Trento, 25 June 2021

Sbertoli: "In Trento in the right moment: a young project and a stimulating challenge"

The first interview as player of Trentino Volley to Riccardo Sbertoli, 23-years-old Lombard setter who has been made official today.

Welcome, Riccardo! Can you tell us the path that has taken you to Trento?
“It happened a bit suddenly after the leaving of Giannelli, but this doesn’t mean that it happened by chance. A few weeks ago, Bruno Da Re called me describing the new project of Trentino Volley, which is based on the possibility to have many future young players. I like challenges and I immediately accepted it, even because I thought that this was the right moment to separate myself from Milan. When I started to play in 2010, Trento was repeatedly winning championships, Champions League, and World Championships, and it became a Company of reference; objectively, it was difficult for me to say no to a so important Club in the moment in which it has searched for me".
What does it mean for you leaving Milan and arriving in Trento?
“I leave Powervolley full of gratitude and good memories, which left me fully satisfied. Milan was the first to bet on me, to launch me in SuperLega, and I will never forget this. In Trento, I carry out a new challenge on myself, certain that, as a player, I am still far from having expressed all the potentialities to my disposal. I will work hard to reach my best absolute personal level”.
Playing the Champions League is an extra incentive?
“Absolutely yes, because I never played it before now, and it continues to represent the most prestigious and competitive tournament for Club. The Champions League is a tournament that needs to be protected and deserved to play every year, because it isn’t absolutely taken for granted to play in all its editions. We are going to fight for this and to make sure that our run would be as long as possible. It represents a dream for me. As a child, I set as a goal to be able to play it at least once, but I can also dispute the Super Cup with Trentino Volley, which I have never disputed it until now”.
Can you tell us who is Riccardo Sbertoli?
“I am a person who always wants to be himself, both on the field and in the normal life. Those who know me confirm that I am as you see me when I am playing. I therefore define myself transparent, coherent, competitive, and rational, considering that these features have negative meanings as well, sometimes. My dad was a volleyball player and he transmitted me this passion since when I went to see him playing. As a player, I think I am a great worker, I have a great aptitude for training, and I like to do the thing I care about at my best. That’s why I am in Trento”.
In Trento you will find not only young players, but also some expert athlete…
“Athletes of first level like Podrascanin and Lisinac will surely know how to act as a mother hen and help us to grow. The most interesting aspect of this project is that we know our starting point, but not the arriving point because the potentialities of this team are enormous. Let's not set limits”.
In Rimini, with the national team, have you already been able to create the right teamwork with Michieletto, Pinali, and Cortesia?
“Of course, and I don’t allude at the aspects related to the field. During the latest weeks, Lorenzo and Alessandro made often fun of me because the negotiation wasn’t coming to an end yet; every time that they saw me on the phone, they hoped that it was the right call to close the question. Furthermore, with Michieletto, we immediately got in tune from the first training sessions held in May at the Acqua Acetosa in Rome. He is a player of great talent”.
After the VNL, is the thought already projected to Tokyo now?
“I put the Olympics in sight for two years and a half, in which I always tried to work at my best, also as a function of this appointment. Participating at the Olympics is one of my many dreams as an athlete, now I see this a little more near and, for me, it has been important to be able to play as a regular in manifestations like World Cup 2019 and VNL 2021, but also to be part of the group that conquered the qualification to Tokyo. I hope to still be able to be part of it and to arrive in Trento as late as possible, but only because it would mean having played in the Olympics and in the European Championship”.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office