Italian men's national volleyball team
| Italy | |
|
|
| Association | Confédération Européenne de Volleyball (CEV) |
| FIVB member | since 1947 |
| World ranking | 7th place (as of February 3, 2020) |
| Trainer | Gianlorenzo Blengini |
| Assistant coach | Valentini Antonio |
| Homepage | Federazione Italiana Pallavolo (FIPAV) |
| World Championship | |
|---|---|
| Participation in the finals | 1949, 1956, 1962-2018 |
| best result | World champion 1990, 1994, 1998 |
| Olympic games | |
| Participation in the finals | 1976-2012 |
| best result | Silver 1996 and 2004 |
| European Championship | |
| Participation in the finals | 1948, 1951-2019 |
| best result | European champion 1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005 |
| World cup | |
| Participation in the finals | 1981, 1989, 1995-2003, 2011-2019 |
| best result | Winner 1995 |
| Nations League | |
| Participation in the finals | 2018, 2019 |
| best result | 8th place 2018, 2019 |
| World league | |
| Participation in the finals | 1990-2013 |
| best result | Winner 1990–1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000 |
| European League | |
| Participation in the finals | no |
| (As of February 3, 2020) | |
The Italian men's national volleyball team is a selection of the best Italian players that FIPAV ( Federazione Italiana Pallavolo ) represents in international tournaments and internationals. The Italians had their most successful period in the 1990s and early 2000s when they became world champions three times, won two silver medals in the Olympic Games and collected several titles in European championships and in the world league.
history
World championships
At the first volleyball world championship in 1948, the Italians came eighth. In 1956 and 1962 they took 14th place and also in the following three tournaments they only reached back places. At the 1978 World Cup, however, they were only defeated in the final of the Soviet Union . At the tournaments in 1982 and 1986 there were again double-digit results. In 1990 they became world champions for the first time in the final against Cuba . Four years later they managed to defend their title in the final against the Netherlands . In 1998 they won the third World Cup in a row with a final victory over Yugoslavia . At the tournaments in 2002 and 2006 , they finished fifth. As hosts, they lost the game for third place against Serbia at the 2010 World Cup . In 2014, the Italians were eliminated in the second group stage. They finished the 2018 World Cup in fifth place.
Olympic games
Italy took part in the 1976 Olympics for the first time and finished eighth. 1980 in Moscow there was a ninth place. In 1984 in Los Angeles , the Italians won the bronze medal. In 1988 they finished ninth and in 1992 fifth. In 1996 in Atlanta they were only defeated in the final against the Netherlands. At the 2000 tournament they won bronze again. In 2004 in Athens they were back in the final, which they lost to Brazil . In 2008 in Beijing , the Italians missed a medal after losing to Russia . In 2012 in London they won the bronze game against Bulgaria . At the 2016 tournament they reached the final again, but had to admit defeat to hosts Brazil. At an international qualifying tournament in Bari , they secured their starting place for Tokyo 2020 .
European championships
At the premiere of the European volleyball championship in 1948 in their own country, the Italians came third. They missed the following tournament, after which they always occupied places between eight and ten until 1977, including an eighth place as hosts in 1971 . In 1979 they finished fifth and two years later seventh. In 1983 they just missed the medal ranks as fourth. Then the results were a little worse as sixth and ninth. In 1989 , the Italians won the European Championship for the first time against hosts Sweden . In 1991 in Germany they lost the final against the Soviet Union. They won the next two finals against the Netherlands before finishing third in 1997 . After winning the next title in 1999 against Russia, they had to admit defeat to Yugoslavia two years later . The tournaments in 2003 and 2005 they won in the finals against France and Russia. They finished sixth at the 2007 European Championships , and in 2009 they slipped to tenth place. They lost two finals against Serbia in 2011 and against Russia in 2013 . At the EM 2015 they reached third place. In 2017 they were eliminated in the quarter-finals against Belgium . In the same round they lost to France at the 2019 European Championship .
World cup
The Italy first took part in the World Cup in 1981 and finished seventh. In 1989 they were only defeated in the final against Cuba . After another break, they won the competition for the first time in 1995 in the final against the Netherlands. In 1999 they came third. In 2003 they lost the final against Brazil. After missing the 2007 tournament, they finished fourth in 2011 . At the World Cup 2015 they were in the final again and this time had to admit defeat to the USA . In 2019 they came seventh.
Nations League
In the first edition of the Nations League 2018 , the Italians finished eighth. In 2019 there was the same result.
World league
The Italians won the 1990 World League against the Netherlands . In the following two years they repeated their success in their own country by winning the final against Cuba. After a third place in 1993, they defeated Cuba in 1994 and Brazil in the final in 1995. In 1996 they lost the final against hosts Netherlands and a year later they again prevailed against Cuba. In 1998 they missed a medal for the first time despite home rights. In 1999 and 2000 they won their last two titles in this competition in the finals against Cuba and Russia. In 2001 they had to admit defeat to the Brazilians. They finished fourth in 2002 and third the following year. In 2004 there was another final defeat against Brazil. They ranked six to nine from 2005 to 2010 before finishing tenth in 2011. In 2013 and 2014 they reached third place again. They finished the next two tournaments in fifth and fourth place. In the last edition in 2017, the twelfth place was the worst result.
Awards
The Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport voted the national team in 1990, 1995, 1998, 2005 and 2016 " Italy's Team of the Year ", and in 1995 it was also "World Team of the Year".
Web links
- Information from the Italian Volleyball Federation (Italian)
- Profile at FIVB (English)