BANGKOK – Thanks Italy, but thanks also Busto. If women’s Italvolley will be regularly present at the Paris Olympics, a pinch of credit must undoubtedly also be recognized Uyba. Capable – thanks to patron’s shot of the century Pirola – to dust off Velasco, put him back on the launch pad and… then see him leave – reluctantly and not without some inevitable poison – for other shores and towards deserved triumphs. The last of which centered in Thailand, where the Italian national team, beating Japan 3-1 (25-17; 25-17; 21-25; 25-20), won the second Volleyball Nations League of its history. Two years after the feat in Ankara, the Danes and their teammates triumphed at the PalaHuamark in Bangkok, overcoming a never-tamed Japan at the end of a match that saw the assistant coach’s Italian team Cichello – blossomed at Uyba – effective in blocking defense, precise on serve and essentially perfect in attack. Italy, already certain of the pass for the Olympics by virtue of the ranking it has climbed, has thus crowned in the best possible way a path of constant global growth which began on 15 May in Antalya (3 victories and 1 defeat), continued in Macao (3 victories and 1 defeat) and Fukuoka (4 wins), and ended in triumph in Bangkok (1 set lost)
Velasco: a success born in Busto
For the Italian coach Julio Velasco – who had settled the Egonu case right in Busto (elected MVP of the VNL) – the numbers however speak clearly: this is a new success to add to the 5 World Leagues won in the 90s at the helm of the men’s national team, a result also sealed by the absolute record in the World Ranking.
The Italians at Malpensa
In the early afternoon of Monday the Italians will land at Malpensa to enjoy a few days of well-deserved rest, before resuming preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Games for which, at least on paper, even butterflies are still in the running Benedetta Sartori and Rebecca Piva, included in the list of 25 Italians who will undertake the last phase of pre-Olympic preparation. The chances, there is no denying it, seem slim, but dreaming costs nothing. Also because in Velasco – to be honest, absolutely everything – Busto and Uyba performed well.
The scoreboard
Italy-Japan: 3-1
(25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20)
ITALY: Orro 3, Sylla 15, Danesi 6, Egonu 27, Degradi 14, Fahr 8, De Gennaro (L). Giovannini, Lubian, C. Bosetti 4, Antropova 3, Cambi. Ne: Bonifacio, Spirito (L). All. Velasco
JAPAN: Iwasaki 2, Ishikawa 6, Yamada 6, Wada 5, Koga 16, Airi 2, Kojima (L). Hayashi 3, Fukudome (L), Inoue 11, Seki, Araki 4, Kurogo. Ne: Watanabe. All. Manabe
Referees: Fabrice Collados (FRA) and Rene Karina Noemi (ARG)
Volleyball Nation Legue Roll of Honor
1993 Cuba, 1994 Brazil, 1995 United States, 1996 Brazil, 1997 Russia, 1998 Brazil, 1999 Russia, 2000 Cuba, 2001 United States, 2002 Russia, 2003 China, 2004 Brazil, 2005 Brazil, 2006 Brazil, 2007 Holland, 2008 Brazil, 2009 Brazil, 2010 United States, 2011 United States, 2012 United States, 2013 Brazil, 2014 Brazil, 2015 United States, 2016 Brazil, 2017 Brazil, 2018 United States (VNL), 2019 United States (VNL), 2020 VNL not played, 2021 United States (VNL), 2022 Italy (VNL), 2023 Turkey (VNL), 2024 Italy (VNL).
