44-year old Italian Giovanni Guidetti has resigned as the head coach of the Dutch women’s volleyball national team. He leaves the program after two years to spend more time with his family in his home town of Istanbul, Turkey.
During Guidetti’s tenure, the team earned silver medal at a hosted 2015 European Championships, a bronze at the 2016 World Grand Prix, and parlayed their success into the program’s first Olympic qualification since 1996.
In Rio, the team finished in 4th-place, losing to the United States in the bronze medal game. Despite finishing the tournament on a loss, the result was the program’s highest-ever finish in three Olympic appearances.
This is a second blow this winter to a Dutch program that had all momentum working in their favor. Victor Anfiloff, the Head of Talent Development for Beach Volleyball Netherlands (and former women’s National Team head coach) returned home to take over the beach program in his native Australia.
Guidetti and his wife, Turkish international and VakifBank Istanbul middle blocker Bahar Toksoy, had their first child last September. He will remain as the head coach of VakifBank Istanbul, where he’s been since 2008. He’s led the side to the 2013 FIVB Club World Championship and a pair of European club titles.
Dutch team captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues said she was ‘surprised and disappointed with his choice.””Together we started a journey towards Tokyo two years ago, unfortunately we have to go on without him. I am grateful towards Giovanni for everything that he has done for the team, and I wish him all the best in his career.”
Guidetti says that he had to make the best choice for his family.
“In the end I didn’t choose what was best for me, but what is best for my family,” said Guidetti in announcing his decision. “I had the choice to be with my daughter Alison twelve months a year instead of six. This changed everything.”
“This was the hardest decision I had to make in my entire life,” he said. “I’m leaving a great team with great players and great staff in the middle of a successful journey. The last two years were an incredible experience for me. The synergy between myself, the staff, the players, the fans, the federation, the sponsors, the people at the national training centre Papendal and the media was perfect. Everybody gave me the feeling I was the luckiest coach in the world.”
Prior to joining the Netherland’s program, Guidetti spent a decade as the head coach of the German National Team. That club sere European Championship silver medalists in 2011 and 2013 under Guidetti’s guidance.
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