Captain Beretta’s emotion for the first Scudetto Final in Monza, the disappointment and fair play of Nelli and Itas Trentino, the analysis of Lube’s season made by DG Cormio, who also formalizes Medei’s return to the bench. And then the story of the A2 Play Offs and a focus on the free throws in Italy. These were some of the main themes of After Hours, the Super League at night, the talk broadcast live last night on the Lega Pallavolo Serie A Facebook page and YouTube channel, with Andrea Zorzi, Andrea Brogioni and the protagonists of the Serie A Credem Banca.
Guests of episode number 25 were Beppe Cormio (Cucine Lube Civitanova), Gabriele Nelli (Itas Trentino), Thomas Beretta (Mint Vero Volley Monza), Francesco D’Amico (Rana Verona), Alessandro Bovolenta (Consar Ravenna), Fefè Garnica ( Delta Group Porto Viro).
“After Hours, the SuperLega at night” is also on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2P4H78z3UpPCzyASZjBv54
GABRIELE NELLI (ITAS TRENTINO)
ON GAME 5 WITH MONZA – “It was a great match. They defended a lot, they hit the block, they played the game of their lives. We weren’t perfect like in other matches, but we believed in it. We got to the point-to-point tie-break, but they prevailed. Congratulations to Monza and good luck.”
FROM 2-0 TO 2-3 IN THE SERIES – “What happened? Perhaps they paid for the more offensive setup with three spikers. Then they received very well, beat very well, touched, counterattacked. What we weren’t able to do in this series.”
BEPPE CORMIO (CUCINE LUBE CIVITANOVA)
ON RACE 5 BETWEEN TRENTO AND MONZA – “I’m not surprised by Monza’s qualification for the Final. I have seen this team always respond positively in important moments of the season. Lube and Itas had been the two ‘victims’ of Monza already in the Italian Cup: in the Play Offs we both made the mistake again. However, it surprises me how this success in Monza was achieved. When a team goes 2-0 down in the Semi-final, it is difficult to come back if they have less experienced players. But they played well: they have one of the most interesting setters in the world, three super attackers, they mix technical and physical qualities, they boast two good central defenders, one of which is perhaps underrated, but a player who ‘fires wood’.”
ON ITAS AND NELLI – “It is always difficult to achieve multiple objectives. I was in Trento many years and, speaking of Nelli, I remember that we insisted on making him play setter. He surprised us with the indifferent quality he had in his hands, we hoped he was Blanget’s heir. Then the opposite was missing in Serie B and he had the skill and ability to change roles. Every time we always greet each other as if we were father and son.”
THE LUBE SEASON – “A gray season, even if I want to think that that Final reached last year with a young group, without Zaytsev and with several changes in formation, that Final brought to Game 5 probably deluded us into thinking that we could make a great leap in quality simply by inserting, into that group, an opposite who was the best scorer in the championship. Here some shortcomings emerge that have manifested themselves during the year, some perhaps linked to less than excellent programming – I am referring to the forced Italian-foreign pairings – others in the performance of some players not up to the level of last season”.
THE HIGH AND LOW AND YOUNG PEOPLE – “Yant is not the player seen this year, he is the one seen in the final last year and tonight. The ups and downs of him and Nikolov, who is now twenty years old, are young but not very young in volleyball. Today this is a sport where in your twenties, if you have two years in front of large audiences, you have to be able to express yourself at a certain level. We missed this.”
THE LUBE REVOLUTION – “Now we have finished the revolution that began two years ago, which started from this concept: you can’t win for four or five years, now it’s someone else’s turn: let’s prepare for the post-Perugia and post-Trento era. Of course, if Monza and Milan arrive the road will be uphill. But we must consistently continue with kids and when, in a couple of years, we know how much this 2000 team is worth, we will be able to add players to win again.”
THE THREE SPINNERS – “Nothing changes for middle blockers, we always have to do our dirty work. It’s a move that can be made if you have the right roster. Since the beginning of the season we have done it a few times and it had worked. So, after the defeats in the first two games of the Semi-final, we had to try to change the cards on the table to be able to extend the series. It was the right decision.”
CACHOPA – “He is an incredible player. Last year in the Biella triangular I played a match with him against Modena and we said to each other: this year we’ll have a lot of fun. But he got hurt. He has fun while playing, he does it with incredible carefreeness.”
FRANCESCO D’AMICO (RANA VERONA)
THE EXPERIENCE IN VERONA – “I’m very happy, it’s my first year as a starter and you never know what to expect from a very difficult championship. We are working well with the coach, it’s a shame that due to a few too many mistakes we finished seventh. But this is sport and we know that the opponents are strong. Now we’re fighting for 5th place.”
THE SUPER LIBEROS – “The level of the liberos in the SuperLega is incredible. In Game 5 between Trentino and Monza, Laurenzano and Gaggini played sensationally. This is the result of training, in addition to the level of the players, that of the coaches is also high. It’s a role that has a lot of value, receiving and defense depend on you and the decisions you make, but also on the advice you provide to the other players.”
VERONA’S ATTACK – “We have 13 players who could all fit on the pitch. When we play ‘six against six’ the level is remarkable. When Keita is on the front line, I tell him: I give you the high ball, you do what you want. Even with Lube he had achieved incredible numbers, especially on awkward and difficult balls.”
ALESSANDRO BOVOLENTA (CONSAR RAVENNA)
THE CHOICE OF A2 – “I didn’t feel ready for the big leap to the Super League yet. This year I have grown a lot, especially in attack. In A2 the level has risen a lot, it’s a good championship. With Cuneo and Porto Viro, for example, they were very difficult matches.”
THE QUALITY LEAP – “I would like to improve on the high ball, in the SuperLega one in two is high. And then I have to work on the defense and on the serve itself, if I want to make the leap in quality.”
BONITTA AND THE BIT – “The joke is his thing. If you miss two in a row or in decisive moments, Marco really loses his mind.
FEFÉ GARNICA (DELTA GROUP PORTO VIRO)
THE COMEBACK – “It was a battle, I’m still trying to recover. We tried our luck. In the fourth set they were ahead 18-14, Pedro gave us five aces in a row, then we kept the score point-to-point and in the tie-breaks the enthusiasm of the public pushed us.”
THE SETTERS – “This year the young setters are having a little more difficulty coming out, the good ones are already in the Super League. It’s no coincidence that in A2 there are three or four from the ’80s and one from ’79, then we move directly to the twenty-six year olds. It’s a role that needs play, matches.”
