European champion Zakusa and his strength

The road to winning the Champions League

Qualifying League: 6 wins, 0 losses, 1st place

Quarterfinals vs Civitanova (Italy)
1 win, 1 loss 3:1(23:25, 14:25, 25:21, 25:21), 0:3(22:25, 24:26, 24:26)
Golden Set 16:14

Semi-final vs Kazan (Russia)
1 win, 1 loss 3:2(22:25, 22:25, 29:27, 25:22, 16:14), 2:3(17:25, 25:16, 25:21, 28:30, 18:20)
Golden Set 15:13

Final vs Trento (Italy)
3:1(25:22 25:22 20:25 28:26)

Looking back at the results, I feel that they deserved to win the final. In particular, when they lost the second match against Civitanova 0:3 and then won the golden set after a deuce, I couldn't stop trembling as I watched the match online, and I thought this team was the real deal. After that, even though they were cornered many times in the Kazan match, I felt at ease watching them, and I think the players' eyes were filled with a firm sense of confidence.

The secret to the team's strength

Here I would like to introduce three points that supported Zakusa's strength.

①High defensive ability

Zaksa is a defensive team. In other words, their total defense, which combines blocks and digs, is very good. As proof of this, they are ranked first in the domestic league in the number of blocks per set (2.57). To be honest, Zaksa is not a tall team. The setter is 183cm tall, the two middle players are around 2m tall, and the side players are less than 2m tall. I think their average height is on the small side in the Polish league, but it's surprising that they have been able to achieve such high blocking numbers. I couldn't find the data, but the dig rate is also quite high, led by libero Zatorski, and even if the ball is deflected or lost, everyone runs and dives to chase the ball to the end. In other words, everyone on the court has a very high defensive awareness. That's why they can tenaciously grab even the slightest chance and turn it into a score.

② They don't have an absolute ace, but they have a high attack success rate

Zakusa does not have an absolute ace. However, all five attackers make few mistakes and have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, and because setter Toniutti's tosses and attacker selections are good, the team always boasts a high attack success rate. Generally, the best scorer on a team is the same player every game, but in Zakusa, any of the three players on the side can be the best scorer of the game. Therefore, even if someone is broken or not in good form, the others have the team strength to fully cover for them.

3) High resilience

Due to the rules of the sport of volleyball, there is no such thing as a home run in baseball, so once you allow your opponent to take the lead, it is very difficult to catch up and overtake them. In fact, in modern volleyball, the team that is leading is psychologically more likely to attack with a strong serve, so the score difference often widens. Especially after the middle of a set, if the score difference is 3 or more points, it is very difficult to turn the set around and take it. However, Zakusa has turned such situations around many times. Even when the score difference widened, he remained unfazed and played tenaciously, waiting for an opportunity to turn the game around. His ability to recover during such games, that is, his high resilience, was clearly visible.

There are many other secrets to his strength, such as his aggressive serve and strong S1 rotation, but personally I would like to emphasize the three mentioned above.

Author's comment

Previous Champions League winners have often had flashy, luxurious spikers, such as Civitanova in 2019 with Juan Torena and Sokolov, and Kazan with Leon and Mikhailov, who won their fourth consecutive title. However, the fact that this time, a team led by a rather unassuming, skillful side player who has not been particularly active on the national team, won the championship makes us feel like a new era is upon us.

I also think that this year's team, Zakusa, shows the image of the team that the Japanese national team should aim for in the future. Even if the average height is a little low, they can beat the superstar team with their team strength. I think it was a team that showed such hope. I hope more people will see this team.