GORAN VUJEVIC (DS SIR SUSA VIM PERUGIA)
ON GAME 3 WITH MILAN – “It was another difficult match and it will be difficult on Thursday too. We have to take one step at a time. Milan eliminated Piacenza, they arrived prepared despite coming from a long series, so every match is a battle. They are dangerous, strong, they express a modern volleyball, even if a little different from other teams because they often receive fours and are very efficient with this system”.
ON BEN TARA – “He has been keeping a high pace for some time. He is a newcomer to the Italian championship, he has worked hard from the beginning and wants to highlight the work done, thanks to important physical qualities. We have two strong opposites, he has stood out in the last period: the coach gives him more trust and he is repaying it to the fullest. He was on the day, he gave us a great hand in attack but also in batting. Every day someone stands out, we want to do well as a team. In my career I have met athletes like Ben Tara or Leon, you have to find a way to get the upper hand. But currently it is difficult to find players under 1.98 centimetres.”
ON LEON’S GOODBYE – “He comes from a long injury, he is almost completely recovered. But we have a fairly large roster of spikers. How did the public react? The club makes the choices, the players come and go, it certainly wasn’t an easy choice. It all happened within a month. Now there are very important matches in which Leon will want to make his contribution.”
NO TO EASY ENTHUSIASM – “In Perugia the expectations are high, the squad is long, the players are strong and this year we have already brought home something. We don’t want to stop, we aim to get to the end. But we know that the other teams are also there. We encountered some difficulties especially with Verona and Milan. We have a very difficult task: we try to give our best, we do everything to obtain positive results.”
ABOUT MILAN, TRENTO AND MONZA – “Milan defends a lot, they are used to playing and often winning long points. It’s a team that makes few mistakes, is very strong at batting and manages to keep the ball changing at a high level. A series of characteristics that we must be good at dealing with to win another match and go to the final. Trento-Monza? Certainly coming first in the Regular Season puts an invisible label on you as a favorite. But in this championship you always have to stay on top of things, the initial “Big 4” have become the “Big 8”.
DANIELE LAVIA (ITAS TRENTINO)
ON GAME 3 WITH MONZA – “Difficult match, in a very hot environment. A very long match, also beautiful to watch, tight. Rychlicki? Just cramps. Sbertoli is fine, he is recovering. The Monza sextet didn’t surprise me. I agree with Soli: playing with three spikers gives much more balance. In my opinion, keeping a player like Loeppky, who was their point of reference in Game 1 and Game 2, on the bench is difficult. They were better.”
THE ITAS MATCH – “It wasn’t our best match, they attacked us straight away. Maybe we didn’t expect it, but we are in the Play Offs, every match is important. We were a bit up and down, both in batting and receiving. They pushed the serve quite a bit and then, with the fact that they defend a lot and hit the block a lot, we also struggled with the attack.”
PHYSICAL OR TECHNIQUE – “I consider myself a technical player, Leon and Ben Tara are very physical players. I prefer technique, because it gives you maximum results with minimum effort.”
ON ACQUARONE – “He is a very gritty player. During the match he makes himself heard, he always tries to lend a hand. I didn’t expect him to play at this level, but I was convinced he could make a great contribution. He’s doing very well, let’s hope he continues like this.”
TOWARDS RACE 4 – “You have to be good at moving on. We need to study what went well in Race 3 and what worked in Race 1 and Race 2, trying to replicate it.”
ON PODRASCANIN’S ANNOUNCED FAREWELL – “It will be an important loss for the group, both as a player and as a person. He is one of those who do good for the group, he has a lot of charisma and brings joy within the team.”
GABRIELE DI MARTINO (MINT VERO VOLLEY MONZA)
ON THE MATCH WITH TRENTO – “It was a tough match, we are happy: it’s not over. The choice to play with three spikers had worked well in the Italian Cup Semi-final. We were coming off two games against Trento in which we were missing Steve Maar, a very important element from a motivational and technical point of view. We tried this solution to change tactically.”
MARKET – “The market in volleyball starts very early and therefore we know a little about the paths that individual players will take. We try not to be influenced. I believe that Monza has never had such a cohesive team, even technically.”
CACHOPA – “He had a truly stellar season. He is one of the strongest setters in the Super League, he is making this team spin in an absurd way. In the past I had already played with Brazilian setters, like Thiaguinho in Molfetta, and I can say that they have a unique positivity. If the team works, it’s also thanks to him.”
FERRE REGGERS (ALLIANZ MILANO)
THE ARRIVAL IN ITALY AND THE EXPLOIT – “I was very happy, a dream. An incredible opportunity. Milan is a very strong team and we hope to do even better than last season. It’s an incredible season, I never expected to play so much. I am happy. I hope to improve further next year.”
ON GAME 3 – “Perugia played an incredible match, they changed something during the match and after the second set we had some difficulties. But let’s look forward to the next match.”
A GROUP OF FRIENDS – “There is a good team spirit. And this helps us to perform at our best, also because volleyball is a team sport.”
VINCENZO DI PINTO
PLAY OFF – “I was expecting these beautiful Play Offs, with two favorite teams, Perugia and Trento. But the rivals are very valid. Milan has courageous play and talented young players capable of reaching very high peaks in their game. And if you don’t play very well against them, you take risks.”
ON TRENTO AND MONZA – “Trento was in difficulty because in the previous matches the three-way reception created difficulties for Monza. This time with four receivers it went better, then there was Maar who is a great driver, Loepkky who makes very few mistakes. In Race 1, however, if Monza doesn’t make two errors, the tie-break becomes much more complicated. Now Monza has had a great injection of confidence, it has understood that it can compete. In sport in general, speed in making the right decision becomes increasingly important and to do this requires great courage. I imagine the next match in Milan. In Game 3, as soon as the dribble was slightly lower, Perugia conceded nothing to Milan. But if the ball change becomes more fluid, with the hitters that Milan has, the match can have even higher peaks. And that’s where players like Ishikawa and Reggers himself shine.”
ON PORRO IN PADUA – “It’s good to stay in Padua with Falaschi, who is becoming a coach, every time he asks me a thousand technical questions. He needs to improve, especially in reception, but inside he has the ability to know how to win: an interesting boy. It’s right to work on it and not get excited right away.”
LESSONS OF MURO A PORRO – “Often at his age you make the mistake of not looking at the opponent, but at the ball. Always remember that the first thing you need to do is understand where the lift is going and immediately look at your opponent to work on your timing.”
LUCA PORRO (PADUA VOLLEYBALL)
THE DUBAI TOURNAMENT – “The coach and staff left us quite free, they made us live this experience fully, beyond the volleyball commitment. But you can go to clubs from 21 years old and up, so I was in the hotel all the time.”
THE MATCH WITH LUBE – “We played great, perhaps they didn’t play the best volleyball possible. We were very good, despite the rotations, given that the coach told us that those who played less would find space in the Play Offs.”
STILL IN PADUA – “Every year we reflect on the opportunity to go elsewhere to play more. I compare myself a lot with Falaschi, an experienced player who knows all environments. And it helped me this year too.”
GROWTH AND BLOCK – “I have to improve a lot on the block, I have to work on it. I try to understand where the ball goes and watch the attacker, trying to take his time, but I still struggle.”
PREDICTIONS FOR THE FINAL – “Trento is the most consistent team, for me they are the favourites. More complicated Perugia-Milan, tough series. I hope Milan passes, but I see it as an outsider.”
FABIO RICCI (GAS SALES BLUENERGY PIACENZA)
THE SEASON OF UPS AND DOWNS – “’Ups and downs’ is the right definition for our season, but our downs came in the important events. We played well when it mattered least, but when there were inside or outside games we melted like snow in the sun. With Milan we won in the championship and lost in the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup and the quarterfinals of the Scudetto. We won against Perugia at home and then lost in the Champions League quarter-finals. We hope to end with a smile, with a blaze of twenty days, winning the 5th Place Play Off: it could make the season less bitter.”
FUTURE IN PIACENZA – “I have a contract with Piacenza, I feel good here. I believe in society and in the project, I’m not looking around.”
SIMÓN’S PERCENTAGES – “It’s like wine, the older it gets the better it becomes. He also did the opposite in training and hit us with walls. He always scores points. In addition to being talented, however, he is exemplary in the way he approaches commitments. Remaining at those levels for many years also depends on the way you work and do things.”
KEITA AND VERONA – “Physically they are devastating. Keita passed over me on the front line and I was comforted by the fact that he didn’t just pass over me. Verona is really strong in blocking, serving and attack.”
PREDICTIONS FOR THE FINAL – “I think Trento and Perugia will pass in Game 4”.
