Manuel Zlatanov, the young spiker of Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza is in the group of 14 Azzurrini who will play with the Italy Under 17 team in the European championships scheduled in Podgorica in Montenegro from 19 to 30 July.
The under-17 national team qualified for the continental event last January in Darfo Boario Terme and in preparation for the European Championship, the Azzurrini played a series of test matches against Poland in Pordenone during the last collegiate season. The three joint training sessions scheduled were all won by the Azzurrini.
The team, led by coach Monica Cresta, has been included in Pool II and will challenge Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Serbia, Finland, the Netherlands and Spain. In Pool I are hosts from Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey, Slovenia, Belgium, Austria, Estonia and Greece.
Italy will make its debut at the men’s under-17 European Championships on Wednesday 19 July at 20 when they will take the field at the Univerzitetski Sportsko Kulturni Centar to face the Netherlands.
The 14 Azzurrini: Simone Porro and Bryan Argilagos (Volley Treviso); Gianluca Cremoni, Andrea Giani and Nicola Zara (Lube Civitanova); Davide Boschini (Trentino Volleyball); Manuel Zlatanov (Gas Sales Bluenergy Volley Piacenza); Raffaele Colaci (Materdomini Volleyball); Alessandro Benacchio and Simone Bertoncello (Bassano Volleyball); Andrea Usanza (Montichiari Volleyball); Lorenzo Ciampi (True Volleyball); Nicolò Garello (Pink Devils); Andrea Ruzza (Volleyball Padova).
The staff will be made up of Monica Cresta (head coach), Giovanni Preti (second coach), Matteo Antonucci (assistant coach), Marco Donnarumma (scoutman), Antongiulio Di Noto (doctor), Mattia Cordenos (physiotherapist), Glauco Ranocchi (physical trainer /team manager).
The formula – The 16 teams taking part in the competition are divided into two groups: they will play seven matches in their own pool according to the round-robin formula, with the top two from each group qualifying for the cross-over semi-finals and subsequent matches for the medals.
Italy calendar
Wednesday 19 July 2023
20.00 – Italy-Holland
Thursday 20 July 2023
15.00 – France-Italy
Friday 21 July 2023
17.30 – Italy-Serbia
Sunday 23 July 2023
12.30 – Finland-Italy
Monday 24th July 2023
5.30 pm – Italy-Spain
Wednesday 26 July 2023
20.00 – Italy-Czech Republic
Thursday 27 July 2023
20.00 – Poland-Italy
Saturday 29 July 2023
Semifinals 1st-4th place (16.30 and 19.00)
Sunday 30 July 2023
16.30 Final 3rd place
19.00 Final 1st-2nd place
