The Olympic champion has arrived in Poland. Will a blockbuster move decide the championship?

It's fair to say that Asseco Resovia Rzeszów has assembled a truly compelling team, considering the upcoming season. The Podkarpacie region is sparing no expense on high-profile transfers. The 2025/26 campaign was no different. One of the most intriguing moves is the return of a French receiver, a two-time Olympic champion.

PlusLiga: Will Asseco Resovia Rzeszów win the Polish championship?

The Rzeszów team has made a personnel shakeup. Asseco Resovia will feature setter Marcin Janusz, receiver Artur Szalpuk, and attacker Karol Butryn. Libero Erik Shoji and Paweł Zatorski, returning after a long absence , will also be present. The team is full of familiar faces.

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Yacine Louati seems to be a crucial piece in this puzzle. The Frenchman has repeatedly demonstrated in the PlusLiga how valuable a player he can be, even when not a key player in a given team. In 2021, the Frenchman won the Polish Championship, defending the colors of Jastrzębski Węgiel. He was also eliminated with that team, playing his last PlusLiga match, in the playoffs, representing Asseco Resovia.

This will be the Frenchman's second attempt at Rzeszów, after the 2023/24 season. The two-time Olympic champion (2021 and 2024) is 34 years old.

"I believe that winning a league as strong as the PlusLiga requires a deep squad and valuable substitutes. This was also the case when I played for JSW Jastrzębski Węgiel and won the Polish Championship with that club. What matters here is developing long-term form and being at your best at the end of the season. To achieve this, you have to work hard throughout the season, and it's not enough to be good only at a certain stage of the competition, because that's not enough. Playing in such a good and demanding league, you have to be ready for tough matches every week, so you can't just rely on seven players from the starting lineup. That's not enough, and if a team focuses only on playing with a small squad, it's rare for such a team to endure the rigors of the season and ultimately win the championship. That's why I'm very happy that we have a deep squad and that I'll have such good teammates around me as receiver." Besides, we have two very good attackers, excellent setters, excellent midfielders, excellent liberos, and so on. I believe we need depth in the lineup and rotation in matches so that we can play well in the long run and choose the optimal lineup for the most important moments of the season, always having quality substitutes available. That's my vision for the team, and I hope everyone here will approach it that way," admitted the Frenchman in a lengthy and engaging interview for the official PlusLiga website.

It's worth noting that, in addition to the players, Asseco Resovia has brought in the coach of... the reigning Polish champions. Massimo Botti has been appointed head coach of the Rzeszów club. The Italian has already tasted victory, winning the Challenge Cup and a sensational PlusLiga gold medal with Bogdanka LUK Lublin in the 2024/25 season.

Will history repeat itself in Rzeszów? It seems that Asseco Resovia will be a serious contender for the top spot. It's worth noting that the Rzeszów club received a "wildcard" from the CEV to play in the Champions League. Asseco Resovia has been waiting for the PlusLiga title since 2015. In the case of the last Polish Cup medal, the Rzeszów team won one relatively recently, in 2023 (bronze).

It's also worth remembering that Asseco Resovia has reached the CEV Cup finals in the last two seasons. They won gold in 2024 and silver in the previous edition (2025).

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