Volley, Egonu greets the Turks and thinks about the great return to Milan

The honeymoon between Paola Egonu and Vakifbank, the Turkish super club that went crazy last summer to sign the Italian champion from Conegliano, didn’t last very long. It started out as a “fascinating adventure to be discovered”, as the blue declared on the eve of her departure for Turkey. Excited to work with Giovanni Guidetti, the Italian who leads Vakif from the bench, and to find, among others, a teammate like Gabi, born Gabriela Braga Guimarães, captain of Brazil silver medalist at the Tokyo Games. But now everything seems already wrecked. Probably due to Vakifbank’s non-exciting journey which, by losing too many important matches so far, has turned from a steamroller into a failed promise for the current season. And thanks also to the pressure from Vero Volley Milano, Egonu seems close to an agreement to return to the Italian Super League. She would maintain the amount of the salary agreed with Vakif, with the advantage of adding sponsors and other benefits in “his” Milan, the fashion capital.

In Turkey, meanwhile, Vakifbank has not exercised the clause for the unilateral renewal of the contract, a possibility envisaged by 31 March. The sponsor, which is the country’s main bank close to the government, indirectly reports a contract that is “too onerous” in this delicate historical moment in Turkey, recently hit by a devastating earthquake. In the background, however, the Turkish team of THY remains, coached by the coach of Brazil Zè Roberto, an authentic monument of international volleyball. The Istanbul club could make Egonu a very attractive offer from an economic and sporting point of view.

However, it is more likely that Egonu will end up accepting the proposal from Vero Volley Milano, the club that started from Monza and plans to move permanently to the Allianz Cloud. Among the teammates, Egonu would find Alessia Orro and Myriam Sylla, reconstituting the backbone of Davide Mazzanti’s national team.