Halkbank and Perugia aim for title at the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship
Preview
The 18th edition of the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship will throw off on Wednesday, 6 December, in Bengaluru, India, with teams from Brazil, Italy, Japan, Türkiye and hosts India in contention.
The six teams were split into two pools, with the two European teams, reigning champions Sir Safety Conad Perugia and Halkbank Spor Kulübü being assigned to different pools when they will take the court at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium.
The top two teams in each pool will reach the knockout phase on Friday, with the two semi-finals are due to be played on Saturday and the big final scheduled for Sunday, in a winner takes-all clash.
Italian sides have won 11 out of the 17 editions played so far at the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship, with the most decorated team being Trentino Itas, the only side in history to win five titles in the competition.
Perugia will now aim to become the first team since 2016 to win back-to-back titles in the competition, and have started the season in superb fashion, winning eight matches out of the nine they played in the domestic league, as well as the Italian Supercup earlier in November.
Powered by the MVP of the CEV EuroVolley 2023 Men, outside hitter Wilfredo Leon, and opposite Wassim Ben Tara, as well as setter Simone Giannelli, Perugia will be a tough nut to crack, as they are facing Brazilian side Itambé Minas and hosts Ahmedabad Defenders in the pool phase.
In Pool A, Halkbank Ankara, the leaders of the Turkish league and a team which has won two out of two in their pool in the CEV Champions League Men, will be facing a sturdy challenge from Sada Cruzeiro Volei, a team which has won the trophy four times and finished on the podium eight times in the competition.
Powered by outside hitter Earvin Ngapeth and Dutch star opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz, Halkbank will also be facing Japan’s Suntory Sunbirds, who will be making their debut in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship. No team from Türkiye has ever finished on the podium in the competition, as Halkbank will be aiming to extend their winning streak here, against strong opponents.