Mazzanti: ‘Egonu? No return, she has never abandoned the blue shirt’

All at Acqua Acetosa around 3 pm, then from 4 pm the physical and athletic tests start, from 4.30 to 6.30 pm two hours sweating in the gym for the technical session with the ball (behind closed doors): Italvolley women starts in Rome mission Texas, where in Arlington from 12 to 17 July he will have to defend the Nations League title. Fourteen are called up by coach Davide Mazzanti (Bosio, Gennari, Nwakalor, Malual, Degradi, Villani, D’Odorico, Omoruyi, Sylla, Danesi, Mazzaro, Squarcini, Fersino and Parrocchiale), plus four other big players (Egonu, Orro, Bosetti and Pietrini) who ended their season late. These four will not play in the Nations Volley League, as Mazzanti himself declares: “They train separately, we called them precisely because at the moment they are behind and have all the time to prepare in the best possible way”. After training, one hour of post-training talks with the athletes (“individual debates”, Mazzanti calls them) and then after dinner two hours with the psychologist Giuseppe Vercelli.

Path

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In Rome, after so many years, the faces of Cristina Chirichella and Monica De Gennaro have not been seen (almost 600 appearances in the blue in two): a strong choice, that of the coach, who beyond the names wants to try to give shape and identity to we call this new Italy. “It is a new path in which I have changed something – explains Mazzanti -, I have shared my ideas on the new line to be traced together with Sylla, the captain, and Danesi, the assistant. I would like to redefine everything well and give life to a new precise form of team “. In Texas there will never be a way to relax, quite the contrary. “By now the matches follow one another at an inhuman pace, you no longer have time to train and when you do you always have to think about your opponent immediately. As a matter of ranking you are always in check, you have to think about winning, in short, the stress is high, but the important thing is to always raise the bar a little. Is it difficult to reconfirm ourselves given that we are defending champions? Sure, as always.”

Management

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Paola Egonu, the new opposite of Vero Volley Milano, met up again at the Roman Sports Center this afternoon, summoned by Mazzanti after the controversies and the complaint of offenses received, which broke out last October and the consequent announcement of wanting to leave the blue. All back, as has been known for some time, but certainly the management – especially in the media – of the 24-year-old girl has always been a very delicate topic, which involves everyone. Paola preferred silence for her re-entry into the blue, while Mazzanti doesn’t like hearing about her return to Italy. “No return, she has never abandoned the blue shirt. And her value is undeniable within a gaming system like ours”. End. We’ll see you again at the European Championship to grind points after points. In short, she will always tip the balance in all competitions. She is the destiny of the strongest, it happens in any sport.