The “squadra azzurra” is without doubt one of the biggest crowd-pleasers in the history of the Montreux Volley Masters. The team from the “stivale” - how the Italian Peninsula is called in Italian - is world renown for its long and successful Volleyball history.
But Italian Volleyball fans do not have to cling to the past as the future of Italian women’s Volleyball is looking bright. A new generation of Volleyball stars have earned earning their spurs in the “maglia azzurra”. After the international retirement of Volleyball legends Valentina Arrighetti and Francesca Piccinini, shooting stars Lucia Bosetti and her sister Caterina Bosetti as well as Cristina Chirichella have become cornerstones in the Italian national team over the last seasons. On the other hand, coach Davide Mazzanti can count on rising stars like Paola Ogechi Egonu and Miryam Fatime Sylla in his squad. The youngsters have taken the hearts of Italian and international Volleyball fans by storm.
Opposite spiker Egonu has rendered Volleyball experts around the globe speechless, when she became the 2nd best scorer of the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix only in her third international season. The nineteen-year-old shooting star, consequently, led the young “squadra azzurra” to a sensational silver medal at the Finals.
Now the Italians are hungry for more medals. After having missed out on a spot on the podium at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship on home soil in 2014, the Italians want to do better this time at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Japan to take home their second medal in the history of the competition after having claimed gold in 2002.
Davide Mazzanti’s squad are poised to get into their stride at the Montreux Volley Masters to prove everybody that they are contenders for a medal this year - not only at the most prestigious invitational tournament in international women’s Volleyball, but at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Japan too.