07/12/2019 23:10
European Cups fever mounts for Polish sensation ZAWIERCIE
CEV Volleyball Challenge Cup 2020 - Men
Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland, December 7, 2019. Polish sensation Aluron Virtu CMC ZAWIERCIE are very much looking forward to their historic debut in the European Cups, as they confirmed at a press conference held on Thursday, December 5. After the meeting with the media, players representing the so-called ‘Jurassic Knights’ took to the streets to invite as many as possible to the matchup with Bulgaria’s Hebar PAZARDZHIK, which will take place on Wednesday, December 11 at 17:30 CET.
President Kryspin Baran, head coach Mark Lebedew, team captain Michal Masný, as well as star players Grzegorz Bociek and Nikolay Penchev took part in the press conference.
The President of Aluron Virtu CMC was the first to speak. “The club’s history can be divided into two stages. When we started from the fifth division in the Śląskie Voivodeship, we did not think at all that we would make our debut in the European Cups one day. Such a plan appeared when we decided to declare our will to join PlusLiga. What did not work out was timing – it was to happen much later. We are still analysing what went wrong,” President Baran admitted half-seriously. He also added that Dąbrowa Górnicza was the first choice to host the CEV Challenge Cup matches due to fact that the local sports hall in Zawiercie does not meet CEV requirements. “It is a city that has loved Volleyball for years and that is why it was our first option from the beginning. Discussions were very productive and I would like to thank Mayor Marcin Bazylak for this. Good communication and the fact that Dąbrowa Górnicza is a member in the Union of Jurassic Municipalities were also important. We are happy that we can play here,” said the club president.
Club President Kryspin Baran and head coach Mark Lebedew portrayed during the press conference held in Dąbrowa Górnicza
Coach Lebedew took over the microphone next. “European Cups are one of the highlights for all players and coaches. Especially in a club like us, to reach it for the first time is, firstly, a great achievement for the club and the work of the president and all of the people in the staff, not just this year but for the past eight years. The rules of the CEV Challenge Cup are different from the rules of PlusLiga. When we were composing the team, we had these rules in mind too. This competition is one of the main goals of the club for this season. Not only to play one match in a beautiful stadium and before a big crowd but also to win one round and to go one round more and one round more after that. We are really looking forward to it,” said the Australian coach.
“The first match will be a historic moment for the club, but also for some guys who have not played in the European Cups yet,” added team captain Michal Masný. “We hope that on Wednesday we will all be celebrating a victory,” said the bronze medallist of the 2014 CEV Champions League and semi-finalist of the CEV Challenge Cup a year earlier.
Six players of Aluron Virtu CMC ZAWIERCIE ready to take to the streets to invite local residents to their historic European Cups debut
“We are only playing the third season in PlusLiga and we already have the opportunity to make our debut in Europe,” said Grzegorz Bociek. “European Cups are something completely different than the league so you have to go out and present your best Volleyball,” added the opposite and then gave the microphone to Nikolay Penchev. “In Pazardzhik, they decided a few years ago to build a strong team. There are several names in Hebar that Polish fans should know: Todor Aleksiev, Georgi Bratoev, and Bradley Gunter, who played in Trefl GDANSK and several players with experience from their national teams. They are second in the Bulgarian league and play well, so the game will not be easy. We are lucky to play the first match at home. I hope that we will win in front of our supporters and thanks to that, it will be easier for us in the second leg,” Penchev said about the team from his home country.
After the press conference, six Jurassic Knights took to the streets of Dąbrowa Górnicza. Taichiro Koga, Patryk Czarnowski, Wojciech Ferens, Pieter Verhees, Alexandre Ferreira and Arshdeep Dosanjh invited local residents to the Challenge Cup match coming up on Wednesday.
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