“The Job Is Not Finished”

As the Turkish League season closes with a third-place finish, the focus inside the team remains clear: nothing has been achieved yet.

We spoke with our head coach Giulio Cesare Bregoli and our team captain Simge Aköz about the season, the mindset, and what comes next.

Q: The league is over and we finished third but as we all know the job is not done. How do you evaluate the season with that mindset?

Coach Bregoli:
It’s a complex feeling. When you reach the final stages, your mindset is always to win. Our goal was to reach the final and find a way to beat VakıfBank.

After the first match, we were upset. But the second match showed that we are at the same level — we can fight point by point. If some moments had gone differently, maybe we could have pushed it to a third match.

After that, we had to reset and focus on another objective — finishing third and qualifying for the Champions League.

From the outside, it’s a good result. But when you are inside the competition, you always want more. What I like is determination. But now, that part is finished. The focus is already ahead.

Captain Aköz:
I think this season was more about building something than just the result.

We started as a new group, and step by step we became a real team. That’s something we’re proud of.

At the same time, when you feel that connection and that level on the court, you naturally want more.

So yes, we value what we achieved — but we also feel that this is just the beginning.

Q: Even with a new team, a new system, and a new country for you — there’s still this feeling of “not enough.” Is that intentional?

Coach Bregoli:
Yes, because for me winning is an obsession. Playing well is an obsession.

I don’t evaluate performance only by ranking. That depends on the opponent — and I cannot control that. What I can control is how we train, how we play, and how we improve.

Results are a consequence. If you start being satisfied with something less than first place, step by step your standards drop. First third place, then fourth… and one day you accept anything. And that’s something I don’t accept.

At the same time, we improved a lot during the season. We finished much stronger than we started. That’s important but it’s not the end. It just means we are moving in the right direction.

Captain Aköz:
I think it’s natural for a team that wants to compete at a high level.

We had many changes, and it wasn’t always easy. But from the beginning, we didn’t want to use that as an excuse. We tried to build something step by step, understanding each other, trusting each other more every week.

And when you start to feel that connection on the court, you automatically want more.

So, it’s not about being negative, it’s about believing that we have more inside us.

Q: There was a long break before the Final Four which is not ideal when you’re in rhythm. Does that make this next challenge even tougher?

Coach Bregoli:
Yes, it changes things. After playing every three days, stopping for a long time breaks your rhythm. And then suddenly, you go straight into a semifinal. There is no build-up no easy matches to get back into it. Just one game, immediately at a very high level.

The friendly match helped us regain some feeling, but it’s not the same as official competition.

So yes, we had time to prepare but we also lost rhythm but of course this is not an excuse. Our opponent, Savino Del Bene Scandicci, is in a similar situation.

It’s part of the challenge. We have to adapt.

Captain Aköz:

We were used to playing all the time, so stopping like this affects you a lot. You feel it on the timing, game feeling, and everything.

But at the same time, we tried to use this period in a positive way: to recover, to train, to fix details that we didn’t have time to work on during the season.

Now it’s about adapting quickly. At this stage, every team has challenges, it’s about who handles them better.

Q: Some people didn’t expect us to reach the Final Four. But inside the team, was it ever a question?

Coach Bregoli:
Everyone has opinions, that’s normal. But sport is not decided before you play. If I started the season thinking we couldn’t reach the Final Four, how could I convince my players? It would be impossible.

So, I never start with limits. And I don’t let others define what we can or cannot do. We decide that or the opponent shows it on the court.

We are here because we deserve to be here. We beat Vero Volley Milano twice. If we didn’t, they might have been here instead of us.

So, no matter what people say or might think, we created this opportunity.

Captain Aköz:

Maybe from the outside it looked like a surprise, but inside the team we always believed we could be here. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, and we knew we had things to improve, but we trusted the work we were doing.

Also, we earned it. We didn’t just arrive here, we fought for it, especially in those matches against Vero Volley Milano.

So, for us, we cannot say it’s a surprise. It’s the result of what we’ve been building all season.

Q: Now that we are here at Final Four, what should people expect from this team?

Coach Bregoli:
They should expect a team that fights. But honestly, I don’t think motivation is the question. If someone needs motivation to play a Final Four, then something is wrong.

This is the highest level. You should already have everything inside. The real question is how we perform — how we stay disciplined, how we execute under pressure.

That’s what will make the difference.

Captain Aköz:

They should expect a team that gives everything.

We might not be perfect every moment, but we will fight for every ball, support each other, and stay together no matter what happens.  That’s our identity, especially in the second part of the season.

At this level, every team is strong. The difference is how much you are willing to give, and how you react in difficult moments. We want to show that part of us.

Q: Is there anything you would like to say to the fans or the public?

Coach Bregoli:
Right now, I prefer not to say too much because the job is not finished. This is my mentality: it’s never finished.

If we win, I will think about how to stay at that level. If we lose, I will think about how to reach the level of the team that beat us.

There is always something more to do, something more to improve. So, no I’m not satisfied yet. Maybe later, I can say “we did our best.”

But right now, we are still in the middle of the work.

And, as we won’t play again in our gym this season, I would like to thank all our supporters and everyone working behind the scenes. They make this place special for us and a place we enjoy being in almost every day. We really feel that energy during matches. Please keep supporting us, we will need it in what’s coming next.

Captain Aköz:

First of all, thank you. We felt support the whole season at home and away and it really made a difference for us.

Now we are going into one of the biggest moments of the season, and we know we are not alone. We can’t promise results, but we can promise effort, commitment, and that we will leave everything on the court.

And hopefully, we can make them proud.