Italy will completely collapse without Giannelli

After the hard-fought 3:2 at the start against Canada The Azzurri lost 0-3 (20:25, 24:26, 20:25) in the second group game against world champions and gold candidate Poland. The absence of Simone Giannelli was also clearly noticeable. Giannelli is struggling with muscle problems The 24-year-old South Tyrolean, who is one of the best players in the world, was unable to take part due to an injury. He suffered a muscle injury in his right thigh in the third set on Saturday. According to the Italian Volleyball Federation, this was only minor and his break against Poland was to prevent an even more serious injury. Giannelli will not train with the team for the time being.

Poland's Piotr Nowakowski put his stamp on the game. © APA/afp / YURI CORTEZ

Without the Bolzano player, whose absence could not be compensated by Riccardo Sbertoli, the Azzurri were clearly inferior to Poland for long stretches. The Eastern Europeans acted much more cleverly, served better and made fewer mistakes when receiving. Only in the second set did a duel develop at eye level, but the Poles turned it in their direction when the score was 24:24. Now the pressure is increasing Italy is now in fourth place in the table. This would be enough to qualify for the round of 16, but two more tough challenges now await the Azzurri: the undefeated Japanese (Wednesday) and Iranians (Friday). Coach Gianlorenzo Blengini's protégés cannot afford two more defeats - which is another reason why Giannelli's return to the starting line-up would be so important.

Everything about the Summer Olympics, live results, medal tables and much more can be found in the SportNews Olympic Center.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Hockey

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Italy will completely collapse without Giannelli

The medal dream of the Italian volleyball players suffered a bitter setback on Monday morning - also because Simone Giannelli was slowed down by an injury.

Suggestions

Comments (0)