“Of course we believe in it, we are competitors. Now, we have to face the truth: Chaumont finished first in the championship, it is the most consistent team. » Yannick Bazin, sports director of Paris Volley, measures the challenge facing his club, which nevertheless remains on eight victories in ten matches. Despite this great dynamic, the Parisians finished the first phase of the season in 8th and final qualifying place for the playoffs. The fault, in particular, is a series of five consecutive losses between November 14 and December 5, 2023.
A bad patch which cost the place of Italian coach Fabio Storti, replaced on December 6 by Nikola Matijasevic. “He brought his experience,” underlines Yannick Bazin about the latter. He put rigor into training. We missed it a lot. We are a young team, we needed stability and a person of this profile who manages to communicate with the players. »
Since Matijasevic’s appointment, Paris Volley has recorded twelve victories and four defeats. “Two new players joined us during the break (Masato Kai and Lucas Conde), continues the former international smuggler. The planets aligned, and it got easier. We must now remain humble even if we will play this quarter-final to win. The objective at the start of the season was to qualify for the playoffs, it was successful, but I hope that the players are aware that we are playing in the playoffs to win. »
The series between Paris Volley and Chaumont is played in the best of five matches. The capital club will host games 3 and 4 at the Salle Charpy in Charléty (13th century) and will travel for games 1, 2 and 5. The Coupe de France weekend obliges, eight days will separate games 1 and 2. “That favors the best ranked, knowing that we will travel twice in a week, and that Chaumont only makes one trip to Paris, explains Yannick Bazin. This system is quite particular, but Chaumont deserves to have this advantage. It’s up to us to prove that the best ranked can be defeated. »
The Chaumont – Paris match will be broadcast this Tuesday March 26 at 8 p.m. on BeIN Sports 3.
