In conjunction with the first matches of the Italian teams in the CEV Champions League, Allianz Milano’s journey in the CEV Cup, the second most important European competition, will also begin. Milan is once again the protagonist of a continental tournament thanks to its arrival in the Play Off Semi-finals of the last SuperLega Credem Banca: the play-off lost against Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, valid for access to the 2024 Champions League, nevertheless guaranteed qualification for the 2024 CEV Cup The team coached by coach Piazza is therefore ready to take the field tomorrow, Wednesday 22 November at 8.30 pm, for the Round of 32 against the Belgians Decospan Vt Menen.
The Milanese’s last European experience was in the 2020/21 season, then it was not the CEV Cup, but the Challenge, which ended with the victory in the Final against Ziraat Bankasi Ankara. Now Allianz is throwing itself back into an adventure with renewed ambitions and the attempt to keep a SuperLega Credem Banca team at the top, after the victory of Valsa Group Modena in the last edition.
The opponents of this round, the Round of 32, are a team with a fair amount of experience at continental level: last year Descopan Vt Menen were also the opponents of Trentino Itas in the Champions League. The team is led on the bench by former Belgian national team setter, Frank Depestele. In the EuroMillions League, the top division of men’s volleyball in Belgium, which has 9 teams, Menen finds himself in fifth position after 6 games played. The season began with two victories, followed by 3 consecutive defeats, the last one last Saturday against Maaseik, the former team of the Milanese opponent Ferre Reggers, 3-0, but with all the partial matches fought, including the last set which ended in advantages 31-29. In the previous championship the Belgians had finished the regular season in 4th place and after a disappointing championship pool (0 wins) they had made up for it at the tail end of the tournament by winning the place in the CEV Cup. The path of the 2021/22 season was much more exciting when instead they had only lost the final for the EuroMillions League title.
Having returned from Sicily with the first away success obtained on the sixth day of the SuperLega Credem Banca against Farmitalia Catania, Allianz Milano must confirm the continuous progress made in this start of the championship, which started, as is known, under the banner of injuries with problems before to Paolo Porro and then to Petar Dirlic and Andrea Innocenzi (the former Diavoli Rosa is the only one still recovering).
CEV Cup 2024
16th Finals
Wednesday 22 November 2023, 8.30 pm
Allianz Milan – Descopan VT Menen (BEL)
Referees: Caner Cildir, Nuno Teixeira
