Monza is last, forbidden to make a mistake with Civitanova
Monza-Civitanova at Santo Stefano
“Boxing Day” at’Opiquad Arena for MINT Vero Volley Monza. Beretta and his teammates Thursday Dec. 26 at 5 p.m. (live on DAZN and VBTV) will face Cucine Lube Civitanova in a crucial match for the season. The Marche players arrive at the appointment in a good shape, also strong from their experience at the World Club Championship, but the support of the home crowd could prove decisive in pushing the Brianzoli towards an important result.
Coach Eccheli’s boys are going through a delicate and atypical moment. If in the CEV Champions League they lead Pool B with authority, in the league they are struggling to find continuity and are banking on the confrontation with Lube to relaunch themselves. This will be the 32nd meeting between the two teams, with the Cuccinieri holding a clear advantage in the previous matches (23 wins against 8). However, the Brianzoli have proven they can surprise: last season, in fact, they eliminated the red-and-whites both in the Italian Cup Quarterfinals and in the race for the Scudetto.
For this Boxing Day challenge there are many former players on the court starting with Erik Loeppky, a star player in Monza last season. Adis Lagumdzija also played on the Brianza roster in Monza in 2020/21 and Santiago Orduna from 2018 to 2022. They are familiar with the Civitanova court instead Osmany Juantorena at Lube from the 2015/16 to 2021/22 season and Ivan Zaytsev his partner in Marche from 2021 to 2024.
After winning the Play Off 5° spot in the SuperLega, Cucine Lube Civitanova faces its 30° year in the top league with a revolutionized group. Giampaolo Medei, fresh from his CEV Cup triumph with Resovia, returns to the helm. Remaining at the base are libero Fabio Balaso, promoted to captain, and teammate Francesco Bisotto, as well as Bulgarian setter Alex Nikolov and lateral player Mattia Bottolo. Confirmation for Turkish national Adis Lagumdzija at spot 2 and transalpine Olympic champion Barthelemy Chinenyeze at center, a department in which former Trento Marko Podrascanin returns after 8 years. Unseen director with emerging Mattia Boninfante from Modena and veteran Italian-Argentinian Santi Orduna from Catania. Great expectations in the band for Canadian ex-Monza Eric Loeppky and Iranian Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh. Hot attack with Croatian Petar Dirlic, new entry from Milan. At center signed two more ‘giants’: Giovanni Gargiulo, former Taranto, and Brazilian baby Davi Tenorio, last year at Soria.
