Italy and Germany deliver longest set and match ever during FIPAV Cup Men Elite fixture
News
With 13 days to go until the start of the CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 Men, Italy and Germany are already making headlines. During the opening match of the FIPAV Cup Men Elite in Reggio Calabria (southern Italy) featuring Italy, Germany, Cuba and Brazil, the first set of the tournament was a breathtaking moment. Even more than just that, it was a record-breaking one. It lasted 120 minutes, more than a match itself, sometimes, ending with the score of 66-64 for Germany!
All the 4,400 spectators at the PalaCalafiore were part of Volleyball history, since they witnessed the longest set ever played in international competition. The numbers of the set seem unreal: the two teams combined together saved 43 set points. It was Germany’s Tobias Brand who finally brought the marathon to an end, when he cashed his team’s 15th set point (and after scoring twelve points himself). After this unbelievable set, the news about the record: until yesterday, the longest set ever played was in VNL 2026 between Argentina and Poland (50-48), which finished in 62 minutes. That one in Reggio Calabria was nearly twice as long.
The historic night was just getting started for both players and fans. The match ended after the tiebreak (64-66, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12) which Italy eventually won. Again, another record broken after the last whistle of the referee: Germany vs Italy was the longest match played in the rally point system era. It lasted three hours and 50 minutes, while the previous record was two hours and 53 minutes from Brazil vs Canada in this year’s Volleyball Nations League.
Tobias Brand“That’s the longest match I have ever played. I do not think any of us have ever experienced a first set like that – and we actually won it. It was unbelievable. It was also unbelievable the sheer determination with which we played. Mentally, and in terms of our physical condition, today was a very good test.”
Player of Germany
Massimo Botti“Four hours is a very, very long time. I have never experienced a set like this before. It was mad – in fact, we played an entire match in a single set today.”
Head coach of Germany
Ferdinando De Giorgi“I got angry, and then I got tired. After that, I just sat there; we played two and a half sets... it was basically a match.”
Head coach of Italy
For the Italian coach it was not the first time he experienced a very long set: he was on the court for Cuneo’s club in Italy when a previous record for the longest set played at club level was broken in 2002 (Cuneo-Treviso, 54-52). “I remember very well when I was in Cuneo,” De Giorgi explained. “When we scored the 54th point I said ‘at least we made history’”.
Reflecting on this new record more than 20 years later De Giorgi said: “We expected a tough match, a real battle, though we certainly did not expect a first set like that. But we showed great resilience; we are currently in a transitional phase, moving from heavy physical and technical training to actual matches”. What about the record? “They say they are made to be broken - De Giorgi underlines - but the longest set is a tough one. I think this one will stand for quite a while.”