Zenit Kazan celebrates 2012 triumph – from:old.cev.eu
Article by Giovanni Manenti
“In the beginning it was CSKA”, biblical quotation made necessary to highlight how, in the most prestigious Continental Club Volleyball Event – at the time called the Champions Cup, and then transformed into the Champions League from the beginning of the new Millennium in the same way as the football tournament – the same has celebrated the dominance of the Moscow sextet which, until the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, had won 13 editions, a feat that still sees him firmly at the top of the relevant Roll of Honor…
Furthermore, the disintegration of the former USSR has not changed the forces in the field much, given that Volleyball beyond the curtain sees the Russian clubs as the main exponents, so much so that, to date, they have boasted 10 successesdespite having initially suffered from a lower economic contribution as a result of the aforementioned circumstance.
Period in which the Italian teams entered – which, moreover, had been the the only opponents of the excessive power of CSKA Moscow with four victories (Turin in 1980, Parma in the two-year period 1984-’85 and Modena in 1990) – which monopolized the 90s, winning the Trophy continuously from 1992 to 2000with three successes each for Ravenna, Treviso and Modena…
With Russia reorganized at the beginning of the century, that’s it Lokomotiv Belgorod emerged, champion in the two-year period 2003-’04, and then it was the Kazan sextet’s turn to emerge, imposing themselves in the 2008 editionbefore Italy has a further jolt thanks to the Trentino Volleyball – an undertaking which we have already discussed – which achieved a trio of successes (2009-’11). consecutive.
Triptych concluded in front of his audience, when on 27 March 2011 at the “Palaonda” in Bolzano in front of 7,500 spectators, the sextet coached by Radostin Stoytchev beat Zenit Kazan 3-1 (partials 25-17, 20-25, 25-23 and 25-20)or the Club that is dominating the Russian Volleyball panorama, so much so winning 9 national titles in a decade between 2009 and 2018the only exception being the 2013 season…
Logical, therefore, that at the starting line of the 2011-’12 edition of an event which, even in format, broadly follows the football Champions Leaguethe Russian sextet is credited as the most qualified aspirant to interrupt the series of victories of a Trentino Volley team which has essentially kept its personnel unchanged, at least in the basic sextet.
Formula, we were saying, which predicts that the 24 teams registered – with only Italy fielding three clubs, namely Trento, Cuneo and Macerata – are divided into 6 groups of 4 teams each with return matches, at the end of which the first two of each Group directly access the second Phase, as well as establishing which city is organizing the “Final Four” who, therefore, can access it directly regardless of their placement…
A decision that partially undermines sporting merit, even if the Poles of Skra Belchatow benefit from this circumstance – came second in Group F behind the French Tours – as the Finals will be played in Lodz, with their place in the Second Phase of 12 being taken over by the Germans Unterhaching.
First phase which does not reserve any particular surprises, with Trento and Kazan won their respective groups on a par with Cuneowhile Macerata is also guaranteed access to the second round, finishing second in Group E behind the Russians of Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, so that the relative pairings put Trento with the Belgians of Maaseik, Kazan facing the French of PoitiersLokomotiv Unterhaching, the Turks of Arkas Izmir facing the Poles of SZSKA, as well as the Germans of Friedrichshafen and the French of Tours, while Cuneo and Macerata they dispute the most classic of “derby” …
It was in force at the time a rule in which, in double home and away matches, the set difference is not taken into accountso that, if at the end of the second match the two sextets boast a victory on each side, what is called “Golden Set”, an eventuality that only occurs in the match between the two Italian teams and everything goes to the disadvantage of Cuneo who, after having won 3-0 away to Macerata, comes defeated 2-3 at home (14-16 in the tiebreak after leading 2 sets to 1), with the additional part also ending on the same score by 16-14 in favor of the Marches.
No problem, vice versa, in the five more matches, all of which ended 2-0 and which promote Kazan, Lokomotiv, Trento, Izmir and Friedrichshafen to the Third Phase, in such a way that the combinations of the three challenges from which the three teams qualified for the “Final Four” they put in front Lokomotiv-Izmir, Kazan-Friedrichsachen and the new “blue derby” from Trento and Cuneo …
This time balance reigns supreme, proof of that only Zenit Kazan ended the match at 2-0, winning 3-0 in both the first leg in Russia and the second leg in Germanywhile this time being penalized by a sincerely absurd rule – which, in fact, was abolished starting from the 2013-’14 edition, maintaining the dispute of “Golden Set” only with equal victories and sets – it is the Lokomotiv Novosibirsk who, victorious 3-0 in the first leg, took a 2-0 lead in the return leg, only to collapse (22-25, 23-25 and 14-16) in the next three sets and then succumbed 15-11 in the playoff set…
More “honesty”, vice versa, the conclusion of the all-Italian challenge, as Trento, defeated 2-3 in Macerata in the first leg, calls his fans together for the return at the beginning of March 2012 at the “IT Arena newspaper”, where the superiority of Stoytchev’s boys is such that it does not allow for any replies, either for the 3-0 (partials of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-21) which puts things back on equal terms than for the 15-9 with which the “Golden Set”so as to guarantee the Trentino sextet qualification for its fourth quarters “Final Four” consecutive.
Exhibition which takes place in the spectacular facility of the “Atlas Arena” of Lodz and which is inaugurated with the dispute on 17 March 2012 of the two semi-finalswith SKRA Belchatow and the Turks Arkas Izmir taking to the parquet first, match fought more than the final score of 3-0 for the home team suggestsas certified by the relative scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 28-26…
Once the first finalist has been defined, the second will be decided repeat of the Final of the previous edition, pitting the three-time Continental Champions of Itas Diatec Trentino against the Russians of Zenit Kazanwith the two sextets divided by a heated sporting rivalry which manifests itself mainly in first set, which Trento won 33-31, recovering from 14-16 and 20-21 after 36′ of bitter battle in front of the net…
Having started well (8-6) also in the second set, Trento then lost (20-25) at a distance, so that the the turning point of the match comes in the third set, where this time it is Kazan who takes a lead (8-5) at the start, and then fights point for point (16-15 and 21-20) before managing to bring home the second point ( 25-23) and then close the match in your favor with a quarter-final (25-17) without history, with the shields on the line team coached by Vladimir Alekno the 24 year old hammer Maxim Mikhailov, author of 26 pointswell supported by Nikolay Kazyiski, who put 22 on the scoresheet.
Forced to abdicate the European throne, Trento consoled itself by taking third place with a comfortable 3-0 (partials of 25-20, 25-19 and 25-19) over the Turkish side Izmirand then go and sit in the stands among the 13 thousand who don’t intend to miss a Final starting at 5.37pm on 19 March 2012, entrusted to the match direction of the two referees Dejan Jovanovic and Milan Labasta …
Winner of seven consecutive national titles (2005-’11).the SKRA tries to capitalize in its favor on the incandescent atmosphere that has been created inside the plant, even though the outcome of the first partial – concluded in just 21′ with 25-15 in favor of Zenit – suggests quite the opposite, according to the prediction which sees the Russian sextet as largely favoured.
But, for those prodigies that only Sport is able to offer, this large margin immediately triggers the necessary spring so that the boys led by Jacek Nawrocki on the bench shook off any awe, returning an almost identical partial (25-16) and then, realizing that “the devil is not as bad as he is made out to be”, taking the lead to 2-1 and also closing the third set 25-22 in their favour…
Here it is pressure is now all on Alekno’s shoulders and his team, while the hosts must try to exploit the inertia in their favor, aware that, by failing to conclude the match in the fourth set, the greater experience and resistance of their opponents could prove to be a determining factor in the decisive tiebreak.
With both teams, therefore, fighting for every single ball, the progress of the fourth set proceeds “point to point”, with Kazan enjoying only a small advantage (16-15 and 21-20) during the second and third technical time out, before Mariusz Wlazly (top scorer of the match with 25 points…) gave his team the lead (23-22) just two points away from triumph…
Con Wlazly subsequently blocked for 23-23, the same one procures the match point with a winning block, only to waste the opportunity by forcing the serve and then it was Mikhailov’s turn to come out victorious on the block and hand the ball to his teammate Nikolay Apalikov ball not wasted with the point on serve at 26-24 which sends the match to a tiebreak.
And here, the match offers the greatest emotions, with SKRA to accumulate a substantial (5-1) initial advantage, subsequently reduced to 10-8 and then to 12-11before the tension of the moment plays a bad joke on the hosts, who miss a couple of attacks with the ball ending up outside, so that a subsequent block suffered by Bartok Kurek gave Zenit the first match point of the match, which was immediately exploited for the 17-15 which guarantees the Russian sextet the second title of its history.
As always happens in these circumstances, by way of consolation the Final Four MVP award is given to Wlazy, while a bit of Italy is represented by Valerio Vermiglio, awarded as best settereven if the season couldn’t have ended as well as it could Mikhailov, who won the Gold Medal at the subsequent London Games beating Brazil 3-2 in the Final…
Zenit’s success, on the other hand, is significant the beginning of a seven-season Russian rule and which, after the successes of Lokomotiv Novosibirsk in 2013 and Belgorod in 2014, sees Kazan achieved a four-year period (2015-’18) at the continental topso as to equal a similar feat achieved in the period 1986-’89 by CSKA Moscow.
All before, to interrupt the series, Cucina Lube Civitanova (where it had moved from Macerata …), prevailing 3-1 in the 2019 Final in Berlinmaking up for the 2-3 defeat suffered in the previous edition…
Who said that “History doesn’t repeat itself…!?” …