(Giovanni Armanini for iVolleymagazine.it) Trentino arrives as an underdog in a Champions League final which sees the last two victims of Zaksa, winner in 2021 and 22 against the Italian club and in 2023 against Jastrzebski Wegiel’s compatriots. Fabio Soli’s team is chasing what could be the fourth Champions League in its history after those of 2009, 10 and 11.
Captain Marko Podrascanin is at the last dance and looks with optimism to what for Italy represents the 38th final in the competition with the possibility of winning the title for the 20th time, a sort of second star for the Italian men’s volleyball movement: “The last two times against Zaksa (2021 and 2022, with two defeats in the final) we were the favorite team and we were coming from a period without matches. Luckily this time we always played, we are in shape and growing.” Better not to lose the pace, therefore, and aim for the goal immediately: “Above all, we can’t wait to redeem ourselves after the disappointments. We have to be positive: we did 5 training sessions with the full team and you can feel the difference.” Fabio Soli, on the team’s moment, explained: “It was complicated and we racked our brains not to get out of it, but very positive to bring us here more united and cohesive even if our form isn’t the best.”
Lavia and Sbertoli? “They are. I’m in a positive mood and we’ve managed to put together some good training sessions recently. Today we have to think about what we have, what we have done and what we need to put on the field.”
Another Polish team, therefore, on the road to success, this year it is Wegiel, the newly crowned Polish champion club led on the bench by chasing the seasonal double after losing the national cup against Aluron Warta Zawiercie and having redeemed themselves by winning the championship 2-1 in the series that brought the club their third Polish title in the last 4 years.
Last year Perugia collapsed after Berlin, this year Sbertoli’s injury against Br Volleys has opened a negative phase. Damn Berlin? Coach Fabio Soli accepts the facts but adds what he considers an important part: “It’s true but we must also not forget what this team achieved in difficult conditions, it is an important piece. From that, Berlin qualified for the semi-final and final of the Champions League and was two points away from the Scudetto final in a situation that has never happened to anyone in Italy.”
