Ivan Zaytsev’s July 1: “I’ll remain awkward even off the pitch”

Ivan Zaytsev chooses the first of July to have his say. The Tsar speaks after a long season, which began with the exclusion from the national team on the eve of the World Cup, continued with recovery after the injury, with the difficulties of Lube, the tactical sacrifices requested by Blengini and culminated with the Scudetto sold to Trento in a final series effectively eyed off the pitch with re-injury. A year marked above all by the death, three weeks ago, of father Vjaceslav, monument of volleyball and point of reference in Ivan’s life.

Now Zaytsev’s long post, titled “July 1, 2023”, written on a summer day that must mean a lot to the uncomfortable champion of Italian volleyball: “My zodiac sign is Libra – writes the Tsar -, but I have always behaved like a ram’s head, perhaps also for this reason I have never read a horoscope in my life. I don’t believe it. But what I believe in and have always believed is that making one’s voice heard is worth more than a medal because in so many they never understood that any battle I waged was paid dearly and I always had more to lose than to gain personally, both in the eyes of public opinion and towards the whole movement, comrades, club and federation” .

The references to what happened in recent years are clear, to the never easy relationships with executives and coaches and to his way of being on the pitch is off: “Whenever I could, whenever I forced the subject of sports professionalism, in TV, radio, print media, social media I was uncomfortable… like when I lost the national team over the “shoe issue” I was uncomfortable yet today no one wears the shoes that someone else decides are the best for us to do our job. back in Italy I signed my first “real” contract in Perugia, well over 20 pages, everyone made fun of me, yet you can explain to me how today we can think of writing a two-page contract in the face of what is finally recognized like a full-fledged job, and it was before when I was the only one”.

Precisely the protection of sports workers is the central theme of the text posted by Zaytsev on social media: “I was massacred for regulating image rights in volleyball now tell me who is not using their image rights in volleyball, but because I was alone, I was attacked with the justification that “he thinks more about sponsors, about marketing, he just wants money and visibility”. No, we all have image rights, no one can afford to use Mario Rossi’s photo to promote what you want without asking Mario Rossi for permission, why was it like that in volleyball? Was I strange or was the movement distorted? Inconvenient because I’m not a woman but I fought for the rights of athletes, such as leave and maternity leave”.

For Zaytsev, another fundamental step concerns young people, those who represent the future of volleyball: “I am no longer a young person – he writes again in the post – but I was and remain convinced that I must and can do something now so that they, the others , young people, can finally see their rights as athletes recognized. I have been playing and earning (good!) with volleyball for 20 years but I won’t have a damn thing in retirement and that’s okay because I didn’t do all this for MYSELF, I did it also and above all for you and my children. But they were right about one thing, the rumors, and I was wrong… There is a rumor that has been chasing about me for years in the stands, corridors, gyms and offices federal… only ONE that today I can say was true. I’m a pain in the ass. Yes about our rights, I’m an excellent pain in the ass! And I’m proud of it. If you want people who only say “everything is fine Madame the Marquise” who only speaks of games won or lost as if everything passed only from a victory or a defeat on the taraflex, go ahead … I will continue to do my part off the playing field but firmly planted in the field of playing life, or rather, sorry, at work” .

Before putting his signature (“Ivan”) at the bottom of the post, a greeting that is also a promise: “Happy July 1st to all sports workers who, like me, have a passion and the desire to always improve and improve what they can be done better, having a dialogue, discussing and speaking freely without fear of being considered a pain in the ass”.