Not to mention the star-studded 2016-2017 squad, perhaps on paper the greatest one Vitra ever had...a flop.
But I think it all comes down, basically, to structural and coaching advantages Vakif has built over the years. An extremely capable and attentive management, in combination with a coaching by someone who is not only a tactical genius, but is capable of extremely thorough long-term planning and developing (AND he is then able to put those plans in motion by being allowed to manage the club for many years) are much, much more important than the volleyball skills of the players that Vakifbank fields in any particular year.