by Alberto Aglietti
PERUGIA
First concrete attack on the Italian flag: if Perugia wins tonight they will be Italian champions. It is the third time that Sir Susa Vim Perugia is so close to winning the scudetto. In 2018 they managed to get ahead in the final series of the play-offs, and then triumphed in the play-off of game five. In 2019, however, it had squandered the advantage and was overtaken in game five within its own walls. On all other occasions the epilogue had been even more bitter, which is why no one wants to take risks, staying focused is necessary when on the other side of the net there is a formidable and well-equipped rival like Mint Vero Volley Monza.
This afternoon at 6pm (live on television on Rai Sport) game four will be played which is a sort of last resort for the Brianza team forced to win to postpone the verdict. Judging by the precedents it might seem like a done deal, twenty-eight successes out of thirty-six for the Bianconeri in the total calculation, five to one in favor of the Umbrians this season. However, each race is a different story, especially in such a delicate phase, so keeping your nerves is the only possible recipe. The excitement is great among the fans and there will be around four hundred who will cross the Po Valley to bring their support to the team. The home team led by coach Massimo Eccheli will have to manage enormous pressure, having played carefree up until now but now knows they can no longer make mistakes. The Lombard team has a lot of quality, for example in the opposite Eric Loeppky who is the terminal who has had the most consistent performance. Coach Angelo Lorenzetti knows that the difference between the two teams is very minimal and the details could once again be decisive. The Perugians are preparing for the battle with the awareness that it will be necessary to maintain a cool head, the example will be set by director Simone Giannelli who will have the task of instilling confidence in his teammates. Oleh Plotnytskyi, who has experience in Monza behind him, is on the pitch, while Thomas Beretta and Gianluca Galassi boast past stints at Juventus. Andrea Puecher (PD) and Gianluca Cappello (SR) were called to referee the match.
Monza: Kreling – Loeppky, Galassi – Di Martino, Maar – Takahashi, Gaggini (L).
Perugia: Giannelli – Ben Tara, Russo – Resende Gualberto, Plotnytskyi – Semeniuk, Colaci (L).
