Superb Italy, after 24 years, finally wins the World Cup
World Championship : On Sunday, Italy ended a 24-year wait for a fourth global championship by beating Poland 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-20) in the gold medal match of the 20th edition of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship in Katowice, Poland.
Earlier in the day, Brazil beat Slovenia 3-1 to capture bronze, making it six consecutive World Championships that they have finished in the medals. They won gold in 2002, 2006, and 2010, and silver in 2014 and 2018.
The Italians had previously won the championship in 1990, 1994, and 1998, making this their fourth overall championship. Their nation has won the World Championship on an impressive eight separate occasions (in 1949, 1952, 1960, 1962, 1978, and 1982), making them second only to the erstwhile Soviet Union in this category.
Simone Giannelli, the team captain and setter, stated, “It doesn’t seem true.” When we won the European Championship last year, I wept a lot. But now I’m too thrilled and delighted to weep. I’m at a loss for words; all I can do is grin and chuckle. I’m ecstatic for my squad, thrilled to be an Italian, and overjoyed to have won the World Cup.
Only Italy’s head coach, Ferdinando De Giorgi, has participated in all four of Italy’s triumphs. The 60-year-old was the team’s setter in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 tournaments, and then he coached the team from the bench when they won seven matches in Poland and Slovenia this year.
Outfielder Alessandro Michieletto, who is just 20, felt similarly about the win. After winning the U19 and U21 titles in 2019, he now joins an exclusive club of players who have won world championships at all three age groups: Brazil’s Nalbert Bittencourt and Leandro Vissotto, Poland’s Jakub Kochanowski and Bartosz Kwolek.
Italy : World Champion
The success of 20-year-old Michieletto is reflective of an exciting time for the Italian national team. After winning the European Championship with a very young squad last year, Italy went on to win the World Championship with a starting lineup that included six players aged 26 or younger in the gold medal match.
Italy won the gold medal game because to the superb play of its three most important attacking players. Daniele Lavia, an outside hitter, was the match’s most valuable player, scoring 19 points on the strength of 16 kills, 2 blocks, and 1 ace.
Similarly, Yuri Roman generated all of his 13 points in kills, but outside hitter Michieletto followed in directly behind him with 14 points (11 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace).
The gang is fantastic, Giannelli said. We don’t do anything special, we simply play hard.” As long as we’re still in the game and giving it our all, the scoreboard and the opposing team’s performance are of little concern. This game is so much fun, and we have a great time playing it together. I’m hoping this is the beginning of something wonderful. We have a lot of young, talented folks, and we need to keep expanding and doing huge things. We’re at a great place right now, but we have to keep pushing ahead.
Aleksander Sliwka, an outside hitter for Poland, with 12 points, nine kills, and three blocks. Kamil Semeniuk, another outside hitter, also scored in double figures (11). His 11 points came from a team-high ten kills.
Even though Italy jumped out to an early 4-2 lead in the gold medal match, Poland came storming back to win 9-8 on a spike by Mateusz Bieniek. Once again Italy was down, 14-13, until Lavia retook the lead with two consecutive kills. After Michieletto’s ace put the Italians in striking distance of the set win at 21-17, Bieniek went on a serving run that culminated in an ace of his own to pull the set back to a tie at 21-21. The Polish won the opening set, 25-22, thanks to a tremendous performance by Sliwka, who recorded a kill and an ace.
At the beginning of the second set, the Poles established a steady pace and scored the first three points. Lavia served an ace to bring the score to 7-7 after the Italian side rallied during a timeout called by coach Ferdinando De Giorgi. De Giorgi called a second timeout as the home side pulled away with Lukasz Kaczmarek in the game (16-13). The Italians responded with three consecutive goals, tying the game. Both teams had their chances, but in the end, it was Simone Anzani’s huge block that sealed the set victory for Italy, 25-21.
Despite taking the second set, the Italians got off to a slow start in the third and trailed 7-4 after a Michieletto spike gave the Poles the advantage. Following a mistake by Polish captain Bartosz Kurek, the team found its footing and eventually went on to win by a score of 14-12 with the help of Michieletto. The Italian middle blocks were instrumental, as Roberto Russo’s three-point run helped put the Italians up 19-15. The set ended at 25-18 after a powerful smash from Anzani.
Amid early parity in the fourth set, Italy took a commanding lead after a spike by Tomasz Fornal, 9-6. A few of plays later, their lead ballooned to 12-7 thanks to a huge block by Anzani that the Spodek couldn’t answer. Kurek’s ace cut the Italians’ advantage to three points (13-10), giving the Poles some hope. However, the Italians didn’t let up, as they eventually won the match 25-20 thanks to Bieniek’s net serve.
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