After the problems in the autumn, and the attack on Antropova failed, the Lombard club closed the negotiation with the Italian leader
Once the crisis of the second year has been overcome, the marriage between Paola Egonu and Mint Vero Volley Milano will continue into the next season. In these hours the club has finalized the agreement with the player to extend the contract until summer 2026 when the blue striker will lead the national team to the European Championship (it will be played in Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Sweden and Turkey). An event that will once again qualify for the Olympics: the first place winner will get a ticket to Los Angeles 2028. Games that less than a year ago crowned Paola Egonu queen of world volleyball. A surprising epilogue in some ways, not for the value of the player – given that the 26-year-old from Cittadella has been a star in the volleyball firmament for years – but for some management difficulties encountered especially in the last season.
Problems
—
Once the hangover from the celebrations for the Olympic gold passed, Paola seemed to have immediately focused on the new year with participation in the pre-season tournament in Courmayeur. Instead, what should have been the appetizer of a season marked by the club with the red circle to stem Conegliano’s excessive power, was a first in a volleyball autumn that was for long stretches bereft of its best player. First the forfeit from the Super Cup on 28 September in Rome due to a flu syndrome, then the announcement of the surgery on her nasal passages which she underwent on 10 October. Finally, on October 22nd the return to the gym with a differentiated work program waiting to make his championship debut on November 10th (a small parenthesis in the success against Busto Arsizio). In those days, also due to complicated relationships in the dressing room, the hypothesis of a transfer to Vakifbank Istanbul during the current season arose. Scenario then definitively returned after the Club World Cup finished in third place.
Alternative
—
In recent weeks the club would also have evaluated the possibility of changing striker. A blue sauce replacement with Ekaterina Antropova, also courted by Turkish clubs in the last two seasons, in place of Egonu. Last summer the 21-year-old was Paola’s natural replacement but her exponential growth and her expiring contract meant that some of the most important clubs in Europe were interested in her. Once this hypothesis was over – Scandicci’s opposite number chose to remain in Tuscany – the sporting director Claudio Bonati dissolved his reservations and “armoured” Paola, repelling the new assault from Vakifbank. Now the Italian champion will be able to concentrate exclusively on the club’s next events: from the Italian Cup to the Scudetto race and ending with the new assault on the Champions League.
Reports
—
The time available may help mend some “out of tune” situations in the locker room but first the club will have to continue to repel Fenerbahce’s assault on Alessia Orro. The Turkish club has thought of her as a director for next season to compose a phenomenal couple with Melissa Vargas as opposite. But, in the absence of exit clauses, Milan is not willing to open any negotiating table. 8 days after the important Champions League match against Vakifbank (22 January) and 25 days away from the Final Four of the Italian Cup (8 and 9 February in Bologna), Milan is already looking to the future with renewed optimism. The strongest player in the world, the natural heir of the Cuban Mireya Luis, the queen of Paris will play again with the colors of Numia Vero Volley.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED