Sliwka leads Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle in quest for third title in a row
The MVP of the CEV Champions League | Men in the 2020/21 season, Aleksander Śliwka, returns with the Polish side to the SuperFinals, aiming to write history by winning the third title in a row.
Since 2000, only two teams – Itas Trentino and Zenit Kazan – have completed a hat-trick of trophies in the CEV Champions League | Men, but a new name can join them after this season’s SuperFinals, Polish powerhouse Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle, which won the previous two editions of the European premium competition.
In the past two seasons, Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle secured the title by winning the SuperFinals against Itas Trentino, but this season it will be an 100% Polish battle, with rivals Jastrzębski Węgiel battling Zaksa for the trophy.
Few players have been more dominating for Zaska Kędzierzyn-Koźle over the last few seasons than outside hitter Aleksander Śliwka, the MVP of the CEV Champions League | Men in the 2020/21 season, who is coming into the SuperFinals in Turin in stellar form, after an excellent season in the European top competition, but also in domestic competitions, securing another MVP award for his collection in the Polish Cup, where ZAKSA secured a 3-0 win in the final against Jastrzębski Węgiel.
Śliwka, who is in the prime of his career, being only 26 years old, has helped Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle settle into the role of a true powerhouse, winning eight domestic competitions and the CEV Champions League | Men in the last two seasons, since he signed with the Polish club in 2018.
The Polish star has 161 points for his side this season, the fifth largest number in the European premium competition so far, playing in 13 matches and 49 sets, in what was an up and down season for the reigning champions, who conceded four losses on their way to the final.
However, Śliwka has been an integral cog for Zaksa Kędzierzyn-Koźle both in the play-offs against Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, in the quarter-finals against Itas Trentino, but also in the semi-finals against Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, helping his side with excellent leadership and good matches to secure a place in the SuperFinals for the third time in a row.
A true leader on and off the court, Śliwka’s experience and his understanding with teammates Bartosz Bednorz and Łukasz Kaczmarek, will be decisive in the quest for Zaksa to write history and deliver their third title in a row in the CEV Champions League | Men.