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VakıfBank S.K.

(Redirected from Vakıfbank Sports Club)

VakıfBank Sports Club (Turkish: VakıfBank Spor Kulübü) is a Turkish professional volleyball club based in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1986, VakıfBank SK is currently one of the best women's volleyball teams in the world, having won the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship a record four times and the European Champions League seven times to date.[1][2]

VakıfBank SK
Full nameVakıfBank Spor Kulübü
Short nameVakıfBank (Legend)
Founded1986
GroundVakıfBank Sports Palace
(Capacity: 2,900)
ChairmanOsman Arslan
ManagerItaly Giovanni Guidetti
CaptainTurkey Zehra Güneş
LeagueSultanlar Ligi
CEV Champions League
2025–26Champions
WebsiteClub home page
Championships4 World Championships
7 European Championships
1 CEV Cup
1 CEV Challenge Cup
1 Top Volley International
15 Turkish Championships
10 Turkish Cups
5 Turkish Super Cups
Uniforms
Home
Away

From 23 October 2012 to 22 January 2014, the team held a 73-game winning streak in all official domestic and international competitions, which was acknowledged as a world record by Guinness World Records.[3][4] The club won all 52 official games played during the 2012–13 season[5] and all 51 official games played in 2013.[6] VakıfBank collected all five championship trophies unbeaten in the 2012–13 season, being the only club in volleyball history to have achieved this unparalleled feat.[3]

History

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The team was established following a merger between two separate teams: VakıfBank and Güneş Sigorta.[1] VakıfBank were originally an Ankara-based team but moved to Istanbul after the merger. Their name changed to VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta, VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta Türk Telekom (VGSTT), VakıfBank Türk Telekom and VakıfBank respectively.[7]

VakıfBank won three unbeaten[citation needed] CEV Champions League championships in 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018, and are the only unbeaten champions in European Champions League history. They also placed second in 1998 and 1999 in this competition. They won the 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2021 Club World Championship, the CEV Top Teams Cup in 2004 and CEV Challenge Cup in 2008 while finishing second in the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship in 2011 and third in the European Confederation Cup of 2000.[8]

The team is coached by Italian Giovanni Guidetti since 2008. VakıfBank won 47 games of 47 in the 2012–13 season in all competitions including the European Champions League (12 games), Turkish League (29 games), and Turkish Cup (6 games). After that season, they kept most of the players and coaching staff for the 2013–14 season with little changes: Jelena Nikolic, who took a break volleyball for one year, came back to the team[citation needed] and Italian international Carolina Costagrande transfers from Chinese club Guangdong Evergrande V.C. instead of Polish spiker Malgorzata Glinka and Japanese Saori Kimura.[citation needed] Glinka left the team after three great seasons and moved to her home country for familial reasons.[citation needed]

From 23 October 2012 to 22 January 2014, VakıfBank won 73 consecutive victories in all official competitions, which was acknowledged as a world record by Guinness World Records. During this feat the team won an unprecedented 5 trophies including the Club World Championship, European Champions League, and the domestic treble consisting of the Turkish National League, Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup. Their streak was finally ended on 27 January 2014 in a game against rivals Fenerbahçe.[3]

Venue

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Since 2016, the club has played home matches at the VakıfBank Sports Palace (Turkish: VakıfBank Spor Sarayı) in Istanbul. The venue has a capacity of 2,900 spectators.[9]

Current roster

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VakıfBank S.K. is one of the best women's volleyball teams in the world, having won the FIVB World Championship four times and the CEV Champions Cup seven times.

VakifBank S.K. for season 2026/2027.

No. Player Date of birth Height (m) Position Country
1 Héléna Cazaute 17 December 1997 1.84 Outside hitter  France
3 Cansu Özbay 17 October 1996 1.82 Setter  Turkey
5 Eylül Yatgın 1 October 1999 1.73 Libero  Turkey
6 Berka Buse Özden 16 April 2004 1.87 Middle Blocker  Turkey
10 Aylin Uysalcan 13 July 2009 1.96 Opposite  Turkey
11 Naz Aydemir Akyol 14 August 1990 1.86 Setter  Turkey
14 Aleksandra Jegdić 9 October 1994 1.67 Libero  Serbia
15 Deniz Uyanık 25 June 2001 1.95 Middle blocker  Turkey
16 Aylin Sarıoğlu 21 July 1995 1.68 Libero  Turkey
18 Zehra Güneş (c) 7 July 1999 1.98 Middle blocker  Turkey
19 Tijana Bošković 8 March 1997 1.94 Opposite  Serbia
21 Emily Maglio 13 November 1996 1.91 Middle Blocker  Canada
23 Marina Markova 27 January 2001 1.99 Outside hitter  Russia
24 Katarina Dangubić 12 September 1999 1.85 Outside hitter  Serbia
Vanja Ivanović 22 October 2004 1.85 Outside hitter  Serbia
Monika Brancuska 19 November 2004 1.88 Opposite  Czech Republic

Honours

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International competitions

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Domestic competitions

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Season by season

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Previous names

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  • 1986–1999: Güneş Sigorta
  • 1999–2009: VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta
  • 2009–2011: VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta Türk Telekom
  • 2011–2012: VakıfBank Türk Telekom
  • 2012–present: VakıfBank

Notable players

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Players written in italic still play for the club.

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Tarihçe [History]". vakifbanksporkulubu.com (in Turkish). VakıfBank SK. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "VakifBank win CEV Champions League title with 3-1 victory over Eczacibasi". Anadolu Agency (in Turkish). 3 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Most consecutive volleyball victories in all competitions (female)". guinnessworldrecords.com. Guinness World Records. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. ↑ "Vakıfbank 73 yaptı çeyrek finale kaldı". Fanatik (in Turkish). 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  5. ↑ "Genel Fikstür". Turkish Volleyball Federation (in Turkish). 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  6. ↑ "Genel Fikstür". Turkish Volleyball Federation (in Turkish). 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  7. ↑ "Yeni isimleri Vakıfbank Türk Telekom oldu". hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Hürriyet. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  8. ↑ Historic achievements of Vakıfbank Güneş Sigorta women's volleyball team
  9. ↑ "VakifBank unveil their new state-of-the-art home at VakıfBank Spor Sarayı". CEV. 15 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
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