Bucharest hosts the Women’s Champions League Final Four

A Romanian volleyball side played the Champions League final held for the first time in Bucharest

Mihai Pelin, 07.05.2018, 13:11

At the weekend, Bucharest hosted for the first time the women’s Volleyball Champions League Final Four. Romania had one team in the final, CSM Volei Alba Blaj, the first Romanian team to reach the final stage of this competition. In the semifinals, CSM defeated the Turkish side Galatasaray Istanbul 3-1, but lost the final to another Turkish side, VakifBank Istanbul, 3-0. VakifBank, who have Europe’s biggest budget in women’s volleyball, are a very powerful team.

They won their fourth Final Four title, after 2011, 2013 and 2017. Their Romanian opponents, whose budget is six times lower, comes from a small town with 20,000 inhabitants, where they train in their own 1,850-seat stadium. The match was a constant challenge, and each point a great joy, said the captain of the Romanian side, Adina Salaoru. She said the Turkish players were superior in terms of strength, height and experience. Despite their defeat, CSM Volei Alba Blaj managed something extraordinary in Romanian volleyball, given that they faced the world’s most powerful team, sports journalists say.

Qualifying for the final is one of the greatest achievements, both for women’s volleyball and sports in Romania in general. CSM had an exceptional run in the Champions League and exceeded all expectations, but failed to deliver the final surprise in women’s volleyball. VakifBank were very strong, winning all the three sets and never giving the Romanian side a chance. The latter, however, made a name for themselves in Europe this season, 7 years after they were established. They also had the public on their side, who supported them throughout the game. The atmosphere in the stadium was truly extraordinary considering that football is the most popular sport in Romania and probably around the world.

While winning the Champions League would have been a first in the Romanian women’s volleyball, the men have won this title before. In the 1960s, two teams from Bucharest, Dinamo and Rapid, were unbeatable. Each team won the men’s Champions Cup title three times. In fact, the first four finals in the history of this competition were between Rapid Bucharest and CSKA Moscow. The Russian side won in 1960 and 1962 and Rapid in 1961 and 1963. Since the 1999-2000 season, the competition has been known as the Champions League.