Next 15th october will start Unipolsai Superleague tournament, with 14 teams who will battle for the final win next may.
These are the profiles of the 14 teams:
BCC Castellana Grotte
After the win in Serie A2 UnipolSai last season, BCC Castellana Grotte os ready to face this upcoming 2017/2018 Superleague season, playing all the home games of the tournament not in Castellana Grotte but at PalaFlorio in Bari. Will be a great responsability for BCC Castellana Grotte to represent Puglia in Superleague, after the absence of Molfetta in this season. Bcc will play with some rookies at this level, as brasilians Canuto and Moreira, polish Hebda and brasilian Costa. Brand new player middle blocker De Togni together with Cazzaniga and Garnica will be the veterans trying to drive the youngsters into this big adventure of Superleague. with Bcc also greek opposite Tzioumakas former Piacenza and Perugia, and ciìonfirmed liberos Cavaccini and Pace, together with middle blocker Ferraro. From the bench young Rossatti and Zauli, all together with setter Matteo Paris.
Cucine Lube Civitanova
Defending champs Cucine Lube Civitanova kept in Marche the top players, adding some other players to keep up high the level of the roster. After winning Superleague and Italian Cup, Lube hired coach Giampaolo Medei in place of italian national team Gianlorenzo Blengini. All the top players extended, Sokolov, Juantorena, Christenson, Kovar, Stankovic, Cester, Candellaro, Grebennikov, together with Della Lunga eand Casadei. Brand new faces are croatian setter Zhukouski, spiker Milan, american spiker from Usa Sander, former Verona. Brand new back up libero Marchisio, all together trying to lift some other trophy in this upcoming busy season. Let’s see if Lube will be able to repeat the great last season.
Taiwan Excellence Latina
16th consecutive Serie A tournament for Taiwan Excellence Top Volley Latina, and 46 years of consecutive activity in volleyball. 11th season of President Gianrio Falivene, who brought Top Volley to two championships semifinals, and two european Cup finals. In this season Latina become really strong, with London Olympics italian national team captain Cristian Savani (from Ziraat Ankara – Turkey), and with alot of very important adds as Carlo De Angelis (Caloni Agnelli Bergamo), frenchman middle blocker Nicolas Le Goff (Bbsk Istanbul – Turchia) and frenchman opposite Jordan Corteggiani (Chaumont – Francia), setter from Taiwan Pei-Huang Hung (Taichung Bank – Taiwan) and american libero Erik Shoji (Lokomotiv Novosibirsk – Russia). Together these new players, came back in Latina Sasha Starovic (Paok Salonicco – Grecia). Confirmed captain setter Daniele Sottile at his 8th season in Latina, middle blockers Carmelo Gitto and Andrea Rossi, spikers Gabriele Maruotti and japanese Yuki Ishikawa, young libero Louis Caccioppola, with the final add oof slovakian middle blocker Jakub Kovac.
Revivre Milano
Revolution in this upcoming season for Revivre Milano, with coach Andrea Giani and his staff (Matteo De Cecco and Oscar Berti), fresh silver medallist as coach of Germany at last European Championships in Poland. Confirmed setter Riccardo Sbertoli, middle blocker Gianluca Galassi and spiker Alessandro Tondo, turned into an opposite. The adds has been great, italian national team middle blocker Matteo Piano from Modena, slevenian spiker Klemen Cebulj, dutchman Nimir Abdel-Aziz on the opposite side, after the season in Italy as setter in Belluno and Cuneo), german from Berlin Ruben Schoot and american middle blocker from Padova Taylor Averill. together with them, Kevin Klinkenberg from Latina and Alessandro Preti, with two brand new liberos as Fabio Fanuli and Alessandro Piccinelli, and back up setter experienced Nicola Daldello.
Azimut Modena
Plenty of new faces for Azimut Modena in this upcoming 2017/2018 Superleague season, all high level new faces, as brand new head coach Radostin Stoytchev, together with assistant Dario Simoni as in the seasons in Trento. One of the most important moves for Modena has been obviously to bring back from Brasil Olympic champ Bruno Mossa De Rezende, starter setter of carioca olympic champs in Rio in the summer of 2016. Some other new faces at PalaPanini, american setter Franciskovic, former Exprivia Molfetta opposite Sabbi and former Volley Potentino Argenta, in the middle Maxwell Holt will play together Bossi back from Bunge Ravenna and Mazzone from Trento, after the good things with italian national team jersey. Super confirmed obviously Earvin Ngapeth who weill find his friend Bruno, former Bunge Ravenna Van Garderen, and former Trento slovenian Urnaut. From the bench, young Marra and Pinali, and Swan Ngapeth. Libero Salvatore Rossini with brand new Federico Tosi.
Gi Group Monza
Gi Group Monza almost completely renowned will approach this next upcoming 2017/2018 Superleague season with confidence and expectatives. Spanish coach Miguel Àngel Falasca, who drove Monza in last season to the first ever playoff participation. Confirmed the spiker Iacopo Botto, the captain of the team in last two seasons, Thomas Beretta, Simon Hirsch, Marco Rizzo, Davide Brunetti, Donovan Dzavoronok and Jernej Terpin. Brand new faces in the middle, with Italian middle blockers Simone Buti and Rocco Barone, american setter Kawika Shoji and canadian setter Brett Walsh, american spiker Jake Langlois and czech opposite Michal Finger. The goal of Gi Group Monza in this season will be to play a funny play, for the fans of Palazzetto dello Sport in Monza.
Kioene Padova
Another team who changed alot of players in the roster, Kioene Padova with 10 brand new players of of 13 10/13, with only Fabio Balaso, Nicolò Bassanello and Marco Volpato still with the team. Former italian national team setter veteran Dragan Travica, brand new captain, will be in the combo with opposite Gabriele Nelli coming from 8 seasons in Trento. Another italian national team player landed in Padova, so a very young team, Kioene Padova, under coaches Valerio Baldovin and Nicola Baldon, looking forward to the project #RoadTo2020, a project who will put Padova into the top of Superleague.
Sir Safety Conad Perugia
In last season Sir Safety Conad Perugia showed a great strength and an enormous potential. But in the end any title or trophy has been lifted by the team coached by Lorenzo Bernardi. They reached the final in 2016 Supercup and 2016 Champions League, but nothing else. In this start of 2017/2018 season, President Gino Sirci’s team took home the first trophy of the season, by winning Del Monte Supercup last sunday in Civitanova. Still with coach Lorenzo Bernardi, Perugia landed a coup of good players as italian national team libero Colaci, american setter Shaw from Kioene Padova, middle blockers Ricci from Bunge Ravenna, and Anzani from Calzedonia Verona, libero Cesarini from Emma Villas Siena, finn middle blocker Siirila, and opposite Leo Andric. Top players all confirmed, De Cecco-Atanasijevic, Zaytsev, Podrascanin, all renowned, together with veteran Della Lunga and austrian Berger.
Wixo LPR Piacenza
Piacenza became younger in this next upcoming 2017/2018 Superleagur season, despite the comeback of veteran opposite Alessandro Fei from Latina. Fei won with Piacenza Cev Cup in 2013 and Italian Cup in 2014, now back in Emilia to grow up young talents. Together with him, and confirmed coach Alberto Giuliani, arrived former italian national team setter Michele Baranowicz, after last season’s combo Hierrezuelo-Hernandez landed in Turkey. Confirmed also frenchman Clevenot, winner of World League with France, setter Cottarelli, together with young Hershko (UC Anteaters, USA) and Kody (Reggio Emilia, A2). Still with the team veterans Marshall and Parodi ,and middle blockers Alletti and Yosifov, with liberos Manià and Giuliani, son of the coach.
Bunge Ravenna
Bunge is a renowned team for this upcoming 2017/2018 Superleague season and Challenge Cup season. Most of the protagonists of last season go away, as Torres, Lyneel, Spirito, Ricci and Van Garderen. Only three players stayed in Romagna, Raffaelli, Goi and Marchini, together with coach Soli. The brande new players are a mix of youngness and experience, argentinian setter Orduna, frenchmen Marechal and Poglajen, in the middle the new middle blockers are Diamantini, Georgiev and Vitelli, and on thr opposite side Buchegger and cuban Gutierrez. Also young setter Pistolesi and spiker Tiziano Mazzone are in the roster.
Biosì Indexa Sora
Second season in Superleague for Biosì Indexa Sora, a team who built a roster with a mix of veterans and young players, who will debut in Superleague. Starting from american Penning and 20 year old Caneschi, together with confirmed Mattei. In Sora arrived danish Nielsen and american from Hawaii Kupono Fey, together with captain Rosso and hometown boy Marco Lucarelli. Bulgarian setter Georgi Seganov and Marrazzo will be the playmakers, there will be on the opposite side serbian Dusan Petkovic, together with canadian Alex Dunkan, with Santucci and Pierpaolo Mauti in the role of libero. The coach will be Mario Barbiero, with assistant Maurizio Colucci.
Diatec Trentino
three second places earned in last season for Diatec Trentino, Italian Cup, Cev Cup and Superleague. A good season but not enough to lidt at least a trophy, so in the off season the club decided for such a kind of revolution. 10 players of last season left the team, only the captains Giannelli and Lanza and libero Chiappa remained with the team. Colaci, Nelli, Stokr, Tiziano Mazzone, Daniele Mazzone, Solè, Urnaut are some of the players who left the team, in their place with coach Angelo Lorenzetti arrived libero De Pandis, opposite Vettori, Kovacevic, Zingel, Olympic champ Eder Carbonera, Kozamernik, Teppan, Cavuto, Hoag, a bunch of players who will need time for chemistry and shape, but could be very good on the long distance.
Calzedonia Verona
Superleague, Itsalian Cup and Cev Cup. These are the competition where Calzedonia Verona will be involved in. Coach Nikola Grbic has been confirmed after his hire last february in place of Andrera Giani. Alot of brand new players for the gialloblù in this upcoming 2017/2018 season. Some of them are back in Verona after a previous stint, like Pesaresi, Spirito, Birarelli and Pajenk, together with american Jaeschke, iranian Manavinezhad and bulgarian Grozdanov, and other two players of Superleague from other teams as Marretta and Maar. Interesting the situation of iranian Manavinezhad, first player from Iran to play in Superleague, let’s see what will happens in his rookie season in Italy.
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia
Tonno Callipo Calabria Vibo Valentia, at his second consecutive participation to Superleague. President Pippo Callipo’s team will approach this upcoming season with the right attitude, after built a very strong team. Arrived from Modena head coach Lorenzo Tubertini, veterans Coscione and Marra, together with brasilian middle blocker Deivid Costa, extended the contract. Some important players landed in Vibo as Antonov, Verhees, Lecat and Massari, together with 23 year old american Benjamin Patch. Will be an exciting Tonno Callipo in this upcoming season, aiming to improve last season’s placing.
