The appointment with history is set for lunchtime on a Sunday in August: tomorrow, at 1pm, the Italian volleyball team will take to the field for the Paris 2024 Olympic final against the USA. The taboo of a gold medal never won by Italian volleyball needs to be dispelled. For Julio Velasco, there is the possibility of definitively closing the circle of an extraordinary career. That circle, or rather those five circles opened at the 1996 Games with the defeat in the tie-break in the final against Holland. In Atlanta, under the net there was the Generation of men’s volleyball phenomena. Twenty-eight years later, in the French capital, Paola Egonu and her teammates, guided by the wisdom of Velasco, are giving satisfaction and emotions to Italian fans, the last one two nights ago in the semifinal won 3-0 against Turkey: many will stop tomorrow, almost as if it were a match of the national soccer team, to follow the game on TV or on tablets, perhaps under the beach umbrella. “Undoubtedly – these are the words of captain Anna Danesi, protagonist of an excellent Olympic tournament so far – the joy is so much. Just reaching the final is a great achievement: we have written a piece of history and now we want to write the final part, with the hope that it ends like the most beautiful of fairy tales.”
With Velasco, the Dream Team of the Italian bench is completed by Lorenzo Bernardi (the “best volleyball player of the 20th century”) and Massimo Barbolini, who led the Italian women’s national team as head coach from 2006 to 2012, for a total of 225 matches.. «The emotion of playing in an Olympic final – says the coach – is really great. As I have always said, I think that for a player, for a coach or for anyone who is part of the sports world, it is the most important event that exists. When I received the call from Julio last year I never had any doubts about accepting the proposal, first of all because he was the head coach, then also for the prospect of the Olympics. I think this choice was rewarded by the facts, but the balance must be made tomorrow at the end of the match». Because in front of them is the reigning Olympic champion team. «The USA – explains Barbolini – are a very strong team: a group with a very important roster and I am not referring only to the starting six. They are a team used to these matches, it is no coincidence that they are the reigning Olympic champions. They are always very difficult to face, but I think that our team has shown, even during the Olympic tournament, that they are growing».
Meanwhile, in Paris there is already an Italian who has already won: Andrea Giani, speaking of the Generation of phenomena of the Nineties, triumphed with the host national team, which defeated Poland in the final by three sets to zero (25-19, 25-20, 25-23 the partials) in an hour and 16 minutes of play. The bronze was won yesterday by the Americans who beat Italy. “How long I waited for you…”: this is the phrase posted by the coach of France alongside a photo in which he bites that gold medal he just missed in Atlanta ’96. For him, the five rings have finally closed. For his coach in that unforgettable national team, he needs to win three more sets.