The Brazilian giants downed Trentino and tied the Italians as the most successful team in tournament history
Brazilian giants Sada Cruzeiro returned to the top of the podium at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship for a record-tying fifth time on Sunday, triumphing in the 2024 edition of the tournament, which was concluded in Uberlândia.
The winningest team in Brazilian club volleyball history downed Italian heavyweights Trentino Itas, the only other side on the planet to hold five world titles, and celebrated in front of their home fans at the Sabiazinho arena. Asian champions Foolad Sirjan Iranian of Iran completed the podium in third place.
https://x.com/volleyballworld/status/1868399157192569030
In the gold medal match, Sada Cruzeiro defeated Trentino for the second time in four days, following up on a five-set pool play victory on Thursday with a 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22) win on Sunday to lift the trophy for the fifth time after victories in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2021.
“We obviously know how good Trentino are, but when we step on the court, we don’t rate ourselves lower than anyone,” said outside hitter Rodrigo ‘Rodriguinho’ Leão. “They have excellent players and are very used to playing matches at this level, but we always believe in our chances and leave everything on the court. We can win or lose, but we always give everything we have.”
One of the stars of Sada Cruzeiro’s first world title, 37-year-old opposite Wallace de Souza was the team’s leading scorer in the decisive duel with the Italians, delivering 23 points, with 22 kills and one block.
Other standouts in the team’s victory were outside hitter Gabriel Vaccari, who added 12 points, with 11 kills and one ace, and setter Matheus Brasília, who scored four, including three consecutive aces in a key moment during the third set.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDnahx6PcGq/?igsh=MXFudTNsNXE3ZDJrMw==
On Trentino’s side, a spectacular performance of star outside hitter Alessandro Michieletto, who left the court with 21 points (16 kills, four aces, one block), wasn’t enough to give them their sixth world title. Fellow outside hitter Daniele Lavia and Brazilian middle blocker Flavio Gualberto scored ten points each.
Head coach Filipe Ferraz was present in each of Sada Cruzeiro’s five victories – he lifted the trophy the first three times as a player and was at the helm in their two most recent titles. Wallace and Rodriguinho, with four titles each, and opposite Welinton Oppenkoski, middle blockers Otávio Pinto and Cledenílson Souza and libero Lucas de Deus, who were part of the 2021 squad, are the other members of the team with multiple world titles.
The team’s campaign in Uberlândia had a lot of drama as, after a pool play loss to Iran’s Shahdab Yazd, the Brazilians were on the verge of elimination. They recovered by beating Trentino, but still needed to count on continental rivals Ciudad Voley of Argentina beating the Iranians to advance. The late qualification reinvigorated Sada Cruzeiro, who topped Foolad in the semifinals and Trentino in the gold medal match with great performances.
Foolad take second Iranian bronze
In the bronze medal match, reigning Asian champions Foolad became just the second Iranian team to make it to the podium at the Club World Championship, joining Paykan Tehran, who also finished third in 2010.
The Iranians came out on top in a massive battle with Italian giants Cucine Lube Civitanova, winning 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 19-17) to secure the final spot in the podium.
Star opposite Ali Hajipour was again the team’s top scorer, playing a major role in their victory with a 24-point performance, achieved with 21 kills and three blocks. Outside hitter Alireza Abdolhamidi and middle blocker and team captain Seyed Mousavi added 13 and 12, respectively.
“I think that Iranian teams haven’t had the confidence to face the top teams in the world over the last few years, both at the club and the international levels,” Mousavi said. “I hope this result shows that we can play against anyone. We have many great players in Iran and can get good results.”
Without star outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov, Lube saw most of their scoring load split by Croatian opposite Petar Đirlić, who registered 21 points (20 kills, one block), and world champion outside hitter Mattia Bottolo, who contributed another 17, with 16 kills and one ace.
Next week, the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship will take place in Hangzhou, China, reuniting two teams from Italy (Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano and Numia Vero Volley Milano), two from Brazil (Dentil Praia Clube and Gerdau Minas) and one from each of China (Tianjin Bohai Bank), Egypt (Zamalek Sporting Club), Japan (NEC Red Rockets Kawasaki) and Vietnam (LP Bank Ninh Binh).
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.