Volleyball legends account for iconic moment at #SuperFinalsTurin

The highly successful CEV Champions League Volley 2023 Super Finals held this past May 20 in Turin did not only crown Grupa Azoty KEDZIERZYN-KOZLE and VakifBank ISTANBUL as the ‘champions of Europe’ for the third and sixth time, respectively. The almost 11,000 fans who came together at the iconic Pala Alpitour did also witness a real ‘parade of legends’ organised shortly before the start of the men’s final – including many Olympic, World, and European champions.

CEV President Aleksandar Boričić and FIVB President Dr Ary S. Graça F° high-fived the legends of the game as one by one they lined up before the crowd to enjoy a well-deserved tribute to their glittering careers and contribution to the growth of the sport.

Dimitar Karov of Bulgaria, a silver medallist from the 1970 World Championship on home soil, did lead the parade out, which included another hero from the same era – Poland’s 1974 World and 1976 Olympic champion Edward Skorek, a member of the golden generation that transformed the Volleyball game in the 1970s under the guidance of the late Hubert Jerzy Wagner. Skorek carried the trophy for the winners of the men’s final together with another real legend – Serbia’s Nikola Grbic, an Olympic champion from Sydney 2000, who since retiring from competitive sport has embarked on an almost equally successful career as a coach.

The host country of this year’s Super Finals, Italy, was represented by its real Volleyball queen – seven-time winner of the CEV Champions League Francesca Piccinini as well as by two men who helped secure Italy’s first major successes on the international stage in the late 70s and early 80s, Giovanni Lanfranco and Piero Rebaudengo. Another representative of Italy’s success story in the sport was Elisa Togut, a world champion in 2002, when she claimed the award for the Most Valuable Player of the tournament held in Germany as well. Even though Italy have been a major force to reckon with ever since, they are yet to repeat that success on the global stage. Antonella Del Core, a two-time European champion in 2007 and 2009 and a multiple winner of the CEV Champions League, was responsible for more cheering from the local crowd when she was introduced to the audience.

Next to Grbic, two more members of the Yugoslav team that won gold at Sydney 2000 paraded in Turin as well – Djula Mester, who is now the President of the Volleyball Federation of Serbia, and Goran Vujevic. Another Volleyball legend who has become a high-profile sports administrator is Sebastian Swiderski, a vice-world champion in 2006 and now President of the Polish Volleyball Federation.

Dutch duo Joop Alberda and Bas van de Goor are still very well-known to the Italian sports fans since together they were responsible for a major upset of Italy’s golden generation – when the Netherlands beat them in the gold medal match of the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. Alberda was not the only successful coach to parade in Turin, as he was joined by a native of the city, Mauro Berruto, who was at the helm of Team Italy when they won bronze at London 2012.

Names that even the younger fans are more familiar with – but just equal to the others in terms of their legendary status – took to the court as well, with the list including the likes of Croatia’s Maja Poljak, Gözde Kirdar of Türkiye, and Serbia’s Jovana Brakocevic.

There was the opportunity to celebrate legends of the game even from outside of Europe – with Brazilian superstars Giba and Sheilla Castro among those involved in this parade as well.

The legends accounted for an iconic moment, which was a perfect match to go with the stellar actions displayed on the court by the teams contesting the Super Finals and to celebrate the CEV’s golden jubilee – 50 years since the establishment of the European Volleyball Confederation in 1973. More such moments will follow later this year, and we can be confident that the current star players are just on their way to establish themselves as legends of the game such as those who paraded in Turin on May 20!