TWO TIMES CHAMPION STARTS THE SEASON WITH THE NEWCOMER

Men's Indesit European Champions' League 2004/05

Belgorod, Russia, November 8, 2004. Two time defending Indesit European Champions’ League champion “Lokomotiv” (Belgorod, Russia) starts the fifth edition of the Indesit Champions’ League with the match against the novice at the most prestigious European club tournament – team “Polska Energia” from Sosnowiec, Poland.

“Polska Energia” takes part in the Indesit European Champions League for the first time. The team started its own history in 1992, when two famous Polish volleyball clubs “GKS Plomien Milowice” and “KS Gornik Kazimierz” decided to join together and form a new team called “GKS Kazimierz-Plomien”. In 1995, three years after playing in the Polish Volleyball First League, “Kazimierz Plomien“ became the Champion of Poland. For the next five years the players of the club did not achieve any meaningful success. In 2000 “Kazimierz Plomien” changed its name to “KP Polska Energia” and became a sport joint stock company. Two times in a row, during the season 2002/2003 and 2003/2004, KP Polska Energia won the Cup of Poland.
As for the “Lokomotiv”, the Champions from Belgorod start the new season renewed. Gennady Shipulin will now be assisted by Zoran Gajic, formerly the Head Coach of the Yugoslavian national team (now the team of Serbia and Montenegro). Team veterans Sergey Tetyukhin and Vadim Khamuttskikh will fight for the victory supported by the new “lions” Alejandro Raul Spajic (a member of the Argentinean national team), Vladislav Vizovsky (who already played for “Lokomotiv” from 1996-1999 and in 2002) and Vyacheslav Makhortov (who just earned his place on the team roster, previously being a member of the second team “Dinamo-Belogorie” which is playing in the first minor league of the Russian championship). According to the Head Coach Shipulin, the “lions” are in full strength and every player and each coach will do their best to win.
Volleyball fans will have a chance to witness the start of the Champion at the tournament on 11 November in Belgorod, in the Sport Palace “Cosmos” at 18.00.

Andrew Gubin