01/02/2014 09:23
Czech champions look forward to welcoming Turkey’s standout Fenerbahce
2014 CEV Volleyball Cup - Women
Prostejov, Czech Republic, February 1, 2014. The fans of Agel PROSTEJOV experienced some splendid Volleyball battles already in the prelims of this year’s CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League where the Czech champions played Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL and RC CANNES. And the upcoming clash in the Challenge Round of the 2014 CEV Volleyball Cup is not less attractive. The ladies from Prostejov are going to cross their ways with Fenerbahce SK ISTANBUL, a team that can be compared to both above mentioned top sides from the Champions League. This exciting match is scheduled for Tuesday, February 4, at 5.30 p.m. at DDM Sports Centre in Prostejov.
Agel PROSTEJOV made it to the top eight of Europe’s second finest competition as the third-ranked team from the Champions League – Pool D (the Czechs left Germany's SCHWERINER SC at the bottom of the charts). On the other hand, Fenerbahce made it to the CEV Cup Challenge Round by outclassing three different rivals, so the Turks seem to be the hottest candidates for gold, which is not beyond expectations at all if you look at their roster packed with amazing world-class players.
“Fenerbahce is one of the super clubs from Istanbul and its roster is very strong especially thanks to four individual stars. The first one is Korean-born spiker Yeon-Koung Kim who is probably the best-paid Volleyball player in the world. The other leading players are Czech-born opposite Aneta Havlickova, one of the best players in the Czech national team, Alisha Glass, the first setter in the U.S. national team, and middle blocker Christina Bauer, the best French player at the moment. Plus there is one player from Brazil and several players from Turkey, that means they are probably as strong as some of the top Champions League teams,” says Miroslav Cada, the head coach of Agel PROSTEJOV.
If you make a comparison with the Champions League teams to whom PROSTEJOV suffered a defeat earlier this season, Fenerbahce is definitely a heavyweight as well. “To my view Eczacibasi, RC CANNES and Fenerbahce are more or less at the same level, which is the highest level on the international club scene. If Fenerbahce could play the Champions League, they would immediately become one of the candidates to make the Final Four. Therefore it is obvious that they are the hot favorite in the Challenge Round of the CEV Volleyball Club and that they are probably going to claim the title,” adds Miroslav Cada.
Being realistic, Agel PROSTEJOV has a very difficult starting position in the upcoming double match. “To say the truth, I am quite worried about these two matches. We would mainly like to make the home match as close as possible and make it really difficult for the extremely strong opponent, but I have a feeling that this will be immensely hard. Hopefully we will be lucky and deliver a good performance in order to avoid a crushing defeat,” says the Czech mentor, commenting the match. Is Agel able to cause a sensation and cruise to a victory? “Everything is possible in sports. And, as we have nothing to lose, the only thing we can do is to go for a surprise. However, with a realistic view, the quality of Fenerbahce is tremendously high and, if the opponent does not underestimate anything, it is very unlikely to make a sensation, but we will definitely give it a try,” stresses Cada.
The CEV Cup Challenge Round represents another big feast for the club in their 2013/2014 Volleyball campaign as well as for their fans. “Every international match, especially when the rival is a standout, is a big event and an indisputable benefit for us. I believe that our team and our fans will have a great time and that we will leave the court with our heads up,” Cada concludes.
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