Minute silence for Luca Sanna
A minute silence on all court of the Italian Cup Final Eight will be respected to pay tribute to the Italian soldier, Luca Sanna, who died in Afghanistan.
Italian Cup Final Eight A1
Fighting for a place in the Final Four
The quarter finals of the 33rd Italian Cup will be played this Wednesday. (teams will fight it out to be in Verona for the Final Four on January 22-23 and be the one to lift the trophy aloft.
Quarter finals
Wednesday 19 January at 8.30pm
Itas Diatec Trentino – Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza
(Rapisarda-Caltabiano)
Casa Modena – Sisley Treviso
(La Micela-Satanassi)
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino
(Castagna-Cipolla)
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia Diretta Rai Sport 1
Live streaming on http://www.raisport.rai.it/dl/raisport/multimedia/diretta.html
(Pol-Padoan)
Trophy “ Banca Popolare di Verona”
Italian Cup Final Four Serie A1 – Serie A2 Final
Saturday 22 January at 3.30pm
1st semi-final Live on Raisport 1
Saturday 22 January at 6pm
2nd semi-final Live on Raisport 1
Sunday 23 January at 2.30pm
Marcegaglia CMC Ravenna – NGM Mobile Santa Croce Differed on Rai Sport 1 rom 9pm
Sunday 23 January at 6pm
Finale Coppa Italia Serie A1 Live on Raisport 1
Itas Diatec Trentino – Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 3 (all for Trento)
Trento in the cup: It won it in 2010 against Cuneo.
Monza in the cup: 1 participation
Andrea Sala (Itas Diatec Trentino): “We want to fight to retain the Cup we won last year in Montecatini Terme right until the end in Verona. In order to do so, we’ll need to beat Monza. It won’t be easy by any means because they are playing good volleyball and they will come in Trento without any pressure. But playing home is even more motivating for us and it gives us an edge. I really want to win this game, not because I used to play for Monza and that I have many friends there, but because there is something really important at stake in an in-or-out encounter”.
Luca Monti (Coach Acqua Paradiso Monza Brianza): “Tomorrow’s game will tell us exactly where we currently stand. We are well aware of being able to do more and against Trento, we’ll have to take risks and never be satisfied. Hopefully, we can make the upset against a team that has not even lost one in the league. They are definitely in good form, it is well coached and well organised. But we have great belief in our chances. We will be up for it, ready for the battle because we also want to go through”.
Casa Modena – Sisley Treviso
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 98 (51-47 Treviso)
Modena in the cup: 10 times winners. The last one in 1998 against Cuneo.
Treviso in the cup: 5 triumphs (1993, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007 against Roma)
Luis Diaz (Casa Modena): “We are both eager to go through to the Final Four. I think the two teams are more or less at the same level. Treviso is going through a good spell, they have been playing better than us of late as we have badly lost two in a row. During the season we proved we could give a game to anyone, now we have to show our worth. We have to forget about the last two games and play composed and focused from the first to the last minute. We play home and the fans will help us. Our supporters deserve to see a great game, and a great performance from Modena”.
Roberto Piazza (coach Sisley Treviso): “We’re playing this quarter final in Modena but it will not be a handicap, at this level it does not make any difference playing home or away, so even though there is usually a great atmosphere in Modena, for us that doesn’t make any difference. The important thing is to be progressing right now in our game. Lately, we have made steps forward and we are improving. We have to keep doing so as things are getting serious. Game after game, we have started to solve problems and that is a good sign of maturity from the team. We have learned from our mistakes, playing so many tough games between the league and the Champions League got us tougher ahead of those knock-out encounters. But this is just talk, now we’ll see what we can do and if the progress was enough to win important match-ups like Wednesday’s in Modena, which I believe is a team that can win against anyone, and it already proved it this season. We are physically and mentally fine, everybody is fit to play, I’d say we got to the test in good shape, now it’s up to us”.
Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo – RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 18 (13-5 Cuneo)
Cuneo in the Cup: 4 Titles (1996, 1999, 2002 and 2006 against Piacenza).
San Giustino in the cup: 3 participations.
Alberto Giuliani (coach Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo): “I expect this game to be a lot different that Sunday’s. Games like these, in or out, worth a qualification in the Italian Cup Final Four are nothing like any other encounters. So we have to be extremely careful because we want to go to Verona. San Giustino proved it was a good team, they can‘t be underestimated. It played good volleyball and they made it difficult for us in the league on Sunday. We’ll have to keep a close eye on their outside hitter Dias, who played well on Sunday, and on their other offensive weapon too, Maric”.
Emanuele Zanini (coach RPA-LuigiBacchi.it San Giustino): “We’re going to Cuneo knowing for well it will be a very difficult game, a completely different one compared to last Sunday. The physical effort made will take its toll and there is the disappointment not to have got to the tie-break, which we would have deserved. At times, we played face to face with the Italian Champions but the experience made the difference. Cuneo has players who played so many games at national and international level, while I have players who played 14 games in Serie A1”.
Lube Banca Marche Macerata – Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 16 (12-4 Macerata)
Macerata in the cup: Four titles (2001, 03, 07, 09)
Vibo Valentia in the cup: Three participation.
Mauro Berruto (coach Lube Banca Marche Macerata): “This will be my 500th game as a coach, so I’d really like to celebrate it with a victory. Last Sunday’s game revealed how our quality can allow us to make the difference, but it was also clear that we could not afford to relax because Vibo proved it had quality and fighting spirit”.
Filippo Callipo (President Tonno Callipo Vibo Valentia): “In one single game, anything can happen in the Italian Cup. Funnily enough, we face Macerata again, which we have just met in the league. Our boys had a brilliant game, we got a point and we could have won it. This is why I think that performance will have Berruto’s team on its toes. I expect a long game, and the one who manage to stay composed will win it. As I always do, I ask my boys to represent well the Calabria region, especially considering the fact that we’ll be live on national television, and I ask them, no matter the result, to come back home with a positive performance”.
