On Saturday, May 10th, in the fourth match of the Polish Prslyga final, Lublin defeated Zawiercie 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18) to claim their first Prslyga title.
After the award ceremony, I spoke with Lublin's coach, Massimo Botti (from Italy).
T: Congratulations. How do you feel now?
Botti: Thank you. To be honest, it feels a bit strange right now. I still can't fully comprehend it all. But I'm really, really happy. I'm really happy, not just for today, but for having spent this long season with this club, and for it to end like this. But I also feel a bit sad. It feels like something has ended.
T: Looking back on the final, you won the first and second matches in straight sets, but lost the third match. And in today's fourth match, you were behind in the first set against Xabierce, but you came back from there to win.
Botti: They raised their level during this final with a key signing (Grosel), which made them competitive again. It's not normal to win all the finals 3-0. It's the two best teams in the league, so it's going to be close. It's normal to win and lose. But the most important thing is to win the last game, and that's what we did.
T: This season you won the Challenge Cup by beating the Italian powerhouse Civitanova, and also won the Polish League by defeating other strong teams, including Jastrzebski Wenger, who were first in the regular season. What kind of "magic" did you use?
Botti: Thank you (laughs). But there is no "magic". There is only hard work. Believing in your work, believing in the players, believing in this group from the beginning. We all stayed together and kept calm in the difficult times, but we still believed and kept working hard. When you do that, something special happens. And this is what happened this season. So there is no special "magic".
T: You were fired two seasons ago in Italy with Piacenza despite the impressive result of winning the Coppa Italia, and then took over as manager at Lublin. How were those two seasons like?
Botti: Piacenza is in the past and to be honest I don't really want to talk about it because it was a difficult time for me. But what I can say now is that I'm grateful to this club for believing in me, giving me the chance and now celebrating an incredible season.
T: Are you interested in coaching in the Japanese league in the future?
Botti: I think it would be a great experience. Of course, I want to do it. I'm waiting for someone to contact me (laughs). The Japanese league is getting more and more attention. So someone call me (laughs).

Photo: plusliga.pl, TOSHIKI