Trento, 10 June 2020

Giannelli at "The Ace Space", the CEV podcast service: "Always proud to play in Trento"

"Deciding to play volleyball in Italy may seem like a particular choice, perhaps a little maverick, because in our country the most popular sport is football. When I was very young I practiced it myself before deciding, just like my sister, to play volleyball - said the Captain of Trentino Volley Simone Giannelli during the second episode of "The Ace Space - the multimedia column published every week by CEV in podcast on the website www.cev.eu - .  I'm an Inter Milan fan and my idol was Ronaldo, the Phenomenon, while among Italian footballers my favourite one was Fabio Cannavaro, captain of Italy in 2006 World Cup. I was very tall for my age and I was convinced to try volleyball also because an important club like Trentino Volley was a few kilometers from Bolzano, the city where I was born and lived. I went to play volleyball in Trento when I was thirteen and I started to take seriously what I consider the second sport in Italy, both for its popularity and for the quality of its top league. The success of Italian volleyball is also due to the victories that in the 90s Italy conquered during "La Generazione dei Fenomeni" (The Generation of Wonders); thanks to the victory of three world championships in a row and several European and World League titles, volleyball has flourished in our country; it is up to us now to defend this interest, bringing other important results".
"My first memory related to high level volleyball is the 2004 Olympic Final in Athens between Italy and Brazil - he continued - . I started playing to have fun, without thinking about anything else and even now this is the main feeling that drives me when I come onto the pitch. I'm aware that now this has also become a job for me, but I don't think about it too much because it wouldn't be good to consider it just as such. It's still fun for me but I realize that I was also very lucky. An example? My first game in the Serie A1 championship for me also coincided with a championship win: 12 May 2013, game 5 between Trento and Perugia that we won 3-2. I was Sintini's reserve because Raphael had been injured a few days earlier. I have an incredible and unique statistic: in the first match, I won the league title right away!".
"I am honoured to be part of Trentino Volley, not only for what the Society won in its history but also for the people who are part of  this Society - said Giannelli - . I trust all those who work in this Club and I want to win a lot more to make them proud".

Trentino Volley Srl
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