of the match is very different for HPK compared to their other home games of the season. CASALMAGGIORE will bring something special to HÄMEENLINNA’s Elenia Areena: a glimpse of Volleyball from the top of the world.
For the hosting team itself, the second leg is basically an opportunity to gather experience as the visit to Italy was. However, now the Finnish audience also gets the chance to be part of a world-class Volleyball event.
“We are talking about creating something in order to improve the interest of local people towards Volleyball and especially women’s Volleyball,” Luca Chiappini explains.
The HPK coach is also happy to welcome his colleague, CASALMAGGIORE trainer Giovanni Caprara to Hämeenlinna. Chiappini got acquainted with Caprara at the start of his coaching career and have remained relatively close since.
“I know Giovanni quite well because Italian coaches like to talk. He was coaching in Bergamo while I was in Novara. He’s a great coach. Of course playing against him is a special experience to me. It’s an opportunity to learn for sure.”
In Wednesday’s fixture, the home club might have a little better chances to challenge Pomì than in the first leg. Despite playing quite a lot of matches, HPK have had their eyes on the game which will be a moral European Cup final to them. Meanwhile CASALMAGGIORE, standing second in Italian Serie A1, will play their Champions League attending rivals Liu Jo Nordmeccanica MODENA on Saturday.
Nevertheless, it will take a lot from the team that dominates the Finnish league to stop Carli Lloyd, Samanta Fabris and the other CASALMAGGIORE stars – or their possible replacements.
“We cannot compare the level of the two teams. Of course we are fighting for different goals here. We are going to play the best Volleyball that is possible in these conditions. Also we are going to enjoy Volleyball as I always ask my team to,” Chiappini lightens the pressure for the underdogs.