Del Monte® Coppa Italia SuperLega is about to experience its epilogue with the Final Four scheduled for the weekend at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome. The two Semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with live RAI Sport: Perugia faces Piacenza, Trento finds itself facing Milan less than a week from the last crossing. The match that will award the 45th Coppa Italia will be played live on Rai 2 on Sunday at 16.00.
On Saturday, at 3.30 pm, the start of the two Italian days belongs to the outgoing champions of Sir Safety Susa Perugia and Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza for the remake of the 2021/22 Semifinal won by the Umbrians, still unbeaten in the previous 9 with the Emilians in the cup and in championship. The Block Devils, protagonists of the Regular Season and in pursuit of the fourth Italian Cup, in the first round at the PalaBarton eliminated Cisterna in three sets, a team also defeated on Sunday in the league with the same result. Andrea Anastasi’s men have won all the seasonal games leaving only 1 point on the road since the start of the tournament. On the opposite front, there is a regenerated formation with the return to the field of all its champions and the contractual renewal of Lucarelli for another year, but with a bitter taste in the mouth for the comeback suffered at the tie break on the Eurosuole Forum field against Cucine Lube. A step back, even if fighting until the end, after finding themselves 2 – 0. Sigh of relief for Massimo Botti’s staff on the Leal front. The diagnostic investigations excluded ankle fractures after the fall on the field. The qualification of Gas Sales to the Semifinals is a dream thanks to the winning tie break in Verona. the sextet from Piacenza, which boasts an A2 Cup on its showcase, wants to leave its mark.
Semifinals Del Monte® Italian Cup
Saturday 25 February 2023, 3.30 pm
Sir Safety Susa Perugia – Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza
Live Rai Sport
Commentary by Maurizio Colantoni and Andrea Lucchetta
Rai Play live streaming
Live streaming Volleyballworld.tv
Saturday 25 February 2023, 18.00
Itas Trentino – Allianz Milan
Live Rai Sport
Commentary by Maurizio Colantoni and Andrea Lucchetta
Rai Play live streaming
Live streaming Volleyballworld.tv
Del Monte® Final Italian SuperLega Cup
Sunday 26 February 2023, 4.00 pm
Live Rai 2
Rai Play live streaming
Live Volleyballworld.tv
Event referees
Stefano Cesare (Rome), Referee A since 1999 – International since 2010
Massimo Florian (Treviso – Belluno), Referee A since 2007
Mauro Carlo Goitre (Turin), Referee A since 2008 – International since 2016
Andrea Puecher (Padova), Referee since 2003 – International since 2013
Rossella Piana (Modena), Referee since 2006 – International since 2014
Marco Zavater (Roma), Referee A since 2008
Andrea Anastasi (Coach Sir Safety Susa Perugia): “I am satisfied with the team’s preparation for the Final Four. We have worked very well in the last month and not just in the last few days, we have kept up the level of training and in the meantime we have continued to win which are two very important things. I think we are in good condition to face the Final Four in the best possible way. We will face Piacenza in the semi-final and I reiterate my idea that it is a wonderfully built team. They had a lot of bad luck in the form of a lot of problems from a physical point of view and because of this they never managed to have any continuity. But Piacenza is certainly a very formidable team that can win the Del Monte® Coppa Italia and we know it very well. It will be a very delicate match, we are preparing it with great attention as they will certainly do, we will try to play at our best and take advantage of our knowledge of their game. Finally, I am very happy to participate in this Final Four: in Rome I had played in the 2010 World Cup as coach of the Italian national team and returning to that arena fills me with joy”.
Massimo Botti (Coach Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza): “The approach to this Final Four was a bit like being on a roller coaster for a complicated period from a health point of view. We have tried to do the best possible and arrive at this appointment that we all care about in the best possible conditions and ready. The last championship match with Civitanova, beyond the result, confirmed the progress made, the team when it’s complete can express a great volleyball. I’m lucky enough to coach players who don’t fear comparisons of this type, certainly Perugia is the big favorite of the event, they’re having a stratospheric season, historic if you will, but there is no unbeatable team. We will face it without fear, we have to play volleyball as we know how and we can do avoiding those breaks that happen to us from time to time, we will certainly have to play a game of the highest level by putting constant pressure on our opponents especially when serving and being good at keeping up their serve ”.
Angelo Lorenzetti (Itas Trentino coach): “We want to experience a semi-final as protagonists, putting our best on the field because getting to play it was not easy and therefore we must fully enjoy what we have achieved. The SuperLega this season is very competitive; to still be among the four teams that will compete for this trophy is a pride, but also a great satisfaction. Facing Milan again, as happened in the previous edition in the same phase of the draw and as happened in the previous weekend, is a further challenge: we will have to be good at not taking anything for granted and preparing for a match that could be very different from Sunday’s last. In fact, having won at the Allianz Cloud does not offer us any advantage over the match we are about to play. The level of the two teams is very similar and the difference will be made by small details or specific game situations in each set”.
Roberto Piazza (Coach Allianz Milano): “I think the team arrives prepared for the Final Four: from a physical point of view we are prepared to face a long game, from a mental point of view too; by now the players know each other, just as the two teams know each other almost perfectly. I think the mental aspect is very important for us but we get to face the semi-final aware of our means. Saturday’s challenge is a one-off match that gives you no other chance but to move forward. Trento is used to playing matches of this type, it has played many in its history, especially in recent years I think it is the team that has faced the most compared to all the other Italian teams. Milan is not yet 100% used to playing this type of match, this is part of the experiences of the team and of each individual player. It will be crucial to have patience when things don’t come out perfectly and instead to be particularly aggressive in the right moment of the match. Last Sunday we weren’t able to take advantage of a couple of chances we had, this thing shouldn’t happen in the Coppa Italia. We arrive in the Final Four in a more conscious way because last year it was almost a dream, this year there is a little more security, even a pinch of desire for revenge. Last Semifinal we didn’t play in the best way and after a few days we saw a different match in Trento against Trento, this time we arrive after playing a good match against Trento which doesn’t completely satisfy us, but we are aware that it is within our reach” .
