Rezende,, Abdel-Aziz, Leal. Until recently, assembling a team from such names seemed impossible. Unless a volleyball equivalent of FIFA would be created, in which someone would get an unlimited budget in the career mode. Meanwhile, it was created in reality and is one big disappointment.
It was written about Modena that it was impossible to have such a composition. And what?
When Catia Pedrini was assembling the line-up for this season, she must have felt shivers down her spine. Her club, which has not been able to return to its former successes for several seasons – twelve championships or four victories in the Champions League – was just gaining the shine of the greatest volleyball stars. The team in one transfer window has been joined by a great Brazilian quarterback, Bruno Rezende, MVP of the Tokyo Olympics, Earvin N’Gapeth from France, one of the best attackers in Europe if not the world, Nimir Abdel-Aziz from the Netherlands, and yet another Brazilian winger Joandry Leal.
The media was impressed. . After all, it is impossible to have such a composition. And what? And again in sports it turned out that neither money nor names can win anything by themselves.
Sensation at the CEV Cup. The constellation of stars was to enter the Champions League, and lost in the 1/8 finals
After the poor 2020/2021 season, Modena could not take part in the Champions League. However, a plan was adopted: to play a great squad, fight for the most important national trophies and in the “second league” of European volleyball cups – the CEV Cup. On paper it seemed that the Italians, together with Russia’s Zenit Kazan, or PlusLiga, would be favorites to win in the competition. The reality turned out to be brutal and surprising.
Modena went through the first two rounds, beating VaLePa, Vammalan Lentopallo from Finland without losing a set in two games, and ACS Volei Municipal Zalau from Romania, who only managed to win one game on aggregate. The first challenge awaited the Italians in the 1/8 finals, where they found a solid team – Tours VB, the runners-up in the French league. They lost their first game away sensationally 1: 3 (25:22, 25:27, 23:25, 19:25). This could be forgiven and a better game in the rematch in Modena could be expected. Nothing could be more wrong.
After three sets of the game, they could enjoy their promotion to the quarter-finals of the CEV Cup. They were leading 2: 1 and thanks to that they secured a point for this match, which, combined with three scored in the first game, made it impossible for Modena to make up for the losses. Ultimately, the Italians won 3: 2 (25:17, 24:26, 33:35, 25:19, 15:13), but it didn’t help them anyway. They were already out of the competition.
The biggest misfire in the history of club volleyball? Competitors smashed
Modena’s stars stood in shock. After all, their team was to be a candidate to conquer European volleyball, and thus win a level higher than in the CEV Cup – in the Champions League. It is possible that they will also fail next season. To enter the group stage of this competition, they have to take one of the leading places in the Italian league.
In Coppa Italia Modena was already eliminated in the quarter-finals, so she has already got rid of this possibility of entering the Champions League. He is now in third place in the league, but two points behind them, Trentino has an outstanding match. The fight for medals in Serie A will therefore be very difficult for them, and the prospect of the next season without being present is getting closer. Dreams of playing at the top of Europe are one thing, but what is the reputation of the team itself? This is probably one of the biggest misfires in the history of club volleyball. He puts Modena, a well-deserved club for Italian volleyball, in a downright hopeless situation.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
