Year in Review: Italy makes EuroVolley double
Editorial
Italian volleyball fans had to wait for more than a decade to celebrate a continental title, but when they did, they managed to do it twice in a two-week spam as both the country’s women’s and men’s national teams triumphed at the CEV EuroVolley 2021.
The women were the first to do it, ending a wait that lasted 12 years. Coming from a frustrating sixth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics, the players led by head coach Davide Mazzanti showed strength to secure their third continental crown, adding to previous victories in 2007 and 2009.
The Italians reached the top in great fashion, winning all of their nine matches in the tournament with just four sets dropped. The highlight of their campaign was certainly their 3-1 gold medal match win over back-to-back defending champions Serbia in front of a record-setting attendance of 20,565 fans at the Stark Arena in Belgrade.
Ofelia Malinov“I am very happy because it was finally time for revenge. Serbia are a very strong team and in the last five years we were not able to win against them. But today, here in Belgrade, here at this European Championship, we did it and it’s even more beautiful! It was a very long summer and this was a perfect, a wonderful ending!”
Italian setter
Italian star opposite Paola Egonu had a typical night to her standards and led all scorers in the final with 29 points, beinng awarded as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The event’s All Star Team, which was selected by the fans, had setter Alessia Orro (Italy), opposite Tijana Boskovic (Serbia), middle blockers Eda Erdem (Turkey) and Anna Danesi (Italy), outside hitters Miriam Sylla and Elena Pietrini (Italy) and libero Monica De Gennaro (Italy).
Turkey took bronze and finished in the podium for a third-straight edition of the event after securing silver in 2019 and bronze two years earlier.
Italy’s victory among the men saw the same country at the top of both podiums, repeating what had happened in 2019 with Serbia. It was the seventh victory of the Italians, who had also triumphed in 1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2005.
The continental title marked a great start for a new era in the men’s national team with new head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi taking the team over after the Tokyo Olympics and longtime team stars Osmany Juantorena and Ivan Zaytsev not appearing in the EuroVolley due to international retirement and injury respectively.
Setter and team captain Simone Gianelli was tasked with leading a young group of players and he did a tremendous job in that, guiding the team back to the top after 16 years with an undefeated record of nine wins and taking home the Most Valuable Player Award. In the final, Italy came from behind to defeat Slovenia in a five-set thriller at the Spodek, in Katowice, Poland.
Daniele Lavia“This win was incredible! This group is really great and we showed it on the court. The key to this victory were our hearts. We served well and, in general, we played well. I am just really happy!”
Italian Outside Hitter
The hosts of the Final Round, Poland settled for bronze after they defeated defending champions Serbia in straight set.
The tournament’s All Star Team had setter Gregor Ropret (Slovenia), opposite Nimir Abdel Aziz (The Netherlands), middle blockers Marko Podrascanin (Serbia) and Piotr Nowakowski (Poland), outside hitters Daniele Lavia and Alessandro Michieletto (Italy) and libero Fabio Balaso (Italy).