It’s called the World Championship Final, but it’s also called a celebration for Cucine Lube Civitanova. In the Philippines, the Italian volleyball team of red and whites Fabio Balaso, Mattia Bottolo, and Giovanni Gargiulo successfully defended their title, securing Italy’s fifth World Championship title, while Cucine Lube spiker Alex Nikolov won silver with Bulgaria and finished the World Championships as the top scorer overall. The derby of former Lube coaches was won by Fefè De Giorgi, thanks to his charisma and a 3-1 victory over the Balkan national team, but the feat of Chicco Blengini remains, capable of reawakening an entire movement and pushing his players to the max, overturning previous predictions at the World Championship.
Fabio Balaso (ITALY) and Alex Nikolov (BULGARIA) are included in the all-time squad for the World Championships.
Quotes
Mattia Bottolo: “What we achieved is miraculous, we still have to process it. An incredible summer, full of sacrifices, but priceless, has come to an end. We were amply rewarded by confirming our status as champions!”
Giovanni Gargiulo: “Now we can stop being superstitious, we won, and we dedicate the victory to Daniele Lavia! I still have to believe what we achieved with the national team, a group that welcomed me so warmly!”
The roll of honor of the Men’s World Championships
In the previous twenty editions, Italy has won five medals: four golds (1990, 1994, 1998, 2022) and one silver (1978).
1949 Praga 1.U.R.S.S. 2.Cecoslovacchia 3.Bulgaria 8.Italia
1952 Mosca 1.U.R.S.S. 2.Cecoslovacchia 3.Bulgaria n.p.
1956 Parigi 1.Cecoslovacchia 2.Romania 3.U.R.S.S. 14.Italia
1960 Rio de Janeiro 1.U.R.S.S. 2.Cecoslovacchia 3.Romania n.p.
1962 Mosca 1.U.R.S.S. 2.Cecoslovacchia 3.Romania 14.Italia
1966 Praga 1.Cecoslovacchia 2.Romania 3.U.R.S.S. 16.Italia
1970 Sofia 1.Germania Est 2.Bulgaria 3.Giappone 15.Italia
1974 Città del Messico 1.Polonia 2.U.R.S.S. 3.Giappone 19.Italia
1978 Roma 1.U.R.S.S. 2.Italia 3.Cuba
1982 Buenos Aires 1.U.R.S.S. 2.Brasile 3.Argentina 14.Italia
1986 Parigi 1.U.S.A. 2.U.R.S.S. 3.Bulgaria 11.Italia
1990 Rio de Janeiro 1.Italia 2.Cuba 3.U.R.S.S.
1994 Atene 1.Italia 2.Olanda 3.U.S.A.
1998 Tokyo 1.Italia 2.Jugoslavia 3.Cuba
2002 Buenos Aires 1.Brasile 2.Russia 3.Francia 5.Italia
2006 Tokyo 1.Brasile 2.Polonia 3.Bulgaria 5.Italia
2010 Roma 1.Brasile 2.Cuba 3.Serbia 4.Italia
2014 Varsavia 1.Polonia 2.Brasile 3.Germania 13.Italia
2018 Torino 1.Polonia 2.Brasile 3. USA 5.Italia
2022 Katowice 1.Italia 2.Polonia 3. Brasile
2025 Manila 1.Italia. 2. Bulgaria 3.Polonia
