GROTTAZZOLINA – Born in ’93, with six championships already played in the top series distributed between Padova, Latina, Sora, Siena and Cisterna, Andrea Mattei can be considered among the veterans of the Super League. In 2024/25 the strong central will continue to wear the shirt of Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina.
In the season that consecrated the team among the great Olympus of volleyball, the month of May saw Mattei stopped in the pits due to a hand injury which occurred in his last match of the season in the Super Cup final. Now he is working, under continuous medical supervision, to get back into full shape for the summer preparation: “I am now without discomfort, I am wearing the brace to facilitate healing and in a few days we will begin active rehabilitation”.
With 71 winning blocks and an attacking efficiency of 52.75%, in his role Mattei was among the best in A2. He had experienced his first promotion to the top flight ten years ago with Padova: “Regaining the Super League was very important, I want to live it to the full and returning there with a team that confirmed me right from the start is something extraordinary, it makes you understand that what he did during the season, not only on a sporting level but also on a human level, the club appreciated and for a player it is something very gratifying.”
Lots of experience, his knowledge of the top Italian league is very broad: “I lived through championships with relegations blocked. The teams had the famous ‘bet players’ who perhaps came out of the academy… Then when relegations were reintroduced, the top players exploded, see Leal, Grozer and many other names who have appeared in the panorama of Italian volleyball in recent years . All the clubs have organized themselves to be competitive and for this reason we can define it as the most beautiful championship in the world.”
A first season with the Yuasa Battery shirt which made Andrea discover the reality of Grottazzolina: “Everyone had always spoken very highly of it to me, both for the project and for the environment. When my agent offered me the opportunity to move to Grotta, well… I didn’t think twice. The team that gradually became aware of its possibilities was pushed even higher by the desire for volleyball that can be felt in the air in every environment close to sporting reality”. The promotion to the Super League came after a championship where first place in the standings was never questioned: “I expected more balance during the regular season, our progress was unstoppable. Our group worked right from the start to bring home what was the main objective for us. All protagonists of a dream, of a great sporting story.”
Now Mattei has a summer of work but without forgetting rest: “At the moment no holidays, because I can’t take my suitcases in my hands (laughs). I’m in Taranto, then after the hand visits I will spend the summer enjoying my family in Rome. I’ll see if I can carve out some time for a quick holiday but always after the medical checks”
In August we will return to the gym to start living the Super League dream and Andrea has full confidence in the choices that the club is making: “The club is operating very well on the market. In Grottazzolina, great importance is also given to values. The club gives weight to many things not only technically, but also humanly, because the important thing is to have a feeling on the pitch and harmony in the locker room.”
There are many new developments at Yuasa Battery, including the change of the friendly sports hall due to regulation issues: “Our fans have always shown themselves to be very supportive, the seventh man on the pitch. Every match in the stands was experienced as a final. They will also be decisive in the Super League and in the new sports hall that will be identified by the club.”
