Cruzeiro beat Trentino, from Italy, by 3 sets to 1 (25/22, 20/25, 25/16 and 25/22) and won the fifth Club World Cup title this Sunday (15), at the Sabiazinho gymnasium, in Uberlândia.
This was the 12th edition of the tournament, and the two teams are the biggest world champions in men’s volleyball, with five cups each. The Minas Gerais team holds the titles in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2021, while the Italians won the cup in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2018.
The final in Minas Gerais was also a separate duel between the opposite Wallace and the point forward Michieletto. Top scorer at this World Cup, the Brazilian counterpart scored 23 points in the title decision.
“It was very difficult to classify the team, we arrived as the fourth team in the championship. Many doubted our team, they doubted me a little, too, because I was older”, said Wallace, 37, emotionally, on the Sportv channel. At 37 years old, Wallace was already elected MVP of the 2013 World Cup.
With the fans in their favor, Cruzeiro accelerated the pace of the match from the beginning and showed solid defense to take the lead against the Italians.
The second set was more balanced, but Michieletto made the difference with eight points for Trentino to equalize.
Afterwards, Cruzeiro won the next two sets with a sequence of aces and blocks, while the Italians made a series of errors in attack.
In the fight for third place, Foolad Sirjan, from Iran, defeated Lube Civitanova, from Italy, by 3 sets to 2.
