After the final week of training in Cavalese, during which the Italian national team played and won a friendly match against Argentina in Trento, De Giorgi’s Italy team departs Milan Malpensa Airport today for Osaka, Japan, where they will play week 3 of the VNL from July 15th to 19th.
Two players from Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza will be taking part in the Japanese trip: middle blocker Gianluca Galassi and opposite hitter Alessandro Bovolenta.
Italy, currently sixth in the overall standings with 5 wins and 16 points, will again feature captain Giannelli, Yuri Romanò, Fabio Balaso, and Roberto Russo.
The 14 Italian players for week 3 in Osaka
Setters: Simone Giannelli, Riccardo Sbertoli;
Spikers: Francesco Sani, Mattia Bottolo, Daniele Lavia, Luca Porro;
Middle Blockers: Gianluca Galassi, Giovanni Sanguinetti, Roberto Russo, Pardo Mati;
Opposite Blockers: Yuri Romanò, Alessandro Bovolenta;
Free Throwers: Gabriele Laurenzano, Fabio Balaso.
The staff is composed of: Ferdinando De Giorgi (First Coach), Roberto Ciamarra (Second Coach), Marco Meoni (Assistant Coach), Oscar Berti (Athletic Trainer), Francesco Lanzani (Doctor), Fabio Rossin (Physiotherapist), Ivan Contrario (Scout), Giacomo Giretto (Team Manager).
The Azzurri’s schedule (Italian time)
Week 3 (July 15-20) Osaka, Japan
July 15, 12:20 p.m.: Italy vs. Japan
July 16, 8:30 a.m.: Italy vs. Belgium
July 18, 12:20 p.m.: Italy vs. Argentina
July 19, 8:30 a.m.: Italy vs. Cuba
Finals (July 29-August 2) Ningbo, China
All VNL 2026 matches will be live streamed on VBTV
