The top club teams in the world will compete in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Club World Championship, which is the last event of the 2023 international volleyball season. This year’s title contenders have been announced.
The Men’s Club World Championship, scheduled for Bengaluru, India, from December 6–10, pits Italy’s Sir Sicoma Perugia against Turkey’s Halkbank Spor Kulübü, Brazil’s Sada Cruzeiro Vôlei and Itambé Minas, Japan’s Suntory Sunbirds, and India’s Ahmedabad Defenders in an attempt to defend the title they won in 2017.
The Italian and Turkish teams qualified via the CEV Champions League for 2022–2023, the Brazilian teams qualified by placing first and second in the South American Men’s Club Championship, and the Japanese qualified by winning the Asian Men’s Club Championship. The Ahmedabad Defenders, who won the 2023 RuPay Prime Volleyball League, were selected to represent the host country, India.
After winning the championship the previous season, defending champions Perugia will only be participating in the tournament twice. Polish outside hitters Wilfredo Leon and Kamil Semeniuk, as well as Italian setter Simone Giannelli, are among the top players on the Italian club’s roster.
After placing third in the previous season’s Champions League, Halkbank of Turkey will get their first shot at a world championship. After acquiring Dutch high-scoring opposite Nimir Abdel-Aziz and signing French Olympic MVP outside hitter Earvin Ngapeth, the Turkish team now boasts two elite players.
Out of the six teams, Sada Cruzeiro from Brazil is by far the most seasoned team, having participated in the Club World Championship ten times and taken home four titles (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2021). Sada boasts several current and former members of the Brazilian national team, including Olympic champions Wallace de Souza and Lucas Saatkamp, as well as Miguel Angel López, a star outside hitter from Cuba.
Minas, their in-state rivals, will only be vying for the world title for the third time, having placed fourth and seventh the previous two years. Isac Santos, a four-time world champion with Sada, is the main addition for Minas, who also kept libero Maique Nascimento of the Brazilian national team.
The Sunbirds, the first Japanese team to compete at the Club World Championship, repeated as Asian champions earlier this year. A talented group of Japanese players, including middle blocker Taishi Onodera, setter Masaki Oya, and outside hitter Kenya Fujinaka, is led by Olympic champion opposite Dmitriy Muserskiy.
The Defenders, the winners of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League’s second season, will play as hosts India. They should lead the team against the best in the world thanks to players like outside hitter Santhosh Santhosh and opposite Angamuthu Ramaswamy, who stood out in their national championship.
The six teams will compete over the five-day tournament, divided into two pools of three. Pool play matches last for three days, with the top two teams from each pool moving on to the semifinals.
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