Maximiliano Covi Named MVP of Champions League

Representatives of Perugia claimed 6 out of 9 individual awards after their successful "Final Four" in the Champions League.

The Italian giants defeated Warsaw 3:0 in the semifinals and repeated this score against Zawiercie in the final match.

Perugia Wins Champions League Title for Second Consecutive Year

The libero for Perugia, Maximiliano Covi, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final tournament. This is a precedent in the 26-year history of the competition, as it is the first time a libero has received this accolade. Previously, the award had been given 13 times to receivers, eight times to diagonals, twice to central blockers (Andrey Egorchev in 2004 and David Smith in 2023), and once to a setter (Simone Gianelli in 2025).

The two matches in Turin were the last in the 41-year-old volleyball player's career. Starting next season, Covi will take up the position of technical director at Perugia. With this club, he has won the Champions League twice, the World Club Championship three times, the national title three times, the Italian Cup four times, and the Italian Super Cup seven times.

With the Italian national team, Covi has won silver medals at the Olympics in 2016, the World Cup in 2015, and the World Championship of Champions in 2017. He also has bronze medals from the World League in 2014 and the European Championship in 2015.

Simone Gianelli, Wassim Ben Tara, Oleg Plotnicov, Tomasz Forlán, and Mateusz Bieneck made the all-star team for the second consecutive year.

All-Star Team of the Champions League 2026 Final Four

MVP: Maximiliano Covi (Perugia)

Setter: Simone Gianelli (Perugia)
Diagonal: Wassim Ben Tara (Perugia)
Central Blockers: Mateusz Bieneck (Zawiercie), Yuriy Gladyr (Zawiercie)
Receivers: Oleg Plotnicov (Perugia), Tomasz Forlán (Ziraatbank)
Libero: Maximiliano Covi (Perugia)

Coach: Angelo Lorenzetti (Perugia)