Serie A1 TIM
TIM Cup A1begins Wednesday 30
The 32nd edition of the Italian Cup will begin on Wednesday 30 December at 8.30. The teams taking part in the Final Eight will meet each other in one single game, the top four teams in the league table will have the court advantage, while the winners will go through to the Final Four, which will take place on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 (final) January in Montecatini Terme.
Trento’s Andrea Sala has the record of participation with 7 and 10 games played, while Vincenzo Di Pinto is back in Trento as he recently took over Sartoretti as Perugia coach. Cuneo and Monza will meet for the first time in the cup, and for the second time in history: Cuneo had lost 3-2 away earlier this season. The two teams will meet again in the league on Sunday 3 January. The live game will be between Treviso, five time winners, and the Italian champs Piacenza, which came close in 2005 – 2006 losing in the final against Cuneo. Ten times winners, Modena will host Macerata, which recently put together a string of five consecutive wins and which is the holder of the cup. Indeed, last February, it had won its second consecutive trophy, the fourth in the club history.
TIM CUP A1 Final Eight
Wednesday 30 December at 8.30pm
Itas Diatec Trentino (1) – (8) RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
(Sobrero-Cesare)
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo (2) – (7) Acqua Paradiso Monza
(Saltalippi-Gnani)
Sisley Treviso (3) – (6) CoprAtlantide Piacenza – Live on Rai Sport Più dalle at 8.30pm
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Pasquali-Sampaolo)
Trenkwalder Modena (4) – (5) Lube Banca Marche Macerata
(Santi-Boris)
TIM CUP A1 Final Four
Saturday 30 January at 3.30pm
1a Semifinale TIM Cup A1 – Live on Rai Sport Più
Saturday 30 January at 6pm
2a Semifinale TIM Cup A1 – Live on Rai Sport Più
Sunday 31 January at 3pm
Finale TIM Cup A2 – differed on Rai Sport Più
Sunday 31 January at 6pm
Finale TIM Cup A1 – Live on Rai Sport Più
Itas Diatec Trentino – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 19 (11-8 Trento)
IN THE TIM CUP A1: None
Leandro Vissotto (Itas Diatec Trentino): “We have already beaten Perugia in a recent league game, but Wednesday’s encounter will be a lot different. The approach to an in-or-out game is not the same, the competitive spirit and tension is even higher. We’ll have to stay composed and play our usual volleyball. We will have a little advantage compared to the past given that we’re playing at the PalaTrento. We are really keen on the Italian cup, in which we have had many disappointments in the past. Starting in front of our fans will surely help us a great deal”.
Claudio Sciurpa (Presidente della RPA-LuigiBacchi.it Perugia): “I’ve never wanted to dream that much before: we’re dreaming that tomorrow we’ll go to Trento and win. This victory would be one of the most beautiful dreams if it came true, we could also think of a great celebration. A big triumph must come to my team one day or another. We’re waiting for it”.
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – Acqua Paradiso Monza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 1 (Monza)
IN THE CUP: None
Wout Wijsmans (Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “It will definitely not be an easy game. Monza is a tough team to play, let’s be careful. It stands in seventh place in the table, it plays away and will therefore have nothing to lose. From a technical standpoint, they serve well, we’ll have to limit Gavotto, who had played very well in our first meeting this season. We must play our game with patience. One of our motivation comes from the fact that we want to show that our team is better than the one they beat in the league”.
Mauro Berruto (Acqua Paradiso Monza): “We feel ready for this game. The great technical, tactical quality and the attitude shown against Trento, the World Champion, will be a good basis to work on as we face Cuneo. Both team want to do well in the cup but the difference is that Cuneo categorically needs to do well while making it to Montecatini Terme would represents the ice on the cake after a brilliant first half of championship for us. I repeat, we feel ready to put our cards on the table, with the character we have always shown, like on Sunday. I think this characteristic is the reason why we are attracting so many fans showing great affection to the team”.
Sisley Treviso – CoprAtlantide Piacenza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 27 (14-13 Piacenza)
IN THE CUP: Semi-finals 2005-06 (Sisley Treviso – Copra Berni Piacenza 1-3)
Tomaso Totolo (Sisley Treviso): “Piacenza is a great team, they haven’t become Italian champion by chance. They had to deal with injuries at the beginning but they are back, they have found their balance, which represented the team that ended up winning the title. They possess two brilliant spikers, Marshall and Zlatanov, a man of records and control like Bravo, two quality middleblockers, and the setter is Meoni, who feeds his teammates well. It won’t be easy: they will aim to hit the serve hard as they usually do, but right now, we are in form, and I think this could be a tight affair all the way”.
Angelo Lorenzetti (CoprAtlantide Piacenza): “We are not at our best, we hoped to be in a better shape, be that physically and especially technically: we are struggling too much in many situations. Treviso has several dangerous players, technically they have great potential. Compared to previous seasons, Piazza’s team has less responsibilities and this situation makes them more confident. They have played good volleyball of late, and the results prove it”.
Trenkwalder Modena – Lube Banca Marche Macerata
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 49 (27-22 Modena)
IN THE CUP: Semi final 2002 – 2003 (Kerakoll Modena – Lube Banca Marche Macerata 1-3); Semi final 2000 – 2001 (Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Casa Modena 3-2).
Mikko Esko (Trenkwalder Modena): “Wednesday’s game against Macerata will be different that all the other ones played so far: I can say this is the most important game of the season so far. Macerata is a very strong team, put together to win both in Italy and Europe. In the last two encounters against them, we have lost twice but most of the time it was tight. It will therefore be a very difficult game, but there is a good atmosphere in the group, we can’t wait to play. This is an important game, but we’ll have to handle the pressure and get on court to have fun and play our best volleyball”.
Igor Omrcen (Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “We have won our last five games in the league. Not only did we earn important points, but we are also full of confidence. Besides the results, we have also stepped up in our level of play. Having said that, none of this matters in this game, not even the meetings between the two teams, which we both won. I really think this is 50-50, even if Modena has the court advantage. Those games with a lot at stake represent a big source of motivation for every player. We really want to win it, because the Italian Cup, which we won in the last two seasons, is undeniably a very important trophy”.
