Zaksa are Poland’s Team of the Year 2021 following #CLVolleyM triumph
News
Grupa Azoty Zaksa KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE, winners of the elite CEV Champions League Volley in 2021, have claimed the prize for the ‘Team of the Year’ at the 87th edition of the annual awards run by sports newspaper Przeglad Sportowy in Poland. They are the very first club team across all sports to win the award – as the Polish men’s national team had previously claimed the prize as many as six times in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2018.
It is the ninth time that the award goes to a representative of the Volleyball family – as the Polish women’s national team had won this recognition in 2003 and 2005 in conjunction with their back-to-back EuroVolley titles.
Last May 1, Zaksa became only the second Polish team in history to lift the Champions League trophy – 43 years after Plomien MILOWICE had won the former CEV Champions Cup.
Their star player and captain Aleksander Śliwka received the award on behalf of the team:
Aleksander Sliwka“We are happy for the title, for all of us, for the club and the entire Kędzierzyn community. It is a great honour, which we are proud of; this award is also an appreciation of many years of team building, the identity of the club. Many people have contributed to it and it is impossible to list them all.”
Team captain of Grupa Azoty KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE
A number of other players – Lukasz Kaczmarek, Kamil Semeniuk, David Smith, Adrian Staszewski, Krzysztof Rejno, Bartłomiej Kluth and Korneliusz Banach – attended the ceremony as well.
The former coach of Zaksa, Nikola Grbić, who is now working in Italy, shared his feelings by phone:
“I realise how important this award is. I am especially happy that the prize has gone to this extraordinary team. I have repeatedly emphasised how proud I have been to work with this group and of their result. I am convinced that with their attitude, ambition, diligence and with their Champions League triumph, they have shown that they deserve this distinction. I am glad that I could be a part of the history so beautifully written by ZAKSA.”
Only one Volleyball player, Bartosz Kurek, has claimed the accolade for the ‘Athlete of the Year’ this far. Kurek did so in 2018 when he helped Poland win their second straight World Championship title, securing the MVP award in the process as well.