Jastrzębski Węgiel or Grupa Azoty ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle? Today in Lublin, match for the Polish Supercup. The two teams know each other perfectly. It will hardly be surprising. However, the hawkers will be the favorites. And this despite the painful history of the confrontation with ZAKSA in the previous season.
The meeting (from 6:00 p.m.) will have a special character. He died on Monday Tomasz Wojtowicz, one of the greatest volleyball players in history. He came from Lublin and started his career there. The match for the Supercup, as well as the matches of the next round of PlusLiga, Tauron Liga and the 1st league will be preceded by a minute of silence in tribute to the Olympic champion (976) and world champion (1974). There will also be special T-shirts in which the teams will go to the presentation, and a special sector sector will be distributed in the hall.
– Lublin is a city extremely close to the heart of our Legend. The Tomasz Wójtowicz Foundation is very active there. Our Grandmaster recently participated in the first international Bogdanka Volleyball Cup tournament. Tomasz Wójtowicz, played in his beloved Lublin – said Arthur PopkoPresident of the Polish Volleyball League.
Today’s match will be a rematch of the previous year. Jastrzębie-Zdrój and volleyball players from Kędzierzyn-Koźle want it. It was then that Jastrzębski Węgiel and ZAKSA competed for the Super Cup. Jastrzębie-Zdrój players were the best (3:0), Tomasz Fornal received the award for best volleyball player in the match. Later, the Jastrzębie-Zdrój team reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and the final of the Polish Cup and the league playoffs. In all three cases, however, they had to recognize the superiority of the Kędzierzyn-Koźle team.
After the first games of this season, it seems that the shares of Jastrzębski Węgiel are higher. Poland’s runners-up got off to a better start. After five games, they have plenty of points and are second in the table. Only Asseco Resovia are the second worst sets. – It’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that we are the favourites. We know what ZAKSA team is, what “instin killer” is on his side, how many super players in the squad. It’s true that Kamil Semeniuk, who was an extremely important player, is not there, but it’s still a great team. – says Jakub Popiwczak, Jastrzębski Węgiel’s libero. – After winning two trophies for the Kędzierzyn-Koźle team, everyone expected us to be the driving force in Poland. Unfortunately, as the second half of last season showed, that wasn’t the case. ZAKSA broke the bank, won everything that could be won. I hope that in Lublin we will show again that we can win with her and start the victorious march – he adds.
If they have already suffered two defeats in the league, with Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie and in the last round with PSG Stal Nysa, they are also in a fighting mood. No one lets themselves think that the team is in crisis. – We are going to Lublin to win it. There is no doubt about that. Coming back to the defeat at Nysa, we have to remember that we had a few minor health problems before. We are not going to make a big tragedy out of it. These are included in the practice of sport – complaints Piotr Szpaczek, President of the Polish Champions.
– They have their problems. They will have trouble. I will be for ZAKSA with my heart, but I understand Jastrzębie – said Interia Dominik Kwapisiewicz, former manager of the ZAKSA team, and now coach of Ślepska Malow Suwałki. – Denis Kariagin is not Kamil Semeniuk. Norbert Huber is gone, a long way to go before he hits the dance floor. However, when two such links fall, it is not easy to merge.
It is the lack of Semeniuk who is in the process of conquering the Italian championship which promises to be the most painful. The club have failed to find a successor of a similar standard to one of the world’s leading hosts. Neither Kariagin nor Wojciech Żaliński can refer to his game yet. And although there are three vice-world champions in the team, not all of them are in top form – Śliwka has had to deal with an injury to the start of the season. – It doesn’t matter who is the favorite. We want to go out there and fight for every point, win this Super Cup. A year ago Jastrzębski Węgiel was better, but this year we want revenge. We realize that in the last games our form was not the best, but we are working hard to make the quality of our volleyball game higher and higher. – emphasizes the captain of ZAKSA.
However, the hawkers will be the favorites. And this despite the painful history of the confrontation with ZAKSA in the previous season. The people of Kędzierzyn-Koźle achieved the “triple crown”, and on the way to each of the triumphs they defeated Jastrzębski Węgiel. They beat him in decisive matches in the Polish Cup and the PlusLiga, in the Champions League which they won in the semi-finals. But the Falcons, unlike their rivals, are going through the league like a storm. With all the points, they are top of the standings, they have only dropped two sets so far. Their accomplishments include an impressive 3-0 victory over Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie, the bronze medalist from the previous season. The club retained its composition from the previous season and the team quickly adapted to the ideas of new coach Marcelo Mendez.
– ZAKSA will surely come out loaded, she will want to win and show her skills. We expect a tough and fierce duel. Someone may believe in some superstitions, but we as a team don’t think it’s better to lose the Super Cup and then win the Polish championship. We want to win this trophy. If we play at our level, that we can play, we will certainly match ZAKSA and it will be very hard for her. – he announces in front of the club’s television camera Tomasz Fornal, receiving coal Jastrzębski.
The two teams know each other perfectly. It will hardly be surprising. – It is often the case in matches between these teams that success is determined by the disposition of either player on the day. We have outstanding volleyball players here, but also in Jastrzębie-Zdrój. Sometimes even the nuances decide the victory. Suddenly, one or the other side will not come up with a surprising tactic – said Szpaczek.
– It will be a special match for which we are preparing. We failed to win the Super Cup last year. It was the only small element that we lacked in this beautiful season. In this we will try to get it, but we realize how difficult the task will be. We will play again with the team from Jastrzębie, who are looking great at the start of the season. She’ll be dangerous, but we’ll try to win – announces Marcin Janusz, the quarterback of ZAKSA.
