Egonu and Mazzanti after the defeat at the Volleyball World Cup: what happens now? – Corriere.it

The ifs and buts have never written history, for clear that attack out of Paola Egonu on 24-23 of the third set in favor of Italy in the semifinal then lost to Brazil one sliding door gigantic in the blue path. Of course, it would not have meant victory, there would have been another set to play, but it would have led Mazzanti’s girls to 2-1 and with an emotional charge diametrically opposite to the one with which they faced (and lost) the fourth set. However, that ball ended up dragging all the blue hopes of playing for world gold but, above all, raised the carpet on the problems of this Italy that emerged at the Tokyo Olympics that the victories of the European Championships (last September) and the Nations League (in July) had masked. The naked king, now, and in Federvolley we ask ourselves how to manage the two years leading up to the 2024 Paris Games, the biggest goal, the only gold medal missing in Italian volleyball.

On with Mazzanti?

Can a defeat in the semifinals, after a European and a Nations League win, break a toy that seemed to be working perfectly after the Tokyo Olympics? We must at least wait for the final for third place against the United States, but certainly a very loud alarm bell that can no longer be underestimated. In Fipav we are wondering about the possibility of changing the technical guide or continuing the path with Davide Mazzanti (coach from 2017 and with a contract until 2024), who led the generational change in Italy after Rio 2016 and launched the various Egonu, Sylla, Orro, Pietrini, Lubian, Danesi
etc., with whom he immediately brought home (surprisingly) a silver at the 2018 World Cup and who (in case of termination of the contract) could play today the last game at the helm of Italy, on his 46th birthday. Gold was expected from his Italy in Holland, that’s why the defeat against Brazil opens up some questions. More for the way in which it matured than for the defeat itself: Italy, despite having had the ball for 2-1, has always chased the game (as admitted by the coach himself) without ever having it in his grasp.

The Paola Egonu case

And then there is the Paola Egonu case. a wonder, among the strongest players in the world (and also among the highest paid), and paradoxically this has created imbalances in the locker room. The concept of Juventus’ Sarri on Cristiano Ronaldo comes to mind: he is part of the series, then all the others. Just count the balls entrusted to Egonu in each match (often around 40% of the total attacked by the team) to understand the weight of her in the field of her. But also outside, with many great little privileges always reserved for champions (in terms of timetables, weight in choices, communication management, etc.). Which immediately backfire like a boomerang when things don’t go as hoped. We used to take each other by the hair, now we are good together, Anna Danesi had said to Courier on the eve of the semi-final against Brazil and, read now, those words leave some doubts about the real overcoming of the problems. This will be the great challenge of the blue futureregardless of the coach who will lead the national team in the coming years.

Egonu’s future

But this will also be the growth path of Egonu who, at only 23 years old, is already a star on the world scene. Probably the experience in Turkey that he will face from next week will be crucial in his path. I will go to Vakifbank Istanbul, Giovanni Guidetti’s team, the only one in the world organized almost like a football club and with a coach used to managing phenomena (only with work). The Vakif the Real Madrid of volleyball, where, in a context of stars, only if you learn to shine together with the others can you illuminate. Paola a diamond. You can be satisfied, you will always have a high level engagement. Or she can try to shine even more. You and the whole Italy of volleyball.