Mint Vero Volley Monza is ready to return to the field at the Opiquad Arena tomorrow, Wednesday 31 January, at 8.00 pm. On the Brianza Taraflex, Massimo Eccheli’s boys will face Galatasaray HDI Istanbul for the first leg of the 2024 Challenge Cup Semifinal.
Smiling in the first match would certainly be important in view of the return match in Istanbul, on February 6th at 8.00 pm local time (6.00 pm Italian time) and Vero Volley is aware of this. The Brianza players will have to be good at managing their physical and mental energy, after the historic Italian Cup final played against Perugia at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno (BO). Despite the defeat against the Umbrians, MINT showed a good game on the pitch, managing to put Lorenzetti’s team in difficulty on several occasions, also taking home the first set in the last act of an Italian Cup to remember. In this first match, Monza will be able to rely on the team’s coherence and the solidity of its wall-defense, combined with the great heart of a team that wants to always reach new goals. Japanese spiker Ran Takahashi is still out, still dealing with the ankle injury suffered during the SuperLega match against Verona.
On the other side, Mint Vero Volley Monza will find the fierce Turkish team, led by the former player Jan Zimmermann. The German setter was a protagonist last season with the Consortium’s shirt, replacing the injured Kreling for the entire course of the 2022/23 championship. No precedent between the two teams in official matches. Galatasaray, in the previous round, defeated the Portuguese team Fonte Bastardo, winning 3-0 in the Azores and 3-1 in Turkey. Top scorer for the Turks in the first match was the Croatian opposite Jan Hadrava, author of 16 points, while in the return match the star performer was the Serbian spiker Nikola Mijailovic with 17 balls hit.
CEV Challenge Cup 2024
Semifinals, Home Match
Wednesday 31 January 2024, 8.00 pm
Mint Vero Volley Monza – Galatasaray HDI Istanbul (TUR)
Referees: Tomislav Popovic, José Caramez Pereira
