Trento, 01 May 2024

Champions League, statistical notes and curiosities before the Final in Antalya

Some statistics and curiosities before the 2024 CEV Champions League Final (Antalya, 5th May)

Head-to-head
·    TRENTINO Itas and JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel will meet for the second time in the Champions League, after they faced each other in the 2010/11 semi-finals. On 26 March 2011, TRENTINO Itas (then known as TRENTINO BetClic) beat JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel 3-0 in Bolzano, Italy. The set results were 25-16, 27-25 and 25-22.
·    These two clubs also met in the final of the 2011 Club World Championship. The Italians beat the Poles 3-1 in Doha, Qatar.
·    The men's Champions League final will be contested between teams from Italy and Poland for a third time. Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE beat TRENTINO Itas in 2020/21 (3-1) and 2021/22 (3-0).
·    TRENTINO Itas faced Polish opposition on the road to this final. In the group stage, the Italians beat Asseco Resovia RZESZÓW 3-0 away but lost 2-3 at home.
·    JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel eliminated an Italian side on the road to the this final: Gas Sales Daiko PIACENZA in the quarter-finals (2-3 loss in Italy, 3-0 win in Poland).
·    TRENTINO Itas have a W13-L8 record against Polish opposition in the Champions League. JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel have a W5-L6 record against Italian teams in this competition.
·    The men's Champions League final will take place in Türkiye for the second time. Halkbank ANKARA lost the 2013/14 final 1-3 to Belogorie BELGOROD in their home town.

TRENTINO Itas
·    TRENTINO Itas have reached the Champions League final for the seventh time. The only other team to have contested the men's final more than three times is Zenit KAZAN (8).
·    TRENTINO Itas won each of their first three Champions League finals, but have lost all three since. Only Zenit KAZAN (6) have won the Champions League more than three times.
·    TRENTINO Itas lifted the Champions League trophy in three consecutive editions: in 2008/09 (as TRENTINO Volley), 2009/10 (as TRENTINO BetClic) and 2010/11 (as TRENTINO BetClic). The Italians were runners-up in 2015/16 (as TRENTINO Diatec), 2020/21 and 2021/22.
·    Only Iraklis THESSALONIKI (3, 2004/2005, 2005/06 and 2008/09) have lost as many men's Champions League finals as TRENTINO Itas (3).
·    Only one of TRENTINO Itas' previous six Champions League finals went to five sets: a 2-3 defeat as TRENTINO Diatec versus Zenit KAZAN in 2015/16.
·    None of the players in the current TRENTINO Itas roster has ever won the Champions League.
·    Kamil Rychlicki (son to Polish parents) is TRENTINO Itas' top scorer in the 2023/24 Champions League on 152 points (4.47 set average).
·    Alessandro Michieletto scored 37 points (5.29 set average) in this season's semi-finals versus Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA, only trailing Aleksandar Nikolov (44 versus TRENTINO Itas) for most in this round.

JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel
·    JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel have reached the Champions League final for a second time. Last season, Marcelo Méndez' men lost 2-3 to compatriots Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE in Turin (12-15 in the fifth set).
·    JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel can become the second Polish club to win the men's Champions League, after Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE triumphed in each of the last three seasons.
·    Poland (3) can become the second country to win the men's Champions League four times in a row, after Russia (seven times in a row from 2011/12 to 2017/18).
·    JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel have played two five-set matches in this season's Champions League: lost versus Gas Sales Daiko PIACENZA in the quarter-finals first leg (11-15 in fifth set) and won versus Ziraat Bank ANKARA in the semi-finals second leg (15-7 in the fifth set).
·    Stéphen Boyer (20), Trévor Clévenot (18), Tomasz Fornal (16) and Jurij Gladyr (11) were the JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel players to record more than 10 points in last season's Champions League final.
·    Fornal leads JASTRZEBSKI Wegiel in scoring in this season's Champions League on 139 points (4.09 set average). In last season's CL, only Boyer (161) recorded as many points for the club as Fornal (150, set average of 4.05).
·    Jean Patry (31, one more than Fornal) was the team's leading scorer in this season's semi-finals versus Ziraat Bank ANKARA. Patry (6.2) and Fornal (6) had the highest points per set average of all players in the semi-finals.
·    Norbert Huber beat his current club in last season's Champions League final with Grupa Azoty KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE. Huber scored eight points in that final, including four kill blocks.

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