Women’s volleyball is one of my favorite sports to watch. It’s both a fantastic sport and, unlike other sports, a fiercely competitive game despite the lack of contact. It’s aesthetically pleasing. Those passes, those variations, those spikes. The excitement when points are scored. A good volleyball match is incredibly enjoyable. I’m especially thrilled when my favorite team wins. It’s also incredibly fun to play. It’s a sport that can be played anywhere. It can be played on many different surfaces, including variations like beach volleyball, with a net.
Volleyball is the third most popular sport in Turkey. Football, which is far ahead, is closely followed by basketball and volleyball. Personally, I’m pleased that basketball and volleyball have recently been approaching football’s popularity. I think basketball and volleyball, which are much more dynamic, deserve better worldwide. Just think, in football, many matches can be drawn with scores as low as 0-0 or 1-0, and especially when the game is played at a slow tempo, it can become quite boring. Yet, even in the most tense basketball match, you can see scores of at least 50-60 points between the two sides. In volleyball, whether the match ends in 3 sets or 5, the tempo never drops below a certain level.
Aside from the enjoyable aspect of volleyball as a sport, the women’s visually appealing techniques and their determination to win make women’s volleyball even more enjoyable to watch.
Number 1 in the World!
How fortunate are we that Turkey is the number 1 country in the world for women’s volleyball. How do we know this? The European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) announced the number of teams and points for the European Cups for the 2021-2022 volleyball season at the beginning of this year.
In volleyball, the most successful branch of Turkish sports in Europe thanks to its achievements, Turkey ranked first in the women’s CEV Champions League with 429.67 points. Meanwhile, the men’s team isn’t as successful as the women’s, but their results aren’t bad at all, coming in fifth with 229 points (see:https://tvf.org.tr/avrupa-kupalari/cev-2021-2022-avrupa-kupalari-ulke-puani-siralamasini-acikladi/).
Turkey finished first in the men’s CEV Cup and CEV Challenge Cup standings with 308 points, and second in the women’s standings, a narrow difference behind France, with 231 points.
Accordingly, Turkey will send three teams to the CEV Champions League next season, and one team each to the CEV Cup and CEV Challenge Cup. In the men’s category, Turkey will participate in two teams each to the CEV Champions League and CEV Cup, and one team to the CEV Challenge Cup.
The top teams are gaining ground
For those unfamiliar, let’s quickly clarify: the CEV Champions League is the tournament where the country’s best teams compete; the CEV Cup is the tournament where the second-best teams compete; and the CEV Challenge Cup is the tournament where the third-best teams compete. Based on this ranking, we can observe that Turkey’s best teams are among the best in Europe, and even that our best often outperform Europe’s best. However, other teams competing against them in our league are comparatively less successful than their counterparts in their respective categories.
It’s swell with pride that, for years, leading teams like Vakıfbank and Eczacıbaşı have been competing and achieving very successful results in the global arena. It’s safe to say that Fenerbahçe has occasionally accompanied these teams.
Now, let’s get to know Vakıfbank, the European and World Champion and the best team in our league. I’m sharing information from Wikipedia: VakıfBank SK is a professional women’s volleyball team founded in 1986 and operating on the Anatolian side of Istanbul.
A team that can’t get enough Guinness World Records
Vakıfbank SK won a total of five trophies in 2013 (Turkish Women’s Volleyball 1st League, Turkish Cup, Super Cup, CEV Women’s Champions League, and FIVB Women’s World Club Championship). As of January 23, 2014, Vakıfbank SK has won 73 consecutive official matches at the national and international levels, a record that is hard to beat, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2018, they entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the second time, winning the most trophies (three times) at the FIVB Women’s Club World Championship. With four FIVB Women’s Club World Championships, five CEV Champions League titles, one CEV Challenge Cup, and one CEV Top Teams Cup, VakıfBank holds the record for most international trophy wins in Turkey. It’s hard to count the trophies they’ve won (Wikipedia):
Türkiye
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- Champion (8): 1995, 1997, 1998, 2013, 2014, 2017[7], 2021, 2022
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- Champion (4): 2013, 2014, 2017, 2021
International
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- Champion (1): 2008
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- Champion (1): 2008
- Top Teams Kupası
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- Champion (1): 2004
- Gloria Cup
- Champion (1): 2014-2015
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A. ^Shows the rankings of Ankara team VakıfBank SK before the merger. |
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B. ^Shows the rankings of Istanbul team Güneş Sigorta SK before the merger. |
Vakıfbank, Europe’s largest, finished the season with five trophies. Winning the Spor Toto Champions Cup, FIVB World Club Championship, AXA Sigorta Cup Volleyball, and Misli.com Sultans League, VakıfBank also won the CEV Champions League Super Final, finishing the season with five trophies. (See:https://www.sozcu.com.tr/spor/diger-sporlar/avrupanin-en-buyugu-vakifbank-sezonu-5-kupa-ile-tamamladi-7150222/?utm_source=anasayfa_spor&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=anasayfa_spor_zone_1 )
The story of the last championship
Now, let’s talk about how Vakıfbank won the championship. Vakıfbank’s years of competitive competition is undoubtedly due to its head coach, Giovanni Guidetti, who is considered one of the leading figures in the development of women’s volleyball in Turkey. One of the world’s most successful volleyball coaches, Guidetti’s career also reached its peak with Vakıfbank.
Let’s look at his background: Guidetti coached the Italian club Spezzano from 1995 to 1998. In 1997, he led his team to promotion to the first league. This achievement earned him the title of ‘Coach of the Year’ in Italy. He has been Vakıfbank’s coach since 2008. In 2011, he led VakıfBank to the European Champions League, a first for both himself and Turkey (see: https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Guidetti ). Speaking after the championship match, VakıfBank Head Coach Giovanni Guidetti expressed his happiness at having such a strong team. Noting his team’s incredible fight, Guidetti said, “We fought hard today as a team. As a result, we won the championship. VakıfBank, these hard-working people, would definitely not exist without them.”
Motto: “Next point”
When asked about their record-holding as the team with the most championships in CEV Champions League history with five, Guidetti said, “I’m not thinking about records. I’m thinking about our team. We were trailing 9-3, and no other team would have waited for a tie-break. But I have a team that never gives up and has the stamina.”
Guidetti explained that the motto for the final was next point, next set, saying, “We went into it with that mentality. Both teams were strong. The first set was one thing, the second set was another, but we’re happy to be the winners.”
Regarding the fans who watched the match, Guidetti said, “Even here in Slovenia, there were fans from all over Europe. Our arenas in Turkey are also filling up. Because they’re coming, we’re trying to play even better. Their interest makes us very happy.” (See:https://www.msn.com/tr-tr/spor/haberler/vak%c4%b1fbankta-zafer-co%c5%9fkusu-guidetti-ve-zehra-g%c3%bcne%c5%9fin-%c5%9fampiyonluk-s%c3%b6zleri-tu%c4%9fba-%c5%9feno%c4%9flu-yeni-adresini-a%c3%a7%c4%b1klad%c4%b1/ar-AAXAMeD?ocid=YXPRM418&li=BBpmdUa)
Legendary Neslihan Demir’s Contributions
Neslihan Demir, one of the former national volleyball players who launched the women’s volleyball movement in Turkey, has been the general manager of Vakıfbank for two years. Let’s hear from her the story of how Vakıfbank imposed an embargo on this year’s cups:
Incidentally, I congratulate Neslihan for continuing her successful transfers by signing one of the world’s best volleyball players, the Nigerian-born Italian Egonu, from their biggest rival, Imoco Volley, to ensure Vakıfbank’s sustainable success.
Incidentally, since 2017, Vakıfbank and Imoco have met six times, including four finals. Vakıfbank won four of these matches, and Imoco won two. All four of these matches ended 3-2. In this fiercely contested competition, Vakıfbank is one step ahead. By winning this latest final, Vakıfbank, in a sense, achieved a rematch of last year’s match.
To summarize the match, VakıfBank started the match at a fast pace, taking a 3-0 lead right at the start of the first set. Imoco Volley then took the lead 13-9 thanks to Egonu’s impressive fight. Zehra Güneş, Haak, and Guimaraes dominated the game, scoring, and VakıfBank took a 1-0 lead, taking the set 25-22.
The first half of the second set saw a back-and-forth exchange of points, with Haak and Guimaraes playing effectively, and VakıfBank took a 13-7 lead. The Italian team, relentless in their game, equalized at the 16th point with points from Egonu, Wolosz, and De Kruijf. However, VakıfBank, relentless in their pursuit, regained their momentum with points from Haak and Bartsch-Hackley, winning this set 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead.
Is the match turning around?
The first half of the tightly contested third set was tied at 10-10, but VakıfBank turned the score 15-11 with consecutive points from Haak, who put in a powerful performance. However, Imoco Volley regained control thanks to a superb effort from star player Egonu, taking the set 25-23 to tie the game at 2-1.
Imoco Volley started the fourth set strongly, taking an 8-3 lead with consecutive points from Egonu, forcing VakıfBank to call a timeout. Recovering with points from Guimaraes, Ogbogu, and Haak, VakıfBank tied the score at 10-10 and then took a 15-13 lead. VakıfBank, who lost their energy after Egonu’s fatigue, won the set 25-21 and the match 3-1 with points from Zehra Güneş and Guimaraes in the final leg, securing the championship (see: https://www.ntvspor.net/voleybol/vakifbank-5-kez-avrupa-sampiyonu-628a5f92b908a42ba099d94d?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%F0%9F%92%8A+Das+Zengin ). You can watch the entire final match below:
Colorful championship interviews
Now let’s move on to the interviews given by our women volleyball players, the heroes of the match.
A heartwarming interview with Swedish player Isabel Haak, who has made a significant contribution to the team and will unfortunately continue her career in Italy:
Cansu Özbay, interview with Gabi and Aylin Acar, who was named the best player of the final (MVP):
Vakıfbank has gotten us all used to this by winning consecutive championships in Turkey, Europe, and the world. Don’t be fooled by their constant trophy winnings. They’ve also struggled and lost matches. This year has been a tough season for them. After losing some important matches, they’ve been able to pick themselves up and make it to the finals of the championships they’ve participated in. Kudos to the Vakıfbank women’s volleyball players!
A surge in interest in women’s volleyball
We’re talking about a team that has won everything possible. Thanks to Vakıfbank, volleyball’s popularity among young people has skyrocketed. The number of girls applying to play volleyball and their families supporting them has exploded. I’m personally delighted that they’ve created such a role model team.
As Vakıfbank volleyball player Cansu said, I hope they can make their success sustainable in the future. Repeating these successes is much more difficult than winning once. With the right system and infrastructure established by Vakıfbank, why shouldn’t they always strive for the top? They are setting an example for all other branches of the country’s sports. And what’s more, the sustainability of all these successes is paramount for all our sports branches…
Why is sustainable success in sports so important? Because you can directly measure a country’s level of development by its success in its sports. Turkey has tremendous potential in every sense. I hope we see more distinguished sports clubs like Vakıfbank, which unlock this potential.
Sağlıcakla kalın.
Tag: education
