Chasing 2026 Champions League Glory in Torino! Semifinals are today!

CEV Champions League Volley 2025/26 reaches its climax this weekend in Torino, and, among this year’s Final Four participants, only the defending champions from Perugia know what it feels like to stand on top of Europe as a club, even if across all four teams are players and coaches who have already experienced the joy of winning Europe’s most prestigious club trophy.
Although it may be hard to believe, last season’s triumph was the first in the history of italian powerhouse Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia. Since then, they have added a third italian title to their collection and now returns to the Final Four with a chance to defend the European crown. In their 10th Champions League campaign, they could become only the second Italian club after Trentino (2009, 2010, 2011) to win back-to-back titles in Europe’s top-tier competition.
Kamil Semeniuk boasts a perfect record in Champions League finals. The 29-year-old outside hitter has reached the final three times and lifted the trophy on every occasion!
His first triumph came in 2021 with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle during his breakthrough season. One year later, he repeated the feat with the Polish side and was named MVP of the SuperFinals while, after joining Perugia, he once again celebrated European glory when the Italian club captured its maiden title last season.

“The recipe for winning the Champions League is simple — you have to play better than the others! Of course, we will do our best to defend the title, but it will not be easy. The key is to play our best Volleyball. There is not much more to add because if we perform at our highest level, we know we can beat any team here. There will definitely be some nerves, as always during final events, so I think the team that starts better will have an advantage. I think – and I believe – that team will be us,” he said.

For his teammate Massimo Colaci, for whom the Final Four in Torino will be the last dance following the announcement of his retirement. The experienced Italian libero first won the Champions League with Trentino in 2011 and then waited 14 years to celebrate European glory again with Perugia. Simone Giannelli, a true legend of Italian Volleyball, finally captured his long-awaited first Champions League trophy last year after suffering defeats in the 2016 and 2021 finals with Trentino.
The 2025 triumph also carried special meaning for head coach Angelo Lorenzetti, who finally lifted the trophy after losing finals in 2003, 2008, 2021 and 2022. By guiding Perugia to last year’s gold medal match, Lorenzetti became only the third coach in history to reach five Champions League finals. Now he has a chance to defend the crown and become just the second head coach ever to make six final appearances.

Perugia’s semifinal opponents, PGE Projekt Warszawa, have reached their first-ever Final Four. While that achievement alone already marks a historic milestone for the club.
Jakub Kochanowski was one of the leaders of ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle during the club’s historic maiden triumph in the 2020/21 season, and the Polish middle blocker now has a chance to repeat that success. Michał Kozłowski also celebrated Champions League glory with ZAKSA in 2022, while Bartosz Bednorz, one of Warszawa’s key figures during this campaign despite currently being sidelined through injury, lifted the trophy with ZAKSA in 2023, fittingly in Torino itself.

“I have really good memories from this venue — with the Poland’s national team we won the world championship title here. Now I am back in a slightly different role and for a different event, but all the memories and emotions are still extremely positive. We have the four best club teams in Europe competing in this Final Four, so everyone will fight tooth and nail until the very last ball. No one will give up and nobody will celebrate too early,” said Jakub Kochanowski.

Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie arrives in Torino not only as runners-up from last season’s edition, but also as newly crowned Polish champions after securing the club’s historic first domestic title. Although none of their current players has yet won the Champions League, head coach Michał Winiarski lifted the trophy with Trentino in 2009, and still considers it one of the greatest achievements of his career alongside Poland’s world championship triumph in 2014.
Several of his players are also chasing long-awaited European glory, including Jurii Gladyr, who has reached the final in each of the last three seasons, twice with Jastrzębski Węgiel and last year with Zawiercie, and at the age of 41 hopes to finally add the elusive trophy to his impressive career résumé. Libero Jakub Popiwczak knows that heartbreak all too well, as he lost two finals with Jastrzębski Węgiel before finishing third with the same club last season.

“Winning the Champions League would mean a lot – it would be a great achievement, a great honour and a great joy. I think every team here has its chances. No one came to Torino just to play – everyone came here to fight for the trophy. Over the last few weeks we showed what we are capable of by winning the national title, but now this is a new competition, with different opponents, new circumstances and a blank page to write a new story. Everything starts from the beginning again,” said Jurii Gladyr.

Ziraat Bankkart Ankara heads to Torino with the chance to reach the final for the first time in club history after completing a domestic triple crown this season, with a roster that also includes several players who came close to European glory, only to leave the stage with silver medals.
Team leader Nimir Abdel-Aziz played in two Champions League finals, with Cuneo in 2013 and Trentino in 2021, both with italian clubs. Although he fell short on both occasions, the Dutch opposite has already conquered Asia twice, winning the AVC Champions League with Peykan Tehran in 2021/22 and with Al Rayyan in 2024/25, where he was also named MVP and Best Opposite. Now he hopes to repeat that success onto the European stage.
His teammates Trevor Clevenot and Tomasz Fornal were part of the Jastrzębski Węgiel squad that claimed silver in 2023, while Fornal added another runners-up finish in 2024 before securing bronze last season.

“The Champions League for club team it’s the biggest trophy. It’s the biggest goal to achieve, so it’s really nice to be here. It’s also a privilege to be here, because not every player can say that they are in the Final Four, and not every player can say that they played the final. Of course – my dream is to win it, but the fact to be here, to be able to try again it’s really great,” said Nimir, team captain of Ziraat Bankkart Ankara.

And today’s semifinals will determine which two teams remain within touching distance of European glory!

Saturday May 16, 2026
• 17.00 (Local Time) | PGE Projekt Warzawa (POL) – Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia (ITA)
• 20.30 (Local Time) | Aluron CMC Warta Zawiercie (POL) – Ziraat Bankkart Ankara (TUR)

Source: CEV

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