Perugia win first world title and remain undefeated in 2022-2023
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The trophy of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship is back in Europe for the first time since 2019 after Italian club Sir Safety Susa Perugia won the 2022 edition of the tournament, which was played in Betim, Brazil.
Making their first appearance in the Club World Championship, Perugia relied on their stellar squad to recover from a first-set loss and overcome fellow Italians Trentino Itas 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-19) in the gold medal match.
Wilfredo Leon“I thought our team did great tonight. To win the Club World Championship here in Betim is an incredible achievement for our club. I’m really proud of the squad and of what we did, it was a big team win for us. It means a lot to me and to everyone. It was a really difficult week for us here in Betim, but we’re going back home with the trophy, so it’s all worth it. It’s been an incredible season for us and I hope it continues this way.”
Perugia captain
Perugia’s first world title was also the 13th won by a European club in 17 editions of the tournament. Trentino, with a record five trophies, fellow Italians Milano, with two, Cucine Lube Civitanova, Ravenna and Parma and Russians Zenit Kazan and Belogorie Belgorod were the other Europeans to triumph in the tournament, which was first played from 1989 to 1992 and returned in 2009. Brazil’s Sada Cruzeiro Vôlei, which finished third this season, is the only non-European club to have won the Club World Championship – they have four gold medals.
The victory in Brazil also added a new chapter to what has been a remarkable 2022-2023 season for Perugia. The team, which is yet to lose a match since the start of the season, won its first three encounters in the CEV Champions League Volley 2023, was victorious in the Italian Supercup and leads the Italian League with an undefeated campaign of 11 wins – their season record is now of 20 victories.
Veteran head coach Andrea Anastasi has benefited from the depth of Perugia’s roster and was satisfied with the production from every player on the squad. In the gold medal match against Trentino, outside hitter Oleh Plotnytskyi, opposite Jesus Herrera and middle blocker Roberto Russo, who all started on the bench, combined to produce 33 points for the team.
Andrea Anastasi“We have a really strong roster and I’ve been trying to do the best I can with it. Every player in our squad has been on the court already and today we really needed all of them. We had to make a lot of changes and they responded really well. It’s a challenge to try and find the right solutions every single time. To have won our first 20 matches and to have lifted two trophies this season already is unbelievable. I couldn’t be any prouder of the team.”
Perugia head coach
Several players from European teams also took home the individual awards of the Club World Championship. Perugia’s setter and captain Simone Giannelli was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, earning the same award he got at the 2021 CEV EuroVolley, the 2022 World Championship and the 2014-2015 Italian League.
Alongside him as part of the tournament’s Dream Team were teammates Wilfredo Leon (outside hitter) and Flavio Gualberto (middle blocker), Trentino’s Matey Kaziyski (opposite), Alessandro Michieletto (outside hitter) and Marko Podrascanin (middle blocker) and Sada Cruzeiro’s Lukinha de Deus (libero).
Simone Giannelli“We’ve just made history for Perugia. t’s the first world title for the club and I’m very proud to have done it with my teammates. It’s a really important title and everybody did great, players and coaching staff. We built a really strong squad this season and we developed a great relationship within the team. Tonight, we needed every single player to win and everyone delivered.”
Perugia setter
Michieletto was also the tournament’s top scorer with 61 points and the best server with 11 aces. Teammate and fellow Italian national team member Riccardo Sbertoli led in perfect sets with 42.
