Italy: In search for all-elusive Olympic gold

They've been crowned world champions (three times), World Cup winners (once), European champions (five times) - but Italy have never stood on the highest step of the podium at an Olympic Games.

Three times Italy have come to the source; three times they've come away not exactly empty-handed, but with the bitter-sweet taste of winning silver but missing out on that all-elusive gold.

At Atlanta 1996 Italy lost in five sets in the final to the Netherlands, during that decade when the two were dominating the world volleyball scene and building up one of the historic rivalries of the sport.

At Athens 2004 they fell in four to Brazil - the South American powerhouse that is second only to Russia (including as Soviet Union) in the Olympic men's volleyball medals table.

And at Rio 2016 they were defeated in straight sets again to Brazil who were picking up their third Olympic title since the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic programme in Tokyo 1964.

Has the time come for Italy?

Only time will tell - but Italy have taken their own unique approach in preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.

They shunned the 2021 Volleyball Nations League, preferring to send a younger squad (which, by the way, did just fine at the month-long tournament inside a 'bubble' at Rimini). Their Olympic squad, meanwhile, was in camp preparing for the Games.

Italy certainly have the manpower to go for gold and they should make it out of the six-team pool, where they're up against hosts Japan and reigning world champions Poland, as well Iran, Canada and Venezuela - all vying for a quarterfinal berth.

Surprisingly they had not a single player on the Dream Team of Rio 2016, but several of their stars from that squad are still in the running to make the Tokyo roster.

Not least is Ivan Zaytsev, the best server of Rio 2016 when he delivered 14 aces in eight matches for an average of .48 per set. The 32-year-old opposite was third best scorer at Rio 2016 (behind Brazil's Wallace de Souza and USA's Matt Anderson).

Zaytsev is the only returning player from the London 2012 squad that won bronze after taking down Bulgaria in the third-place playoff.

And Osmany Juantorena will also be on hand at Tokyo to cover the outside. The 35-year-old was just behind Zaytsev in the list of best scorers and amongst the top diggers last time at the Olympics.

Setter Simone Giannelli, one of Italy's silver medallists of Rio 2016, will also be giving it another try, as will Luca Vettori, Matteo Piano and libero Massimo Colaci.

But the quarterfinals is when it all becomes tricky.

Quarterfinals are the first of the knockout phases in an Olympic competition. The result here determines whether a team goes home with nothing or gets at least two more shots at a medal.

So no matter how well you do in pool play, focus at the Olympics should always be on the quarterfinals.

Full Olympic roster for Italy, under head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini:

● Setters:
Simone Giannelli, Riccardo Sbertoli

● Opposites:
Luca Vettori, Ivan Zaytsev

● Outisde hitters:
Osmany Juantorena, Jiri Kovar, Daniele Lavia, Alessandro Michieletto

● Middle blockers:
Simone Anzani, Gianluca Galassi, Matteo Piano

● Libero:
Massimo Colaci