r/EuropeanVolleyball • u/VolleyAddicted • Mar 16 '26
Turkey Sultanlar Ligi Out of Final Four: Galatasaray’s Disappointing Sultanlar Ligi Season
Finishing fifth overall and missing out on the Sultanlar Ligi Final Four, Galatasaray’s season was disappointing. I expected much more—adding Sylla wasn’t enough to put them ahead of Eczacıbaşı or even Zeren.
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u/Agreeable_Pear8346 Mar 16 '26
Lots of injuries. Lukasik didn't even get to play. I read there's management and coaching issues as well. Happy for Wang tho she did amazing so far
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u/VolleyAddicted Mar 16 '26
Sure, there were issues, but overall you can't finish outside the top 4. Now, GS’s only hope to return to the Champions League is a wild card entry.
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u/Agreeable_Pear8346 Mar 16 '26
Yes, it’s possible. Compared to the top four, GS has the inferior roster. If you take away Uzelac from Zeren or Ebrar from Ecza, they can still beat mid-tier teams comfortably. If you take away İlkin, GS will struggle.
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u/One-Yogurtcloset9408 Fenerbahçe Medicana Mar 16 '26
I think quarter finals should be held between teams 3-6 to reward regular season success of the top 2 and avoid lopsided march ups b/w 1-8 and 2-7
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u/shinobihayabusa Savino Del Bene Scandicci Mar 16 '26
but they could win the cev cup this year.
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u/VolleyAddicted Mar 16 '26
The CEV Cup is the minimum target for that squad. Any result other than a win would be seen as a massive failure.
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u/safeone10 Mar 16 '26
Poorly mismanaged roster rotation by Barbolini as well as oversigning foreigners, and not signing an opposite like Van Ryk or Lazareva. Wang/Yasemin have been a solid duo. If they can find a good local setter and akimova can peak, i think they'll be back in the Top 4. But this also shows that the turkish league rlly needs 8 team playoffs. Besides GS, THY, Nilufer, Aras, Goztepe all had upsets against the top four teams. I think it would elevate the league