Broken Giannelli: Poland pushes Italy off Europe's throne

11.300 fans at the PalEur in Rome created a festive atmosphere, and even President Sergio Mattarella came. But instead of the big volleyball party, there was a bitter disappointment for the Azzurri around captain Simone Giannelli at the end of the home European Championship.

September 16, 2023

From: fop

Italy clearly lost the eagerly awaited final against long-term rivals Poland 0-3. Nevertheless, the South Tyrolean captain and exceptional talent Giannelli and his teammates were celebrated by the audience afterwards. They had sparked a real volleyball euphoria in the boot state over the past few weeks.

In the final, however, they were no match for Poland who played excellently. The support from the ranks of Mattarella, Sports Minister Andrea Abodi and CONI boss Giovanni Malagò didn't help either. Coach Ferdinando De Giorgi's selection, full of talent and established forces, never really found its way into the game and trailed behind for long stretches. In the end there were three relatively clear set defeats with 20:25, 21:25 and 23:25.

Poland's sweet revenge

Spicy: Almost exactly a year ago, Italy won the World Cup against Poland in Poland. Now the Eastern Europeans took revenge and at the same time pushed the reigning European champions off their throne.

This means that Perugia's star player Giannelli's title hunt has stopped for the time being. The 27-year-old player from Bolzano, who has already won world championship titles, European championship titles, Olympic silver and almost all club trophies in his career, also cemented his legendary status at this tournament with some legendary performances.