For 28 seasons he has been permanently on the coaching staff of top teams. Giovanni Rossi returned to Milan, where he graduated from ISEF, in 2019, after having stopped in half of Italy, half of Europe and the Arabian Peninsula. For a long time in Piacenza, where he won almost everything, then Segrate, Sora, Russia, Austria, Qatar, Russia again and Milan. He worked with Velasco, Blengini, Lorenzetti, Gulinelli and of course Roberto Piazza, who also wanted him as a trainer for the Dutch national team. In short, the muscles of the Allianz Milano are in good hands in these first days of intense physical preparation.
First days of preparation – Credit Alessandro Pizzi
For 28 seasons Giovanni Rossi, as with every beginning, has been able to get excited again, like the first time. “Always. Then this restart has a particular flavor – explains Rossi – because we are coming from a good season. There are new athletes to follow, we want to improve what didn’t go well in previous years. It’s the drive to get to the best that moves everything.”
A strong bond with Roberto Piazza, even when you have to work remotely like these days.
“Well the level of connection is very high – he admits – having collaborated in recent weeks also in the Dutch national team has been an opportunity to prepare these weeks down to the smallest detail. Everything is agreed.”
The Super League trainers will have their work cut out for them in this championship, with athletes who will join the team group a few days before the tournament and with international level matches in their legs.
Giovanni Rossi – Credit Beatrice Botto
“Those arriving from the national team have followed their own very precise program and are ready – explains Rossi – we have to manage the others as best we can. Immediately give the line of work, with periods of loading and unloading, rest and activity”.
How much has the trainer’s job changed with the introduction of technology?
“Technology undoubtedly helps in our sector too – explains Rossi – we have real-time data acquisition systems on training sessions and players. The data is used to plan the workload and above all to prevent injuries”.
In the first few days, technology is used a lot, functional, medical-mechanical, orthopedic evaluations are carried out…
“We manage to create an accurate photograph of the athlete. There are those who have never been still and those who have had a longer period of rest. After the evaluations we can start with the already clear ideas of the programming.
