Asseco Resovia
The Mayor of the City of Rzeszow, Tadeusz Ferenc, the Vice-Chairman of the club Bartosz Gorski as well as head coach Andrzej Kowal and a couple of players (captain Aleh Akhrem and opposite Jochen Schöps – one of the new faces in a team) expressed their hopes and expectations before the upcoming games in Europe’s most elitist competition.
“We are very proud of Asseco Resovia RZESZOW that after 37 years fulfilled our dreams by winning the Polish national league and is looking forward to a successful performance in the CEV Volleyball Champions League and other triumphs in Poland. I would like to emphasize that the assurance of proper conditions for the development of Volleyball in Rzeszow is one of our priorities” stated at first Mayor Tadeusz Ferenc.
“This will be the second participation in the CEV Volleyball Champions League for Asseco Resovia. In our debut in 2009/2010 we reached the Playoffs 6. It would be great to improve that result this year which means that we would like to advance to the Final Four. We are aware of the fact that it will be a very difficult goal to achieve but our ambitions are very high. As Polish champions we want to fight for other titles in Poland as well as in the European arena” continued Bartosz Gorski, Vice-Chairman of the club.
Head coach Andrzej Kowal together with the captain Aleh Akhrem stressed the importance of the CEV Volleyball Champions League for the team and the local community. “The guarantee of a place for the most elitist competition in Europe was our big objective last season. We reached this goal and now we are very happy to be back in the CEV Volleyball Champions League. I think that in the transfer period we created a solid, powerful team. Our new players Jochen Schöps, Zbigniew Bartman, Nikola Kovacevic and Rafal Buszek who came back from a loan should be beneficial for our team also in our European campaign. Some of my players have a lot of experience from Champions League games, including Jochen Schöps and Lukas Tichacek who won this prestigious European trophy with VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN in 2007. Of course we want to go as far as possible. At first we would like to advance to the Playoff round and then anything can happen. A lot of things will depend on the drawing of lots, tactical details and some extra bit of luck. I believe that with our determination, team spirit and fighting attitude we can achieve a lot in this competition” admitted head coach Andrzej Kowal.
“I am very pleased with the fact that after two seasons of break we managed to come back to the CEV Volleyball Champions League. What’s more, as Polish champions we fully deserved this spot. We are aware of the fact that there will be huge expectations as well as of the pressure coming from the public and the media. I can promise that we will be fighting in every single match regardless of the potential of our opponents. We hope to present some nice and enthusiastic Volleyball. It would be great to advance to the Final Four but in order to succeed we will need some luck” added captain Aleh Akhrem.
Then a new player included in the roster – German opposite Jochen Schöps – was asked to compare the potential of his current team from RZESZOW with VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN that was a sensational winner of the CEV Volleyball Champions League in 2007. “It’s difficult to make a comparison since the Champions League is a very special and unique competition with drawing of lots and Playoffs system. I remember that in that Final Four we played in Moscow in 2007 the other teams underestimated us. That is why it was a bit easier for us to cause a surprise and defeat even the strongest opponents. Now with Resovia the situation is different as I don’t think that any team will underestimate the Polish champions. The potential of our team is big but we have to be ready for a tough fight as there are no easy opponents in the Champions League, especially in the Playoffs Round. Personally, I am really looking forward to this competition and the special atmosphere that is linked with the best league in Europe” stated Schöps.
Via the DOL in Vienna Asseco Resovia RZESZOW was assigned to Pool G together with France’s Arago de SETE, Romanian Remat ZALAU and Italy’s Bre Banca Lannutti CUNEO. The Polish champions will start their European campaign next Thursday in France where they will meet Arago de SETE whereas the first game in Rzeszow is scheduled for Wednesday, October 31 against Remat ZALAU. “On paper our strongest rival should be Bre Banca Lannutti CUNEO. However, from my experience in the Champions League, I’d like to stress that we cannot underestimate any opponent. If we want to win the games we should always play our best” said Schöps.
“We are already collecting some information about our opponents from Pool G. Arago de SETE and Bre Banca Lannutti CUNEO have started their league season very well. At the moment we don’t possess any videos of Remat ZALAU but I hope we will find some way to prepare good enough for the matches with the Romanian team” ended Andrzej Kowal.
Bartosz Gorski, Vice-Chairman of the club, used the opportunity of this press conference to sum up last season and present some ideas about the development and marketing strategy of the club. “It was an incredible experience for us to win a longed-for championship title and to celebrate this achievement with our devoted fans in Podpromie sports hall as well as on the market square in Rzeszow. We still keep these unforgettable moments in our minds but it doesn’t mean that we feel enough satisfied. Our attitude is very combative. We don’t want to focus only on defending the gold but to present the right fighting spirit all the time and try to win other trophies for our club. Nevertheless, when we recall last season, I’d like to stress also the importance of our performance in the CEV Volleyball Cup finals. We played two terrific and very tough games against Dinamo MOSCOW. We lost two tie-breaks but that experience taken from the European Cups helped us later on in the PlusLiga. I think that our championship-winning team was created just after the CEV Volleyball Cup finals” he said.
“We can praise our team for the big interest they generated among the supporters and the media. We are one of the most frequently broadcasted teams in Polish television, obviously a fact of no small importance for our sponsors. Thanks to our fantastic fans (a full house for the majority of the games) Polsat television likes to broadcast as many events as possible from Podpromie sports hall. Moreover, our participation in the CEV Volleyball Champions League is also important due to the fact that every game will be broadcast by the television. I’d like to stress that our great public in Rzeszow is our pride and our 13th player on the court. As a result of the big success we claimed in the national league, we could boast a record-breaking number of seasonal tickets, nearly 3’200” he added.
“We are still developing the cooperation with our sponsors; we have more than 30 at the moment including our title sponsor, Asseco Poland, a joint-stock company, and two strategic sponsors, Nikon and Handlopex. We are very grateful for all of the support coming from our sponsors despite the difficult economic situation. In return for their help we would like to promote their products among our fans and activate some promotional campaigns. We have created a kind of a business box in Podpromie sports hall in order to guarantee comfortable seats for our sponsors and partners. Furthermore, thanks to the support of the local authorities in a few weeks we will move the seat of Asseco Resovia to a modern office located also in Podpromie sports hall where we will have a comfortable press working room and a professional press conference room. We also focus on the development of young Volleyball talents. That is why we pay a lot of attention to our young promising players and Volleyball schools in Rzeszow” concluded Gorski.
At the end of the press conference the Vice-Chairman of the club showed the official jerseys (home and away) for the 2013 CEV Volleyball Champions League campaign and presented detailed information about the tickets available for this competition.
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