The 2016-17 volleyball season kicks off this weekend with the Del Monte Italian SuperCup. Modena will host the event for the fourth time, but with an unprecedented formula with four teams.
Modena, who won the league-cup double last season, is also the holder of the trophy. Modena won it twice, the first in Naples in 1997, and will try to get back-to-back victories. Last year, coached by Lorenzetti, Modena had had the better of the then Italian champions of Trento at the tie-break.
This will be Trento’s seventh participation in the SuperCup. They will have this remake of the league final 2015 and will have their chance to take revenge on last year’s defeat. Trento won the event twice, in 2011 in Cagliari with a 3-1 win over Cuneo and in 2013 on the road against Civitanova.
Civitanova is the one that won it the most among the four teams. They lifted the trophy aloft four times in eight participations. They won it in Pesaro (2006) against Cuneo, then in Florence at the expense of Trentino (3-0), then in Modena in 2012 against Trento again (3-2) and finally in 2014 in Brindisi with another tie-break against Piacenza.
Finally, Perugia will be extremely up for it as this will be their first ever participation in the SuperCup in history. Coach Kovac has led Perugia to two league finals (2014 and 2016) and he now dreams of writing the name of the club in the volleyball history.
Del Monte® SuperCup semi-finals
Saturday 24 September at 4pm
Azimut Modena – Diatec Trentino Live on Lega Volley Channel
Saturday September 24 at 6.30pm
Cucine Lube Civitanova – Sir Safety Conad Perugia Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 25 September at 2.30pm
Game for third place Live on Lega Volley Channel
Sunday 25 September at 5.30pm
Final Live on RAI Sport
Live streaming on www.raisport.rai.it
Azimut Modena – Diatec Trentino
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 62 (36-26 Trento)
Roberto Piazza (coach Azimut Modena): “We have to focus exclusively on ourselves. We have a new team, the players are getting to know each other so the opponents right now do not interest me. We have to get the best out of each player, but it’s obvious that the best right now won’t be the same as the best at the end of the year. Playing in the PalaPanini arena gives you incredible sensations that you can only feel there. We have to put pressure on ourselves every day, that’s the way I’m used to do. The crowd is the 8th man on court, the one that helps us, and it will have to give us a hand in those two days ».
Angelo Lorenzetti (coach Diatec Trentino): “This will be definitely special to start this new professional challenge with a first official game against my former team, and at the PalaPanini arena. I’ll see friends with which I have worked so hard to obtain the great results we had in recent years and now I’ll try to obtain another great result with Trento, that’s how it should be. Modena changed a few players compared to last season but they remain the favourite. Trento won’t be the favourite in this final four but we will definitely give it all ».
PAST ENCOUNTERS: 17 (11-6 Civitanova)
Gianlorenzo Blengini (Coach Cucine Lube Civitanova): “This final four is an important moment, and a very tough one. Our goal in this first official event of the season will be to maintain a high level of play, because that’s what we need to keep up with the quality teams involved in this competition ».
Slobodan Kovac (Coach Sir Safety Conad Perugia): “Being here in this SuperCup is an important achievement for us but I think the team has to go to Modena to try to win it. I know for well that anything is possible with this round ball. But we do have what it takes to get a result and we have to show on court what we’re capable of ».
