CEV Champions League Volley 2025 Drawing of Lots

[Music] n [Music] n [Music] n [Music] n [Music] aah [Music] e [Music] a [Music] n [Music] n [Music] n [Music] n [Music] n [Music] [Applause] [Music] ladies and gentlemen good afternoon from the beautiful city of Luxembourg City and welcome to the 2025 edition of the cev European cups Champions League draw now as you recall we just finished a season an exciting season of 2024 of the Champions League with the final being held in Italia and we are excited to resume this action with more than 200 teams participating in the three competitions in both genders now I am really honored and actually really yeah excited that we are hosting this drawing of lots here in the prestigious broadcasting Center Europe for the fifth year in a row and I'm also excited and happy that I get to co-host this drawing of lots with my colleague and my dear friend Fredo fedro thank you so much Nisha for the nice introduction I agree with you it feels yesterday I mean when we completed the 2024 season and we crowned the kings and queens of European volleyball but there is no time to rest and we don't want to rest on our Laurels and it is about time to get the season started for 2025 as you said the interest I mean from the clubs across Europe to participate in the European cups is massive and we have 204 teams involved which is a terrific number and we can't wait for the draw and for the season to get started in September that's right now thank you fedo now um this year we have decided to do it a little bit different so we will split the drawing of lots we will start with the cev Champions League drawing of lots and then we will take a small break and then come back with the live broadcasting where we will solely focus on the cev cup and also the cev challenge cup now fedo can you please tell us what is that's correct Nisha we started with the champions league and we started with the early rounds um I think the fans have become familiar with the early rounds and this is where upand cominging teams will be fighting for a coveted tickets to join the European Elite of volleyball in the Forefront but before we go into the draw I believe we have a special guest to introduce so it's over to you Nisha to introduce this guest and yes in a nice way yes now before we get started I would like to introduce our guest of honor for today now she is the true European volleyball Queen and she has competed in the highest level for almost 20 years and she's accumulated honors and awards and and participating with her club and also with her national team now she needs absolutely no introduction but of course we have a video highlighting some of the most prestigious times in her illustrious career let's take a look at this highlight [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] now welcome back to the drawing of lots as you see we have here Nas idia Akio here with us and Nas we just witnessed some of your really really great highlights of your career and um what are some of your most proud moments playing and competing in the Champions League I have many and I can't say which one is better than the other one but uh the most memorable ones for me is the first final four withu when I was almost a kid and then my first trophy with fener b and the maybe the most memorable one I can say that the last one with of punk when I was pregnant to my son so it was like a double victory yeah and I can tell all those as memorable moments I have to say that's pretty cool because you and your son won a title together and that's only something that a woman can do I'm just saying and um and how I mean you've you've you've played you competed so many years in this High League what keeps you motivated to stay and play in a in such a high highly High competition I think when you taste the cup you don't uh want to have less so this keeps me driving for more and I want to earn as much as I can yeah and then you will have something to tell your son too yeah nice memories for him also yeah I think so too and and I heard that this is going to be your 18th year of competing in the championship now how many people can say that they competed in in in the Champions League for 18 years and I'm sure there's been like some ups and some downs and you know we talked about this earlier that people normally they just see you come out on the court in your jury Jersy and see you standing on the podium with the trophy but they don't see actually the blood that you know that You Sweat The Tears the ups and the lows can you please share with the fans you know some of these moments that you've endured to get to where you are today uh it's been a long long way to come here as you said it's been 18 it's it will be my 18th time that I'll be participating in Champions League um I can tell as much as I like to see myself on Podium uh as athletes we need the hitting the bottom moments to rise up again so the people see us winning and sweating in our jerseys in the court but behind that we have so long stories to tell which if I start to tell now it will take the whole driving off lot but we suffer a lot and it's like tear and blood y yep totally understand no thank you for sharing that with me and I know that these are memories and moments that you're going to remember for the rest of your life life and also that your son is going to remember for the rest of his life and um so federo I think the fans are getting a little bit excited uh to for this competition I guess so yes it's terrific to have Nas with us today we were saying before that we did actually meet in 2008 the beginning of her career she was playing for the junior national team of turkey at the time so she has come a long way and it's terrific I mean to witness all of the successes that she has achieved over the years so now it's time to go back to the business let's say and to the to the actual draw we start with the women's competition and um um I would like to emphasize that in the early rounds of the Women's Champions League we ski the first and the second round we do have 10 teams involved and these will be contesting the third round uh these will be played as Home and Away matches um we have seeded five teams as you will be able to see on the charts according to the latest ranking list for the Champions League women and we have five teams to draw out of this cup with your help norisha but before we do so I just wanted to be a little more precise you will see on the charts that uh among the city teams we have teams from Poland and Serbia actually um they are in the they are involved in the early RS because uh their national champions didn't register for participation in the Champions League so those other teams had to be moved to the early rounds according to the regulations so back to the graphics we have seated five teams those five teams will be playing the return matches at home and those five teams that you will be drawing out of this cup norisha we go from I mean the top to the bottom of the draw and they will be hosting the first match at their home so let's get [Music] started so Nisha the team that you have drawn will be playing against Poland's Gro bulani W and there is okah noi of Montenegro all of the teams apart from those from Poland and Serbia involved in the third round are current national champions of their country so it's it's very exciting and we have also some new commers that we will be able to see in a moment please go ahead Serbia stovas is the next seeded team and whom will they be playing for a spot in the fourth round and that is Asterix AO bin of Belgium a team that has been playing in the Champions League for a number of Seasons already the next C the team is from Romania and there is T voluntari 2005 and norisha you will Define which team they will be playing in the third round with Home and Away matches at the beginning of October so playing the team from Romania will be rabot nitzki Scopia of North Macedonia the national champions of the Balkan country and newcomer to the Women's Champions League the next C team is the club volleyball Grand Canaria of Spain and we have two teams left in this cup and we will now Define who goes to the Canary Islands but first the first match will be at their home and it is f Porto of Portugal and it is the first time we have a Portuguese women's team in the Champions League in about 20 years last but not least we have one more seed team and it is Croatia's mados Zagreb and we finalized his first draw with your help norisha and who is going to host Zagreb and it is J gatco of Bosnia and Herzegovina and after playing at home they will travel to Zagreb for the return match thank you norisha so this is actually the draw for the third round of the women's competition and the five winners will be proceeding to the four fronts and join there the real elite of European volleyball thank you fedrico for that explanation and now we move on to the men's early rounds of the drawing of lots and Nas this is where we will need your help to do the drawing for the men yes just before we go to the first round uh the interest is so massive in in the Champions League in the men's competition that we have had to add one extra round which is called the preliminary rounds uh it involves three teams the national champions of the three lowest rank federations namely Cyprus l and Ukraine uh these three teams will contest a single Round Rob in tournament uh so they will be playing all against each other uh at a venue still to be defined and the top two will then progress from the preliminary round to the first round and the number threee from these preliminary rounds will continue their European journey in the cev cup which we will talk about later as you announce that there will be a break and a second row later on in the day so for the first round of the men's competition we have seeded a number of teams and eight I mean according to the latest European ranking list for the Main's champions league and we have eight to draw out of this cup and we will do this with the help of Nas so Nas your turn now to take Center Stage please go ahead so this team that Nas has drawn we'll be playing against Austria's hippoo inbrook and that is Foo kaposvar of Hungary again all of these teams are national champions of their respective countries so this accounts certainly for very strong competition and exciting matches as well we continue with the next CD team it's mados Zagreb of Croatia and there is Nas that has drawn the cup and there is budva budva of Montenegro so there is a derby between the teams from moneg and Croatia in the men's Champions League first round next C the team is oron Stars guting hel of the Netherlands thank you and they will be playing sver talin of Estonia and just before we continue I just would like to remind everyone that the CD teams will be playing the return matches at home and those teams that Nas is currently drawing will be hosting the first first of the two matches at their home Nas go ahead who is going to play Red Star Belgrade of Serbia that is the team that will finish first in the preliminary round involving as we said the national champions of Cyprus ltia and Ukraine Vol shenen of Switzerland is the next C team in the men's first round the seeding has been done according to the latest Champions League ranking and the second team I mean the one finishing second in the prary round will be playing against sh in the first round three balls left and three seated teams left we have a newcomer from Romania CSM Corona Brasov already seeded waiting to find out which team they will be playing and it's Oka radnik Bina of bosnan Herzegovina the next C the team represents a club that has a lot of tradition in many sports not just in volleyball olympos pus of Greece and in matches 13 and 14 we will have strum strum of North Macedonia so strum to play pus first at home and then away in Greece and last but not least we have the city team of Portugal sportly boy Benfica thank you and they will be playing The Sensation from the last season guaguas Las Palmas of Spain a team that last year moved from the first round to the quarterfinals they were just one step away from the semi-finals so that concludes the draw for the first round of the men's competition the eight winners will continue to the second round play Home and Away matches and the four winners of the second round will move to the third round where they will also play home at the way matches and two teams only then will qualify for the fourr and joined the elite of European volleyball let me just remind everyone that those teams failing to progress from the early rounds to the group stage of the Champions League will continue their journey in the CV cup so there is one more chance for them to achieve European success thank you for the explanation Federico thank you for the drawing and I can s the anticipation in this room and also from our fans who are watching as we proceed now to the fourth round for the drawings of the champions league but before we do we do have some highlights um highlighting some exciting moments from the 20 24 season for the Women's Champions League where we had the team of corano that won their second title in the Champions League and I think it was very special to them because the previous time they had won the Champions League due to the pandemic we had to play the super finals behind closed doors so I believe they did enjoy the experience of playing in front of a full house in antalia and that's certainly something to remember for a lifetime I think so too it's always different when there's a full crowd in the gym or absolutely yes so let's take a look at these exciting highlights every match a new story every set a new [Music] battle power and determination to be the best among the [Music] best there is only one crown for the champion above all [Music] Champions so welcome back to the broadcasting Center of Europe where we are now about to begin the drawing of lots for the cev Women's Champions League now Nas this time today you get to experience the drawing of lots here from the stage now how did you do it before did you watch it from home sometimes I watch it from home and sometimes a friend or someone from the club informed us about the groups but I was more excited about the next rounds which you did in the previous Seasons that you would know your way to go to final four so that was more exciting for me and um now when you when they told you you who you were going to play against or who you who was in your pool did you ever get nervous or excited or it's not about getting nervous I'm always exit excited to compete so it's there is curiosity of course and after it's a little bit relief that you know against who you will face yeah yeah I remember those days so Nas and federo before we move on we do have a video it's an explanatory video that's going to explain the procedures that we should follow so let's take a look at that video the fourth round of the cev champions league b 2025 will feature 20 teams per gender competing in five pools of four teams each using the double round Robbin system 18 men's and 15 women's teams are directly seeded to the fourth round based on the relevant cev Champions League ranking while the remaining spots will be awarded to the teams making it through the early rounds that will be starting in September 2024 the participating teams are divided into four cups according to the latest cev Champions League ranking list starting with the seeded teams followed by the teams progressing through the early rounds for both the men's and and women's draws we will start from the top and work from left to right as the teams are drawn meaning that first all of the teams from cup one are drawn and placed from left to right in the first row of each pool next the teams from cup two are drawn into row two then those in cup three into Row three and lastly those in cup four into the bottom row two teams from the same country cannot be drawn into the same pool therefore if the nationality of a drawn team matches with that of one of the teams already positioned in that pool then the team drawn is placed into the next available pool to the right if it is the last pool where there is a clash then the last two teams where there is no Clash are switched with each other matches will be played from Tuesday to Thursday over six rounds during the group phase the five pool winners will progress straight to the quarterfinals while the five Runners up and the team finishing third with the best result across all the pools will contest an additional Playoff [Music] round the three winners from the playoffs will join the five pool winners in the quarterfinals the four winners from the quarterfinals will progress to the final four tournament where they will contest single semi-final matches followed by a title deciding match crowning the cev Champions League winners for 2025 so Nas and fedrico I think after that explanation video I think we are ready to go we're good to go yes very much so Nisha it should be clear I mean what we are going to do but I will try to guide you through the process and to provide as much information as possible um as you do best thank you so we start with the cup number one which includes the cream of the crop in European volleyball these are the top teams from the highest ranked National federations according to the latest Champions League ranking list and as we got to see during the video while this the video was played we will draw them from left to right and they will take the top row in each pool so Nisha it is your turn to draw again okay so please go ahead so the first team that you will be drawing out of this cup will be taking the top spot and the first row in pool a so the fate of these teams lie in my hands or that is very true do I need to sign a waiver no I'm just kid okay here we go so so to get started we have the defending champions cararo imoko kelliano of Italy as we just recalled and we got to see in the video they won the title in antalia only a few weeks ago and I'm sure they are coming back with a hunger to repeat judging by the roster that they have assembled I think this is very much the case so the next team that you will be drawinga goes into po B and there is aashi davit isul of tur winners of the Champions League in 2015 and the team that Nas currently plays for we continue now with the next dra three top teams left in this draw cup number one and we have ver Vol Milano of Italy They just won the silver medal in antalia lost the superfinal to corano two teams left Marisha we move on to poll d and there is fener Bach medicana Istanbul of turkey and as Nas recalled they did win their only title to this day in 2012 and Nas was very much part of their team and played a leading role in Baku last but not least norisha we finalized cup one and we do so with the last team from the cup number one and it is Savino delbes kand of Italy so the team from Tusan takes the top spot in po e we move on now to cup number two another five teams to draw from left to right and we have to make sure as it was said in the video that two teams from the same country are not drawn into the same pool let's get started with cup number two [Music] Nisha oh feels like somebody use super glue on this SP oh my god oh got it I got it I got it it doesn't want to open but you made it I didn't want let's see so it is develop Jesu of Poland that joins corano in pool a thank you Nisha let's continue now with the next teami Bashi is waiting to find out which team will be joining them in pool B and it is vakif bank isul but because of the rule that I just mentioned that we cannot have two teams from the same country in the same pool we move them to the next available slot so into pool C together with Milano vakif Bank alltime record winners with six titles to their name wow so the next team will then go into pool B and join jiashi like let's see norisha Nas and that's leala Paris the French national champions crowns some weeks ago joining jiashi in pool B we have two teams left norisha please go ahead let's see who is going to join fenerbache in pool D and that is the second French team Neptune non they played the final of the challenge Cup in 24 and this season they will be playing in the Champions League let's see how they are going to perform and last but not least joining scandi in pool e so the team from Tuscany is joined by Bea biawa of Poland a team that is returning to the Champions League stage after a break of many years thank you Nisha it's time for cup number three as I said when we got started with the draw the teams have been grouped according to the latest European ranking list in the Champions League women and we have now five teams to draw out of this cup please Nisha go [Applause] ahead so corano and Jesu are already set and du toplay matches in pool a and they are joined by Bulgaria's national champions maritv next we'll be joining ji Bashi and lalua Pari in full B that was a quick one Nisha very nice so and that is SS Palin of Germany that's a volleyball stronghold in Germany that club did achieve success on the European stage even back in the 70s yes a lot of history there joining this group of death with Milano and vak bunk if we can call it this way so this is p c slowly but surely taking shape and that is CID kamnik of Slovenia the national champions of Slovenia will be playing ver Milano and vakf Bank two teams left for C free and the one Nisha is now drawing will join fenerbache and non in p d and these are the Hungarian national champions of Vash auua Budapest we are about to complete the draw for cup number three there is this one team left in norisha which goes into pool e together with scandi and belel scwa and this is Germany's aliance mgar national champions of Germany they have reached the quarterfinals a few times already ready thank you Nisha thank you we are almost done but still we have cup number four with five teams and these are the winners of the third round matches that we did speak about just a little while ago so we will have to complete the third round before we get to know which team completes the various pools but the draw has to be performed today so at least we know which pairings goes into which pool all right last one here we go let's see how things pan out and there is the winner of matches nine and 10 joining pool a with corano Jesu and plti after the draw all of the charts will be available on the CV website so it is easier for the fans and the media to understand who is who okay let's continue with Paul B we have ji Bashi leala Pari and shin already drawn into this group and who is next that is the winner of matches three and four in the third round thank you Nisha let's complete now pool C we have ver Milano vak and K kamnik of Slovenia who is next that is the winner of matches seven and eight and now before we continue Nisha I would like just to emphasize that in the third round we do have a Polish team uh Gro bulani W and they are involved in matches one and two which are yet to be drawn out of this cup and because we have a Polish team in pool e the winner of matches one and two cannot go into po e as there is the potential for another Polish team to make it there so let's see I mean how things span out but we have to make sure that this Clash is avoided okay these potential [Music] Clash that is the winner of matches one and two which involve I mean gr bulani W and they're going to pull this so all is good all is safe good thank you so let's complete the draw for pool number e where we have scandic biawa and stutgart and these will be the winner of matches five and six in the third round thank you norisha well this sets the tone for an exciting group stage of the Women's Champions League um I would just like to remind we did see this on on the video clip but I think it's good to repeat this again the five poll winners will be advancing to the quarterfinals directly um those finishing second in each Pool Plus the team finishing third but with the best score across all pools will be contesting the Playoff round the three winners of the playoffs will move on to the quarterfinals joining the pool winners and um we have some surprise I mean in store because people are familiar with the superf finals which were introduced in 2019 but we do have we go back to the final four tournament I mean due to uh changes to the international calendar and so after the quarterfinals there will be a final four tournament split I mean women at the beginning of May and men in miday with the top four teams in Europe playing single semi-finals followed on the final day by a title deciding match so there was there's not going to be a match for the third place that's good that's good thank you for the explanation I could not have done it better myself federo you're welcome n okay now that concludes the drawing of lots for the fourth round for the Women's Champions League but we will continue but that means that um the competition will begin early in the fall and that means that the teams will play each time three times at home and three times on the road that is correct that's that's what the Pool stage looks like yes so F Well we are good now to move to the men's competition and that's right yes and so Nas now that we have you here um what is your opinion from the result of the women's draw that we just finished I think all groups are hard because every team will want to achieve the first spot to secure a place in quarterfinal as a club also this will be our main target in the pool and to become the first best in the group and on the paper to catch up with the weakest team on the paper it will be a good Advantage but I think the groups are pretty okay in my opinion and I'm excited to play and watch all the other games yeah cool now what can you expect the fans I mean what what what do you think the fans will expect in these competitions based on the pools that you've just seen I think group faces um pretty nice to watch but after the group phases are the tougher games and the more thrilling games so uh every game is important every point every state is important in the group to qualify for the next round uh but for me the next rounds are much better to watch yeah fun right exciting and yeah thank you elimination that's why yeah yeah that's true right it's make or break Mara right it's make Do or Die Do or Die thank you very much Nas now it is time that we move on to the drawing of lots the fourth round for the mens but before we do we do have some highlights that are highlighting some of the exciting moments from 2024 and in this video we do have we see the team that was actually crowned we celebrate yes the Italians who won the Champions League for the first time since 2011 they were the first ones to win the title three years in a row then they had some SBS and some drama in finals that they lost but they crown themselves champions in antalia Unfortunately they will not be playing Champions League this season I mean the national league is so competitive that they couldn't finish among the top three but I think it's good to celebrate their achievement and to review some of the best moments of the past season and the superf finals in Turkey yeah so let's take a look at the highlights from this video Legends are not born they are [Applause] selfmade in the competition of Champions the best will rise to the [Applause] [Applause] [Music] to so welcome back to the broadcasting Center of Europe where we will proceed with the drawing of lots and we will now draw and begin to draw for the fourth round of the men's cev champions league and we have our star guest who is still here with us and she will help assist us with the drawing um of the balls and fedo could you please assist us and guide us through this process I will happily do so again we do follow the same rules and principles as with the women's competition this time it's Nas that is performing the draw she's not involved in any way so uh she feels at ease she feels is I mean this time to be the one performing the draw and we start and we start uh with the top teams uh the cream of the Crump as we called it before in men's European volleyball uh the top teams of the highest ranked National federations and these will be drawn across the pools and take the top spot in each group Nas it's now your turn their fate lies in your hands say so we start with the team that will be going in to pull a and that is the Germans Champions Berlin recycling volleys so they take the top spot in pool a the German teams are representing this year there are as many as three in the men's competition n now the one team that you will be drawing out of this cup will go to pull B and taking the top spot there and that is ver Monza of ital this is their debut in the men's Champions League they must be excited to do so in pool C now let's see who is going to take the top rooll there is the team from Poland aluron Vara zavier it's not their first season in the Champions League but they had a very successful season in the Polish national league so we are curious to see how they will be performing in the top league in Europe now po D we have two teams left in cup one let's see who takes the top spot in pool D and this is siroma monini peruja of Italy so the Italian national champions yet to win the Champions League so they will definitely be hunting this elusive gold medal in 2025 now we finalize cup one with the last team thank you and it's yashi veel of Poland silver medal winners this past season when they lost to trentino in antalia and they take the top spot in po e I'm sure they are motivated to go for this elusive gold medal as well we now continue with cup two and as we said before with the women's draw we have to pay extra attention to make sure that two teams from the same country are not drawn into the same pool so Nas go ahead we have have the Berlin recycling volleys at the top of pool a and we have project varshava of Poland so it's all good the team that won the challenge Cup in 2024 joined the Berlin recycling volleys in pool a we have ver Monza of Italy waiting to find out the name of their next opponent and that's Helios Grizzly gizen of Germany making their Champions League debut first time they play the most prestigious competition in club volleyball [Music] Nas so we have aliance Milano another team that is celebrating their debut in the Champions League they join zavier in pool C let's continue with pool D and E so Hulk Bank anara of turkey is joining peruja in p and last but not least to finalize cup number two that's another German team esun they join yashki in po e they had a pretty good run last season and what was their first Champions League participation so I'm sure that there will be going for more success as soon as matches get underway get on the road so now we have cup three and another five teams to draw from left to right Nas please go ahead joining the Berlin recycling volleys of Germany and project varshava of falland in pool a that's greenyard mic of Belgium a club that has been involved in the Champions League since the introduction of this competition more than 20 years ago lot of history yeah n joining Z Mona and G in po B that is fener Bach medicana stul of tury we continue with p c where we already have zavier and Milano and it's the second team from Belgium kakar joining pool C another team that has played in the Champions League for many many years two teams left one actually two from France and let's see who goes into pool D and which one goes into pool e Nas has just drawn the ball and it's saner vbe Atlantic that joins peruja and Ankara in pool D that's taking shape slowly but it seems to be a very competitive group we finalized cup number three we have the silver medal winners from 2024 yski veel and Germany's es lunber joined by Shon 52 of France a team that has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League before we are almost on but not without cup number four where we have three teams um whose names are already known and two teams which names will be determined after completion of the early rounds but I mean we have to complete the draw today and looking back the fans and media will be able to sort of try to predict who is going to make it a in through through these early rounds and join one of the pools in the fourth round Nas please go ahead we finalize poll a to begin with nas you're doing a fantastic job and it is slovenia's national champions atav Liana that completes pool a together with Berlin varava and Ma the next team will complete pool B Monza gizen and fenerbache are already in there and are joined by the winner of third round matches 2728 so they will have to wait a few weeks to know which other team will be completing their pool po C we have zavier ch Milano and RAR thank you and again somebody coming from the early rounds and the winner of matches 25 and 26 six will complete pool C once those early rounds are played we finalized the draw two teams left one from Bulgaria and the other one from CIA joining peruja hul bank and sanaz in po D it's jostes buit of CIA the Czech national champions complete po D and last but not least Nas and then for me the last the job is done and nicely done Trum please so joining yashki es Lun and Sho is leki sopia of Bulgaria the newly crowned Bulgarian national champions a club that has a lot of history and tradition from the early days of the European cups that concludes the draw for the four rounds of the men's Champions League I will just repeat as with the women in this stage of the competition all teams will be playing three matches at home and threee away from home the pool winners will all Advance directly to the quarterfinals those finishing second and the one third place team with the best score will contest the playoff rounds and after the quarterfinals as we said for the women's competition there will be a final four tournament 17 to 18th of May that's the date that people should already mark on their agenda and this is where we will be crowning the new Kings of European volleyball thank you very much as so may that sounds so far away but the time goes by so fast we'll be here before we we will get there even without realizing that yeah yeah and we hope to see you there yeah so thank you very much fedrico for guiding through that drawing of lots and Nas I know now that we still have you here I want to get some more information out of you what is your opinion what is your thoughts um when it comes to the the Champions League in general what's your feeling uh I think the best teams of the world are competing in this league so this makes Champions League unique uh and to win champions league is a privilege of course competing is something else but winning it it feels like you are at the top of the world of course there is World Club Championship but it's a one week tournament this is a whole league and you spend like 9 10 months to win it so it's really nice to be a part of the champions league and for the fans I think it's really entertaining to see the best athletes in from all over the world and the best teams competing against each other to win the trophy that's right and as we were talking behind the scenes and discussing the reintroduction of the final four tournament which is something that seems to be pleasing you is that right yeah I like final fours because I have 10 times in a row final four attendance and after I gave a break the system has changed and we didn't have any more final four at the end so I'm really happy and I hope I can still be a part of it at the end of the season now with your your expertise because you've been in the league for a long time um what do you think makes it so special to compete in the Champions League like as I mentioned before the best teams of the worlds are competing in this league and you can never know the results that's right so it's as an athlete also it's really um it's a privilege for me to compete in the Champions League as I told before so um to be a part of the best League of the world is something else as an athlet I can tell this that is true dos it's been such a pleasure to have you here it's my pleasure thank you for having me no thank you we are really really honored to have you here and just to hear your expertise and and and one hears that you have so much experience you know from your answers and thank you we wish you all the best as a player in the competition and we wish you all the best with your team too in the competition and we hope to see you compete many many more years and maybe you know have another um break another record let's see fing crossed seriously you might you might get but I'm not playing for the records my main target is to win this cup in fourth of May but let's see yeah but I think you might break the record all the best more than 18 all the best and as I mentioned earlier today that after we complete the drawing of lots for the cev Champions we will now take a break and we will come back at 1 p.m where we will continue with the drawing of lots for the cev cup and also for the challenge cup so we'll see you in a bit [Music] for