16/11/2019 12:00
Volei Alba BLAJ ready for #CLVolleyW
CEV Champions League Volley 2020 - Women
Blaj, Romania, November 16, 2019. C.S.M. Volei Alba BLAJ are ready for a new European season and very excited about their return to the group stage of the CEV Champions League Volley. The Romanian champions are making their fifth appearance in the prime European competition and hope for another memorable international season, after reaching the gold medal match of the CEV Champions League and of the CEV Cup in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
The roster has undergone quite a few changes and is now a blend of youth and experience, including rising stars of European Volleyball and other, already well-established players. Darko Zakoč, the head coach of the Romanian team, believes that his players have the ability to finish the group in second place, the goal being to secure four wins from their pool matches.
The Serbian coach spoke before the first Champions League season opener, revealing his team’s strengths and weaknesses: “We are ahead of a new European season, the ambitions remain the same; after the Drawing of Lots, it is evident that CONEGLIANO are the clear favourites in the pool, since they are one of the main contenders for the trophy. In this group, considering the value of the respective rosters, I think we are the favourites to finish second, which is the most wanted position in the pool. It will not be easy, because, at least for the beginning, we have a problem with the national championship, where we have been playing against teams that are not up to the top European level we will deal with in the Champions League.”
“The match with NANTES VB is the first hard test we have this season,” he continued, “a match in which we can figure out where we stand at this moment. I have followed the French team, it is a quality team, but I think if we play as we can, we can win and start the European season in the best way possible. This is why we have to play better than we did in the championship games; we have to remain focused and offer quality Volleyball, without making any unforced mistakes. If we do that, we will win a very important first match for us.”
The first match of the Romanian champions in this year’s edition of the Champions League will be taking place on Tuesday evening, November 19, in France, against NANTES VB.
This season, C.S.M. Volei Alba BLAJ have played five matches in the domestic championship, and have comfortably won all of them.
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