2017 CEV EUROPEAN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS
- September 22 to October 1
- Azerbaijan and Georgia
- Power Rankings
- Day 1 Recap
- Day 2 Recap
- Day 3 Recap
- Day 4 Recap
- Playoffs Day 1 Recap
- Playoffs Day 2 Recap
- Final 8 Preview and Picks
- Quarterfinals Day 1 Recap
Italy had a strong case to believe the country’s medal drought at the European Championship – their last podium finish to date being the gold medal they won in 2009 – would end in this year’s edition. Recently, it had narrowly missed out on gold at the 2017 World Grand Prix after losing to Brazil in the finals, a nice testament to its good play.
Its squad was a heavy title favorite, grabbing the number 1 spot in Volleymob’s competition Power Rankings. It really lucked out in the pool drawing and had no trouble at all grabbing its top spot against Belarus, Croatia, and Georgia, having the easiest route to the quarterfinals of any major team in the tournament.
All that, however, came to a stretching halt today, as the team was completely teared apart by The Netherlands 3-0 in a very one sided match up. Opposite hitter Lucia Bosseti, one of Italy’s young squad most experienced players at 28 years old, expressed her reactions at the disappointing result:
“It is obviously a big disappointment for us. I do not want to search for excuses, but our stability was somehow gone after Ofelia Malinov‘s injury. It was a big blow not only for the player herself, who was injured, but also for the team as a whole. We have had to re-build almost everything again from scratch since all of the things we had worked on for the whole summer were somehow gone. I am nevertheless very optimistic about the future of this team.”
Indeed, Italy did feel the absences of Miriam Sylla, who was recently tagged in a doping accusation, and starter setter Ofelia Malinov, who fractured her right ankle. But aside from these players, Italy’s squad remained intact from the Grand Prix in which they won the silver medal. It doesn’t seem very logical to “blame” Italy’s disappointing loss on the absence of a 21 year old setter. Instead, many other factors should be looked upon, like coach Davide Mazzanti’s inexperience in the international stage, having spent most of his career in Italy’s domestic league. He, together with his squad, will have to come up with a better plan to please Italy’s fanatic fan base, specially with The World Championships just around the corner.
Leave a Reply