Paris Volley, led by former coach of the Bulgarian national team Silvano Prandi, lost to Montpellier with 0:3 (21:25, 30:32, 23:25) in the French Super Cup final. The match was played in the "Palais des Sports Jean Weille" hall in Nancy.
Despite the decisive result, the match was contested, with the second game proving particularly dramatic. The Parisians fought to the last, but Montpellier prevailed with 32:30, and then closed the match with 25:23 in the third set.
Montpellier's middle blocker Nicolas Le Goff was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final.
The success is particularly valuable for Montpellier, who had a difficult start to the season in the French championship. Before the Super Cup match, the reigning champion was only in 12th place with one win and four losses, while Paris Volley was ninth with two wins and three defeats.
For Prandi and his team, participation in the new season itself was recently in doubt. Paris Volley found itself on the verge of bankruptcy due to accumulated debts approaching one million euros, and the management warned that without a new investor, the club might cease operations and release its players.
Only on October 16, the day before the start of the championship, was the securing of emergency funding announced, which allowed the Parisians to start the season. However, the financial problems were not definitively resolved, and the club continued to work on a change of ownership.
For the Italian specialist, who returned to lead Paris Volley in the summer, the final in Nancy was the first opportunity to win a trophy in the new season.
Silvano Prandi is well known to Bulgarian volleyball fans from his two periods at the helm of the Bulgarian men's national team. Under his leadership, the national team won bronze medals at the European Championship in 2009 and finished fourth at the World Championship in 2010.