On the sidelines of the World Cup: Giannelli makes children's eyes shine

On Saturday, Italy's volleyball team will face Poland in a showdown, with a place in the World Cup final at stake. Nevertheless, South Tyrolean captain Simone Giannelli insisted on accepting a special tribute in Manila.

September 26, 2025

From: fop

On Saturday at 12:30 p.m., Italy and Poland, two absolute title contenders, will meet at the World Cup in Manila, Philippines. Both will battle for a spot in the final, which takes place the following day.

Of course, the Azzurri's focus is entirely on the Poland match – and yet Simone Giannelli took the day after the impressive quarter-final victory against Belgium The time to mingle with the crowds in the Philippine capital. There was a special reason for this: Street artist Maya Carandang had painted a gigantic portrait of Giannelli on the streets of Manila as part of a social project. The Azzurri star player now wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Giannelli is enthusiastic

The 29-year-old from Bolzano is one of seven volleyball stars who can be seen on the asphalt volleyball court, the others being Ricardo Lucarelli (Brazil), Tomasz Fornal (Poland), Bryan Bagunas (Philippines), Jean Patry (France), Yuki Ishikawa (Japan) and Eric Shoji (USA).

Simone Giannelli poses for his portrait. © FIPAV

"It's incredible," Giannelli explained. "I never would have imagined I'd be portrayed on a pitch in Manila, halfway around the world. When I found out, I got goosebumps." Afterwards, Giannelli patiently signed autographs and granted every selfie request from the children in the surrounding streets. Some of them even got to play a few balls with the Italy captain.