Trento, 16 February 2023

Champions League, infos and fun facts about the after the quarter finals pairings

Some statistics and curious infos concerning the yellow-blue team that emerged after the settings of the 2023 CEV Champions League quarterfinal pairings.

KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE TO... KĘDZIERZYN-KOŹLE. Playing two consecutive matches in two separate phases of the same European competition against the same opponent represents a unique not only for Trentino Volley but also for the CEV Champions League, which will indeed take place in Kędzierzyn-Koźle next March 8th (still provisional date), when the first leg match between Grupa Azoty and Trentino Itas will be played. In this tournament, the last game for the yellow-blue line-up dates back to January 25th (3-2 victory) at the Azoty Arena.

SAME OPPONENT IN TWO DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE TOURNAMENT AS IN THE 2010 AND 2022 EDITIONS. Facing the same opponent twice in two different stages of the same European event, as it will happen for the quarterfinal between Kędzierzyn-Koźle and Trento, represents a rather unusual situation. However, it is not a "first time" situation for Trentino Volley; it had in fact already happened in the 2010 edition (when the yellow-blue team faced Dinamo Moscow in the group stage and then in the Final in Lodz) and in the 2022 edition (with Perugia, faced in the group stage and then in the semifinals). On both occasions, the Trener Street’s club made it to the Final of that edition.

SIMILARITIES TO THE 2021 AND 2022 RANKINGS. For the third edition in a row, three teams find themselves in the same upper part of the quarter final draw: Perugia, Berlin and Trento. In the previous two editions, it had been the yellow-blue team who had challenged the Germans players, always qualifying to the round and thereby finding themselves against Perugia in the semifinals; in this case it will be the Umbrians players who will face the German champions, but potentially the Italian derby could come up again in the next round if Trentino Itas and Sir Sicoma Monini will pass the round.

QUALIFICATION AFTER THE QUARTERFINALS IN SEVEN OUT OF TEN CASES. In the previous eleven Champions League participations, Trentino Volley has always managed to enter the final draw of the event, hitting the quarterfinals qualification in no less than ten cases (until the 2018 edition, the round of 16 was also scheduled, then canceled and returned in the calendar just in this season). In the 2013 edition, the only year in which the path of the Trener Street’s club was stopped in the round of 16, as the team was eliminated by Dinamo Moscow at the Golden Set. On the other hand, in seven out of ten cases, the yellow-blue team has passed the quarterfinal hurdle, thus landing in the semifinals: 2009, 2010, 2011 editions (all three ended with the final victory of the trophy), 2012 (third place), 2016, 2021 and 2022 (second place).

FOURTH TIME IN POLAND IN THE MONTH OF MARCH FOR THE YELLOW-BLUE CLUB. The quarter final first leg match, should be played immediately between March 7th and 9th, will renew the tradition for Trentino Volley away matches to Poland in March. In this nation during the third month of the calendar year, the Trener Street’s society had already played in 2009 (March 4th, 3-1 win in Czestochowa), 2010 (March 9th, 3-1 win in Rzeszow) and 2012 (March 17th and 18th, in Lodz with 1-3 defeat in the semifinals against Kazan and 3-0 victory in the Final for third place against Izmir).

MATCH AGAINST A POLISH TEAM IN THE QUARTERFINALS AS IN 2009 AND 2010. For Trentino Volley, the one against Kędzierzyn-Koźle will be the third ever CEV Champions League quarter final confrontation against a Polish team.The two previous ones were definitely positive, all marked by the qualification to the semifinals: 2009 edition with Domex Tytan Czestochowa and in the 2010 edition with Asseco Resovia Rzeszow.

TO THE QUARTERFINALS WITHOUT DEFEAT AS IN 2009 AND 2021. Trentino Itas will arrive at the quarterfinals on the strength of their unbeaten season in 2023 CEV Champions League. Indeed, the yellow-blue team have won all six matches played in Pool D, leaving their opponents just four sets (three just to Kędzierzyn-Koźle and one to Karlovarsko). In previous editions, it had happened only twice that Trener Street’s club reached the quarterfinals without losing a single match in the current edition of the Champions League: 2009 (eight consecutive victories) 2021 (nine victories).

THE NUMBERS IN EUROPEAN CUPS. Taking into account all European competitions played, Trentino Volley in March in Kędzierzyn-Koźle will play its 162nd match in CEV competitions: the tally is 128 wins (65 in Trento, 63 away matches) and 33 losses (27 in Champions League, 5 in CEV and 1 in Top Teams Cup). The most frequently achieved result is 3-0, happening in 48.4 percent of cases (78 matches, 31 of them were away matches); the one that occurred the least is the 0-3 defeat (eight times).

Trentino Volley Srl
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