In focus: Trentino Itas
Feature
Trentino Itas is one of the most titled Volleyball teams. The 3rd team of the 2021/2022 Italian SuperLega and back-to-back #CLVolleyM runner-up with their star-studded line-up start the new campaign in Pool D with high goals.
Trentino Itas amassed a medal collection that any team would be extremely proud of, winning impressive number of trophies in all competitions during the last two decades. They swept the #CLVolleyM title for three years in a row between 2009 and 2011 and grabbed three silvers (2016, 2021, 2022) and one bronze medal (2012). In 2019 they triumphed in the CEV Cup. But their impressive list of titles is not limited only to their European honours. Trentino were crowned the club world champions on five occasions (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018) and finished third in this competition in 2013, 2016 and in December 2021. In the 2010–11 season, by winning national, continental and world championships, Trentino became the first Volleyball team in history to gain the triple-crown. Therefore, the team from Trident is always among the top contenders in every competition they take part in.
Ahead of the season 2021/2022, Trentino’s roster had been significantly refreshed. Head coach Angelo Lorenzetti built around himself a team that is an extremely well-balanced mixture of experience and youthness. 20-year-old Italian superstar Alessandro Michieletto the best scorer, spiker and server of the #CLVolleyM 2021 (181 points, 141 killing spikes, 21 aces) and 38-year-old Bulgarian icon Matey Kaziyski are the best example of this combination. Actually, Kaziyski has experienced his second youth since he re-joined the team last season. That far, he is the best scorer of SuperLega with 135 points (including 10 aces) tallied in six matches. The Serbian master duo Marko Podraščanin and Srećko Lisinac continue to overpower their rivals from the middle, successfully building the wall over the net, with the help of 23-year-old outside hitter Daniele Lavia, who was 3rd best blocker in the previous Champions League season and is currently 3rd best scorer in SuperLega (107 points). Riccardo Sbertolli keeps impressing with his playmaking skills, once the starting line-up has been completed with a new - only 19-year-old - Gabriele Laurenzano, who already receives extremely good reviews from the experts. Having also in his stellar team players like Donovan Džavoronok, Wout D'Heer, Gabriele Nelli and some other promising young Italian players, Lorenzetti can easily rotate with his squad.
Although, they struggle to return to the throne of the Italian League, their last title came in 2015, with no doubt they make Italy proud with their international performances. So far, in the SuperLega, Trentino is ranked 3rd with three wins (over Siena, Cisterna and Modena) and three defeats (against Verona, Piacenza and Lube). Trentino failed to defend their SuperCup title, losing in the semi-final to Sir Safety Perugia on Monday, but they definitely keep polishing their shape ahead of the international performances.
In their first 2023 #CLVolleyM encounter on November 10 in Trento, they take on Belgian rookies Decospan VT Menen. A week later, on November 16, Trentino will face ČEZ Karlovarsko to finally lock horns with their greatest rival in the last two editions of Europe’s prime competition – Grupa Azoty Zaksa Kędzierzyn Koźle, on November 29 in front of home crowd in Trento. From December 7 to 11, Trentino Itas will represent Europe at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship in Betim, Brazil. But they will be back on time to play the re-match against the Czech champion in their last #CLVolleyM game in 2022, on December 15. The away match on Menen is scheduled on January 11. The quest for the quarterfinal tickets will be completed on January 25th with a clash of European titans in Kędzierzyn Koźle.
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