Trento, 12 January 2022

CEV Champions League back on stage at BLM Group Arena on Thursday

CEV Champions League back on stage for the second time of this season at BLM Group Arena: the Arena in via Fersina in Trento will hast the third round of Pool E of group stage of the biggest continental tournament on 13 January, that will have Trentino Itas hosting the French of As Cannes Dragons. The starting whistle is at 20.30 in Italy: live on Radio Dolomiti and discovery+.
HERE ITAS TRENTINO After ten days of wait, the yellow-blue team line up is preparing to go back in the court for the seventh international appointment of the season. The match against the Champions of France starts the second half of the week, in which Kaziyski and the teammates are called to win the two scheduled matches (the second one will be played on Sunday and it counts for the quarter final of Coppa Italia) to feed their ambitions in the respective competitions.
“We must not fail this appointment because we know the importance of gaining as many points as possible in this kind of event if we want to pass the round” - said the coach of Trentino Volley Angelo Lorenzetti -. We want to be spotless for the away game of Istanbul at the end of January; we have to gain a full victory in Thursday match to do so, without forgetting the value of French team and the beauty of playing in this competition, given that the participation is not given for granted”.
The coach of the Marches doesn’t have particular line-up problems and he will complete the match training with the sessions of this evening and on Thursday morning. The event coincides with the 70th European home match of Trentino volley’s history, the 49th at BLM Group Arena in Champions League, that has won in forty-two circumstances up to now. The most recent continental presence is dated to 16 December (3-0 over Fenerbahce), which represents the 107th yellow-blue match in the biggest event in Europe.
THE OPPONENTS The current season hasn’t been an easy one for As Cannes Dragons up to now. The team Champion of France in office – that has come back to compete for CEV Champions League this year after ten years of absence thanks to the victory of Scudetto 2021 (2-1 over Chaumont of Prandi) – has lived a period poor in satisfactions up to now, as it is shown by the fourth place in Pool E of the biggest continental tournament and by the last place in the transalpine championship, with just seven points and three victories in sixteen days. The ups and downs period of the red-black team has convinced the Society to change the coach at the moment (Nikola Matijasevic in place of Horacio Dileo) and also some players available of the team. Both Nelli and Fromm have left the Cote d’Azur to go to Vibo, also the other opposite-spiker has departed, the American Menzel. The former Ravenna setter Batak and the champion of high ball Wendt have come to change the situation. The first result of this mini-revolution were achieved in the last round of LNV, played on Saturday 8 January, in which Cannes won the match at the tie break against the penultimate ranked Poitiers. Even though the recent past can say otherwise, the historical society founded in 1942 was able to show itself in the European court, as shown by the third place in Champions League 1982/83 (after Parma and CSKA Mosca), the victory of CEV Cup 1980 (Loreto overcame in final) and CEV Cup Winners Cup 1999, beating an Italian team (Cuneo). As Cannes Drangons team: 1. Aleksa Batak (p), 2. Daniel Gruvaeus (s), 3. Romain Bregent (c), 4. Allan Tschupp (p), 5. David Sossenheimer (s), 6. Rodrigue Manuhalalo (c), 7. Oleksiy Klyamar (s), 8. Danilo Gelinski (p), 9. Danijel Koncilja (c), 10. Okan Demiryurek (l); 11. Wyllan Annicette (s), 12. Krasimir Georgiev (c), 13. Xavier Battelli (c), 14. Jeremie Mouiel (l), 15. Jhon Soane Patita Vaimua Wendt (o), 16. Amusia Tafilagi (o), 17. Filip Cveticanin. Coach Nikola Matijasevic.
SITUATION OF POOL E After having played two of the six rounds in program, the raking of the pool is headed by the full score of Perugia, thanks to the two victories 3-0 over Trento and Cannes, while the second place is shared by Trentino Itas and Fenerbahce (one victory and one defeat in three sets for both); the last is Cannes. The third round will see the first ranked Perugia in playing in an away game in Istanbul this night, allowing Trentino Volley to play its match knowing the result of the other match. The first ranked of the pool will enter the quarter finals of the tournament, the second ranked will have to be among the best three in all the five rounds to do so.
PREVIOUS MATCHES This is the first game against Trentino Volley and As Cannes Dragons, considering that they haven’t had any official previous match before. It will be the 11th match against a French line-up for the yellow-blue Club, taking into account the six matches against Tours (4-2 report), two against Chaumont (1-1) and two against Beauvais (both won): the overall report is seven wins and three defeats. No transalpine team has ever won at BLM Group Arena (5 wins of Trentino’s team in as much matches).
REFEREES The match will be directed by Ricardo Ferreira, the first referee from Porto (Portugal) and by Ivaylo Ivanov (from Sofia, Bulgaria), the only one of the two with previous matches with Trentino Volley in Champions League: win in four set in Belgrade over Stella Rossa in the match of group stage played on 12 December 2012. The Balkan referee has also arbitrated two yellow-blue matches in the recent Club World Championship 2021 in Betim: Foolad Sirjan-Trentino Itas 0-3 on 9 December and Cucine Lube Civitanova-Trentino Itas 3-2 on 11 December.
RADIO AND INTERNET The match will have a full live coverage by Radio Dolomiti, radio partner of Trentino Volley, from 20.30. The frequencies can be found on www.radiodolomiti.com, where it’s possible to listen to the radio commentary in streaming.
It will be also possible to follow the live streaming on “discovery+” buying the package “Entertainment and Sport” (annual subscription for 69,90 euros). For more information www.discoveryplus.it/myaccount/products.
On Internet, the point-by-point updates will be made by the website CEV, (https://cevlive.cev.eu/DV_LiveScore.aspx?ID=46069), from www.trentinovolley.it and by the yellow-blue Social Networks ( www.trentinovolley.it/facebook, www.trentinovolley.it/instagram and www.trentinovolley.it/twitter).
TICKETS AND ENTRANCE PROCEDURE Trentino Volley can accommodate a limited number of spectators in the stands of the Arena of via Fersina for this appointment; everyone must show a SUPER GREEN PASS (Covid-19 Certificate that attests the vaccination or the recovery) and wear ffp2 mask during the time of their visit in the Arena. This is the second match included in the second-round season ticket; the front door to enter in the stands is indicated on the pass. The tickets pre-sale can be purchased clicking on https://trentinovolley.vivaticket.it/it/event/trentino-itas-cannes/174029. The ticket office of BLM Group Arena and the front doors of the arena are open from 19.15.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office