Simone Giannelli (far left) and his colleagues have to bury their gold dream. © Federvolley

Goodbye gold medal: Simone Giannelli's tragic evening

Italy's volleyball team travelled to the Olympic Games in Paris as one of the big favourites. But the Azzurri were defeated by the reigning champions in the semifinals.

August 07, 2024

From: det

Simone Giannelli is a volleyball superstar. He is considered the best setter in the world, has won world championship titles, been European champion, crowned Italy's Serie A champion and has been showered with individual awards over the years. But there is still one title missing from his collection: Olympic gold. And that will remain the case for now.

Italy's national volleyball team lost the semifinals of the Olympic Games against France on Wednesday evening by a clear 20:25, 21:25, 21:25 and missed the final. While the hosts turned the Bercy Arena in Paris into a cauldron and will now play against Poland on Saturday for their second Olympic gold in a row, the Azzurri have to bury their dream of their first gold medal at the Summer Games again. In 2021 in Tokyo, the Azzurri had already failed in the quarterfinals, and in 2016 they suffered a bitter defeat in the grand final against Brazil.

Huge celebrations for France after reaching the final. © ANSA / NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA

Simone Giannelli, who has been playing at the highest level for over a decade, was already there. He wants to console himself with his colleagues on Friday: That's when the bronze medal match against the USA will take place. For Giannelli, it would be a birthday present, because he will be 28 years old on that day.

France a class better

The story of the semi-final is quickly told. France was better than the Azzurri in every respect on Wednesday evening and needed just 78 minutes to reach the final. Italy was far too prone to errors, especially in serving, while the French got better with every point. Perhaps also because every point was celebrated like an Olympic victory in the stands filled with 12.000 fans.

After 24 minutes, France won the first set 25:20, Les Bleus needed 28 minutes for the second set (25:21), and 26 minutes for the third (21:25). A sensational Italian comeback, how they had started the Azzurri in the quarter-final against Japan, did not happen this time. This meant that Giannelli's dream of gold was shattered. At least the Bolzano native can still win bronze on Friday - it would be South Tyrol's first medal at the Summer Games since the 2016 Olympics.