The Final Report
The 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women and Men, which came to an end with the two impressive Final Four tournaments in Baku and in Ankara, marked another great season of Europe’s most prestigious club competition. Volleyball of the highest quality was once again the most important feature of CEV’s flagship event to draw the attention of media, sponsors and, most importantly, fans across the world.
Indeed, a total of well over 400 thousand spectators came to the volleyball halls to enjoy the 200 matches in the men’s and women’s Champions League and cheer for their favorite teams and stars from the stands. An average of 2,177 fans attended the men’s games. The women’s games attracted an average audience of 1,862 people.
Naturally, the most attended matches were those of the home teams during the two Final Four tournaments. Rabita BAKU and Halkbank ANKARA’s performances at the magnificent Crystal Hall and Baskent Hall, respectively, drew the attention of about 7 thousand volleyball lovers each. Very close to that figure was the size of the crowd at the men’s Playoff 12 first-leg match between BERLIN Recycling Volleys and Zenit KAZAN. The number of fans who flocked to the Max Schmeling Halle in the German capital was registered at 6,349. BERLIN was in fact the team that attracted the most spectators to its home games – an average of 4,691 per match. On the women’s side the same bragging rights go to Russia’s Omichka OMSK REGION with an average audience of 4,524 people.
The Champions League continued to generate extensive international interest from television stations across the globe. The women’s final was broadcast in 94 countries. The men’s decisive battles in Ankara were televised in 92 countries. Of course, on a truly global scale, all 200 Champions League matches in both genders were available free of charge to all internet users on the international sports online television platform LAOLA1.tv.
Having managed to sustain its tremendous popularity, Europe’s strongest club competition continues to be an attractive investment for those companies looking to associate their names with the dynamic and positive image the sport of volleyball promotes. The 2014 season was marked by the new title sponsor DenizBank, appearing in the competition’s official name. This will continue to be the case in at least the next two seasons as well, as DenizBank and CEV have entered a three-year long partnership.
“We are drawing the line at the end of a very successful season in terms of attendance, TV coverage and quality of the matches,” CEV President André Meyer stated. “Our partnership with DenizBank testifies that our Confederation continues to evolve with the times. We follow the trends of international markets and we are confident that with the help of our title sponsor we will keep our focus on quality making sure that the competition lives up to the high expectations.”
Russia is the country which should be most proud of its teams’ results this season. The domination they established on the volleyball court was evident, with both Champions League cups travelling to the world’s largest country. By winning the 2014 men’s edition, Belogorie BELGOROD not only added a third trophy to its glamorous record, but also extended Russia’s reign to a third consecutive year after Zenit KAZAN won in 2012 and Lokomotiv NOVOSIBIRSK took the victory in 2013. With this, Russia won the men’s competition for a record 6th time in the fourteen editions since the Champions League was launched in the 2000 – 2001 season, and a record 19th time since 1959 when the first European Champions Cup was held, thus topping closest rival Italy by one on both counts. In the meantime, Dinamo KAZAN became the first team to take the women’s Champions League title to Russia putting an end to the three-year winning streak of Turkish clubs. Indeed, it is now 25 times in history that teams from Russia became club champions of Europe, but this has not happened since 1995, when Uralochka EKATERINBURG claimed the European Champions Cup.
The Men’s Final 4 Results
Final Ranking:
Gold: Belogorie Belgorod (Russia)
Silver: Halkbank Ankara (Turkey)
Bronze: Jastrzębski Węgiel (Poland)
4th: Zenit Kazań (Russia)
Best Players:
Most Valuable Player: Sergey Tetyukhin (Belogorie Belgorod)
Fair Play Award: Alexander Vołkov (Zenit Kazań)
Best Setter: Raphael (Halkbank Ankara)
Best Scorer: Michał Łasko (Jastrzębski Węgiel)
Best Blocker: Dimitriy Muserskiy (Belogorie Belgorod)
Best Spiker: Maxim Michaylov (Zenit Kazań)
Best Server: Emre Batur (Halkbank Ankara)
Best Libero: Damian Wojtaszek (Jastrzębski Węgiel)
Best Receiver: Matey Kaziyski (Halkbank Ankara)
Men: The Final Battles
March 23rd, 2014
Bronze Medal Match: Click Here To Watch Zenit Kazan VS Jastrzebski Wegiel
Gold Medal Match: Click Here To Watch Belgorod VS Halkbank Ankara
Relentless Belogorie BELGOROD prolong Russian supremacy
Russia’s supremacy in international competitions was cemented once more on Sunday at the Baskent Volleyball Hall where Belogorie BELGOROD lived up to their status to strike their third crown in the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League after claiming a stellar final match where they edged past hosts Halkbank ANKARA (3:1; 25-18, 21-25, 25-16, and 27-25). With this victory Belogorie emulates Italy’s TRENTINO Volley, the sole club whose showcase also includes three titles in Europe’s elite club competition. This way Belogorie also got the right to represent Europe at the 2014 FIVB Club World Championship which is due to take place through May 6-11 in Betim, Brazil.
Belogorie – whose previous titles dated back to 2003 and 2004 – prolonged Russia’s rule in the CEV Volleyball Champions League. Russian teams have indeed won the cup in the last three straight seasons. The hosts of Halkbank ANKARA could be proud of their performance also since their silver medal stands at Turkey’s best result in this competition since its inception 14 years ago.
JASTRZEBSKI edge former champions Zenit to strike first CL medal
The second day of action at the Final Four Tournament of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men got started with Poland’s JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel surprisingly edging past former winners Zenit KAZAN in four sets (25-21, 20-25, 25-17, and 25-23). The Tatars disappointed even more than they had done in Saturday’s semi-final with their compatriots of Belogorie; JASTRZEBSKI, on the other hand, did not miss the chance to claim their first CL medal thereby improving on the fourth place they had to be content with at the 2011 Finals in Bolzano, Italy.
This is also JASTRZEBSKI best result in the European Cups, taking into account that the team from Silesia had medalled only once before, winning silver in the 2009 edition of the Challenge Cup. JASTRZEBSKI also have a silver medal from the 2011 FIVB Club World Championship on their resume. As for Zenit, the Tatars missed out on a medal for the first time since 2010, thus completely failing to emulate the ladies of Dinamo KAZAN who last week had won the women’s title in Baku.
The Men’s Semifinals
March 22nd, 2014
Click here to Watch Zenit Kazan VS Belogorie Belogrod
Click here to Watch Halkbank Ankara VS Jastrzebski Wegiel
Belogorie claims Russian derby to vie for third CL crown
After claiming the derby with Zenit KAZAN by 3:1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-18, and 25-17), on Sunday Belogorie BELGOROD will vie for their third title in the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men in an attempt to add another trophy to those already won in 2003 and 2004 so as to emulate Italy’s TRENTINO Volley, the sole team with three accolades from Europe’s elite club competition. There will be even more at stake on Sunday at Baskent Volleyball Hall since the winner of this year’s CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League will once again get the right to represent Europe at the FIVB Club World Championship due to take place through May 6-11 in Betim, Brazil.
Halkbank one step away from home glory
Halkbank ANKARA made on Saturday a first step on their way to write history for Turkish Volleyball. The team captained by Matey Kaziyski routed Poland’s JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, and 25-19) in the second semi-final to get the right to challenge Belogorie BELGOROD in the final match of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League coming up on Sunday at 5 pm local time. This already stands as Turkey’s best result in the competition since its inception back in the 2000/2001 season. On Sunday the players mentored by Radostin Stoytchev will try to add another chapter to their success story by winning a title that a whole country has been waiting for since a few months. If they succeed and accomplish their mission, they will also get the right to represent Europe at the 2014 FIVB Men’s Club World Championship due to take place in early May in Betim, Brazil.
A Prelude To The Men’s Final 4
The Baskent Hall
The Baskent Volleyball Hall in Ankara will be in the spotlight this weekend as the Final Four Tournament of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men will be taking place in Turkey’s capital city. The organisers are fine tuning their preparations for this much anticipated weekend where the trophy of Europe’s most coveted competition will be at stake. Baskent Hall – which is situated at the very heart of a Volleyball campus established by the Turkish Volleyball Federation – is dressed up with huge billboards advertising the Final Four Tournament where Halkbank hopes to turn into the first men’s team from Turkey to seize the cup.
Final Four Tournament to be televised in 92 countries all over the world.
The Final Four Tournament of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men coming up this weekend at Baskent Volleyball Hall in Ankara will be broadcast on 92 countries around the world. Such figures testify once more the value and appeal of Europe’s elite club competition whose final act will be followed on site by more than 100 journalists.
Maxim Mikhaylov – We want to repeat Dinamo’s success
he Final Four weekend will get started on Saturday with an all-Russian derby starring Zenit KAZAN and Belogorie BELGOROD. After losing in straight sets to Belogorie in the semis of the Russian Cup played in late January, Zenit will be trying to avenge that defeat in order to make the final and have a shot at the trophy. “Actually this season we have lost three times to Belogorie but twice at the tie-break,” Mikhaylov recalls. “However, every match is different. We know each other really well and our coaches will have to explore new ways, to invent something that will surprise our opponent. The team that is in the best shape will claim that semi-final on Saturday. We are preparing very intensively for this game and our only goal is to edge past Belogorie in order to play the final.”
Maxim embodies the quintessence of a professional player who is always fully focused on his duties and prepares for all matches with the greatest attention. “Well, this focus comes from the fact that Volleyball is my favourite work. Every time I want to perform the best I can and please my fans. However, sometimes you also need some distraction. For this reason I go to the cinema with my girlfriend, or chat with friends on social networks or simply go for a walk during my days off. I also love watching and following other sports; right now the Gagarin Cup in ice hockey is running and I am supporting Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. I have been a fan of this team since I played there for Yaroslavich and have remained loyal to them ever since.”
“Seymen” Raphael determined to go for yet another title.
Raphael Vieira de Oliveira will be chasing this coming weekend his third title in Europe’s elite competition, the CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League. The Brazilian-born setter of Halkbank was indeed a member of Italy’s TRENTINO Volley by the time this team won the trophy in 2010 and 2011 before settling for bronze in 2012.
Last summer Raphael – as he is known among all Volleyball fans – was transferred to Ankara alongside another three star players of TRENTINO Volley – Matey Kaziyski, Osmany Juantorena and Mitar Tzourits. Their goal now is to prolong their success story in the CEV Volleyball Champions League by claiming the first crown in this competition for a men’s team from Turkey.
On Tuesday Raphael attended a press conference organized at the headquarters of Halkbank showing up dressed like a “seymen”, i.e. a member of a traditional militia from Central Anatolia. Raphael – who looked very happy and at ease during the photo session that followed the meeting with many local media – said that the team is working very hard in order to win the cup.
“We have been working really hard in order to get ready for this tournament,” said the 34-year old native of Sao Joao del Rei. “I feel honored with being once again involved in one of the world’s most prestigious and greatest Volleyball events. Though I am not Turkish, I feel as proud and excited as the local members of our team. There is no doubt that we want to perform our best and win the cup.”
This quest for gold will start on Saturday as Halkbank plays Poland’s JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel in the second semi-final scheduled for 5 pm local time. Raphael reckons the importance of the support from the local fans in order to make the final and play there the winner of the Russian derby starring Zenit KAZAN and Belogorie BELGOROD: “The semi-final will be a tough match but we are all very concentrated and determined to make the final,” he concludes.
Discovering Ankara’s “Volleyball Boulevard”
The Final Four Tournament of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men is being extensively promoted in Turkey’s capital city. One of the real landmarks of this extensive promotional campaign can be found just nearby the Baskent Volleyball Hall and the campus owned by the Turkish Volleyball Federation that bears the same name.
The Women’s Final 4 Results
Final Ranking:
Gold: Dinamo Kazan (Russia)
Silver: Vakifbank (Turkey)
Bronze: Rabita Baku (Azerbaijan)
4th: Eczacibasi (Turkey)
Best Players
Fair Play Award: Naz Aydemir (Vakifbank)
Best Setter: Nootsara Tomkom (Rabita Baku)
Best Scorer: Ekaterina Gamova (Dinamo Kazan)
Best Blocker: Jordan Larson (Dinamo Kazan)
Best Spiker: Neslihan Demir (Eczacibasi)
Best Server: Antonella Del Core (Dinamo Kazan)
Best Libero: Brenda Castillo (Rabita Baku)
Best Receiver: Carolina Costagrande (Vakifbank)
Most Valuable Player: Ekaterina Gamova (Dinamo Kazan)
Women: The Final Battle Replay Links
Click Here To Watch The Bronze Medal Match Rabita Baku VS Eczacibasi
Click Here To Watch The Gold Medal Match Vakifbank VS Dinamo Kazan
Bronze consolation for Rabita at home Final Four
Rabita BAKU claimed the bronze medals of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women. The Azerbaijani champions shut out Turkey’s Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL by 3:0 (25-21, 25-12, 27-25) in Sunday’s classification match of the home Final Four tournament at the Crystal Hall to find some consolation after their heavy semifinal loss.
The Women’s Semifinals
Click HERE To Watch The Vakifbank VS Eczacibasi Semifinal Match
Click HERE To Watch The Rabita Baku VS Dinamo Kazan Semifinal Match
VakifBank to defend its Champions League title in Sunday’s final.
The reigning champions of VakifBank ISTANBUL secured an opportunity to defend their title in tomorrow’s final of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women in Baku. The team of head coach Giovanni Guidetti won the all-Turkish semifinal against city rivals of Ecsacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL by 3:1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-17) cheered on by 6000 volleyball spectators at the magnificent Crystal Hall in the Azerbaijani capital.
Dinamo disappoints Baku home crowd by claiming the last spot in final.
Dinamo KAZAN will challenge the reigning champions of VakifBank ISTANBUL in Sunday’s final of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Women in Azerbaijan. The home crowd at the sold-out Crystal Hall was disappointed to miss out on a dream first continental title for their favorites from Rabita BAKU as the Russian squad crushed their hopes in straight sets – 3:0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-19), in the second semifinal on Saturday evening.
The Final 4 Teams (Men & Women)
This is going to be one of the MOST STAR STUDDED club volleyball tournaments ever!
Stars like Maxim Mikhaylov, Matt Anderson & Nikola Grbic for Zenit Kazan, Matey Kaziyski , Osmany Juantorena & Raphael for Halkbank, Michal Lasko & Michal Kubiak for Wegiel and Dmitriy Muserskiy, Sergey Tetyukhin, Gerog Grozer & Dragan Travica for Belgorod.
The women’s Final 4 will also showcase some of the world’s best player like Kasia Skowronska & Nootsara Tomkom for Rabita Baku, Neslihan Darnel and Maja Poljak for Eczacıbaşı, Ekaterian Gamova & Jordan Larson for Dinamo Kazan, Jovana, Brakocevic, Naz Aydemir, Gozde Sonsirma & Carolina Costagrande for Vakifbank.
Dinamo vs Rabita and VakifBank vs Eczacibasi confirmed as the semifinals in Baku.
With Turkish Eczacibasi VitrA ISTANBUL claiming the last spot in the semifinals of the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League on Thursday evening, the line-up for the Final Four tournament to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on March 15 and 16 is now complete. In one of the semifinals Eczacibasi will face their compatriots from VakifBank ISTANBUL. The other will see organizers Rabita BAKU entertain the Russian powerhouse Dinamo KAZAN.
The clash between VakifBank and RC CANNES was by far the most exciting one in the Playoff 6 stage of the competition. Having lost by 1:3 in the first leg in Istanbul, the French standout started off on the wrong foot by losing the first set at home, but then came back strong for a 3:1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-22) victory over the strong opponent, who recently came out of an impressive 73-match winning streak. However, the Turkish side demonstrated its power during the Golden Set and after a superb volleyball game won it by 15-12.
Russia’s champions Dinamo KAZAN got the right to participate in the Final Four for the second time in their history and will try to improve on the bronze medal they claimed two years ago, also in Baku. Similar to the first leg of their Playoff 6 duel with Switzerland’s Volero ZÜRICH, Dinamo allowed the opponent one set in the return match at home, but not more – 3:1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21). “I am very satisfied with the performance of my players who did what they had to and booked their ticket to the Finals,” noted Dinamo head coach Rishat Gilyazutdinov. “However, the victory we claimed is only a minor achievement on our way to the final match.” Volero captain Mira Golubovic commented: “I am quite happy with the performance we showed. We have a very young team and this participation in the Champions League has been a great experience for our young players.”
1500 spectators gathered in Istanbul to witness the match between Eczacibasi VitrA and Omichka OMSK REGION and help their home heroines on the way to the Final Four. And so they did. The Turkish team comfortably cruised to a 3:0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-16) final score to triumph victorious over its Russian opponent. Eczacibasi’s star player Neslihan Demir delivered a fantastic performance, especially from the serving line as she contributed as many as 7 aces to her total tally of 18 points that made her the best scorer of the match.
Click here for more info including results, stats, photos and much more.
Teams from Russia and Poland join Halkbank for Final Four showdown in Ankara.
An all-Russian duel between Belogorie BELGOROD and Zenit KAZAN has been set as one of the semifinal clashes in the 2014 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League – Men. The organizer of the Final Four tournament Halkbank ANKARA will have yet another encounter with its League Round Pool F acquaintance JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel from Poland in the other semifinals. The two games that will determine this season’s Champions League finalists are to take place in the Turkish capital on March 22, with the classification and the title matches scheduled for the following day.
The teams winning, all in straight sets, the first-leg matches in the Playoff 6 stage of the competition achieved victories in the return games as well, with only Wegiel allowing one set to their compatriots from Asseco Resovia RZESZOW in the Polish derby. On Tuesday evening the guys in orange jerseys claimed a 3:1 (27-25, 23-25, 26-24, 26-24) victory to disappoint the home crowd in Rzeszow. The players of JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel will try to improve on the fourth place they took back in 2011 as the last act of Europe’s elite competition was held in Bolzano, Italy. According to Resovia captain Aleh Akhrem, “the match was very close but the opponents were simply better.” “In Rzeszow we showed our best performance and I hope we can show that same quality at the Finals in Ankara,” said Michal Lasko, Wegiel’s top scorer of the match.
On Wednesday night Zenit routed visiting Copra Elior PIACENZA in straight sets, 3:0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-22), after it had already done so a week earlier in Italy. As the Russian giant managed to make it to the Final Four for the fourth consecutive season, the players mentored by Vladimir Alekno will be vying for their third title after they already topped the charts back in 2008 and 2012. “I am pretty happy with the way my players performed and very grateful to the fans who really galvanized our team tonight,” said Alekno with a reference to the 4100 supporters who were in attendance at the St. Petersburg hall. “It was a tough game, but every time the score got closer we managed to change our pace and bring it home,” the top scorer of the match, Maxim Mikhailov, added. “As of tomorrow, we will start our preparations for the Final Four.”
In the other Russian-Italian Playoff 6 duel, Belogorie BELGOROD had a relatively short stop in Trento on the way to Ankara. The Russian team took 74 minutes to provide Italy’s Diatec TRENTINO with a second shut-out, this time by 3:0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22), and eliminate the three-time European and four-time world champions from further participation. “I tried everything I could to fight back, but against teams like this, it is quite useless. If we had had our best players with us, maybe the story could have been different,” stated TRENTINO’s head coach Roberto Serniotti. “We took advantage of the absence of some injured players, but sometimes volleyball goes like this. For our club it is a very important goal, which Belogorie has not reached for many years,” the Russian team’s setter Dragan Travica commented.
Click here for more info including results, stats, photos and much more.
It’s quite sad that for the first time in a long time, Italy will NOT be represented in the Men’s and Women’s Final 4.
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