The four qualifying teams for the Final Four of the 2025 CEV Volleyball European Golden League Men are ready to compete in Brno, Czechia. They are all aiming for the ultimate prize: the prestigious title of champions for this edition.
Out of the four contenders, only the host nation, Czechia, has previously won the trophy, securing it twice in 2004 and 2022. Greece, Israel, and Finland are all yet to claim a gold medal in this competition. Greece has finished on the podium twice, earning silver in 2014 and bronze in 2006, while Finland was the runner-up in 2005.
This season of the CEV Volleyball European Golden League Men has certainly provided surprises. Notably, Israel has impressed everyone by achieving a perfect record of six wins from six matches, despite being a newly-promoted team with limited experience at this level.
Despite dropping six sets and finishing just one point ahead of second-placed Greece in the league phase, Israel demonstrated their capability by defeating the host nation Czechia 3:1 in the opening week. This was achieved even though Lukas Vasina scored 20 points for the Czech side in that match.
This is simply the national team, and everyone wants to show off and take it as far as possible. We all want it to go as well as possible, and I see the tournament in Brno as a final, which I haven`t had in a club season for a long time. I have good memories of winning the trophy in 2022, and I hope we repeat this performance.
Adam Zajíček, Czechia’s captain
Czechia`s performance in the league round was inconsistent, ending with three wins and three losses, placing them sixth. They lost matches against both Israel and Finland, two of the teams they will face in the Final Four. However, in Brno, Czechia might be boosted by the potential return of Marek Šotola, the star player for Halkbank Ankara and a consistent scorer in this season’s CEV Champions League Men, who is recovering from an injury.
It is clear that he was without match play, workload, and training for six weeks. His return is gradual, and I cannot say today whether we will be able to fully use him this weekend.
Jiří Novák, coach of Czechia
The other semi-final will feature Finland and Greece, two teams whose presence in the Final Four might also be seen as somewhat unexpected. Both nations have previously reached a final in the CEV Volleyball European Golden League Men.
Both teams finished the league round with five wins and one loss. Greece secured second place with 16 points, one point ahead of Finland, who finished third, tied with Romania but holding a superior set ratio. This setup meant the two teams were destined to meet in the semi-finals.
Greece and Finland recently played in the final week of the league phase in Nokia, Finland, where Greece won 3:1 after dropping the first set.
The two semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday, July 5th, at 16:00 and 19:00 CEST. The bronze medal match will take place on Sunday, July 6th, at 16:00 CEST, followed by the grand final at 19:00 CEST.
Jasper Thornfield 
Finley Blackwood