World Cup, picture for round of 16 completed

Volleyball, Italy-Cuba

The journey of the Men’s National Team in the World Championships that have reached the knockout stage will continue in the Slovenian capital. Last night’s match won by the Azzurri against China decreed the conclusion of the group stage at the end of which the ranking of the 16 teams that will face each other in the round of 16 starting on Saturday, Sept. 3, was drawn up.

The first in-or-out match will be the one pitting hosts Slovenia against Germany at 5:30 p.m.; the next match, at 9:15 p.m., will be the one pitting the Azzurri against the Cuban national team (live TV on Rai 2 and Sky Sport Action).

The one scheduled for Saturday is a match that evokes great challenges of the past between two national teams that wrote the history of volleyball in the 1990s: unforgettable in this regard is the final of the World Cup played on October 28, 1990 in the legendary Maracanazinho where Italy defeated Cuba 3-1, climbing for the first time on the roof of the World. A match in which some athletes took part who are here, still today, protagonists of the current World Cup, but with different roles: De Giorgi and Giani as technical commissioners of Italy and France respectively; Lucchetta and Zorzi as commentators of the two broadcasters who are transmitting in our country the matches of Giannelli and his teammates.

Thirty-two years have passed since then and other challenges have followed, most recently in Florence in June 2013 (World League, 3-0 score in Italy’s favor). The past, however, does not matter now and the one scheduled for Saturday will be a whole different challenge with many protagonists playing precisely in the Italian Superleague.