For two hours, the Italvolley coach dispensed amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom: “The empanadas have become the group’s mascot. A team can exist without a coach, but a coach cannot exist without a team”
The applause is long. Infinite like his charisma, like the wisdom of Professor Julio Velasco. She goes on stage at the Santa Chiara Auditorium in the last event of this edition of the Sports Festival and remains there for almost two hours, sharing with the public the same wisdom with which she built the triumphs of women’s Italvolley, most recently the “Invincibles” World Cup. “But that title is bad luck, because sooner or later you lose!” he says with a smile, dispensing one of his many pearls that make him a guru of sport, not just of his volleyball.
WORLD EMOTIONS
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“That moment, when you win, is pure emotion – says Velasco describing his latest triumph -. Then, in the evening or if you wait a long time for the awards ceremony, depression sets in: because it’s over. Then, after a few days, you start to understand what you’ve done. And you finally realise”. Then he compares Olympic gold to World Cup gold. “We said to ourselves that the Olympics we dominated were the exception – he says -. The rule is to win matches 32-30 on tie-break: this is why we have to prepare. In these two years I have asked the girls to be authoritative and autonomous: I am happy that they have succeeded, that we have shown it to me”.
GIRLS
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Messages from his girls flow on the screen, with “thank yous” alternating with anecdotes and behind the scenes of what the Velasco coach is. She says that the thing that holds girls back the most is the fear of making mistakes, the idea that they will be blamed for it. He explains why he had them send him the songs they listen to (“I want to know them, understand what they feel, the words they listen to”), how he always hopes not to have teams that are not families but rather teams united by a common goal, the idea that young people should not be judged and that each person in the group should be motivated by pushing important buttons for the player, not for the coach. “A team can exist without a coach, but a coach cannot exist without a team.” He talks about how he explained to his players how to manage fear. Reveal how much empanadas have become the mascot of this group. And he talks about the national team’s plans for the future: the idea that 4 blue columns can take an entire summer of vacation (“Or two months from the last match with the club”) and to use the next VNL to launch many young players and expand the group.
LESSON
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Professor Velasco delivers a perfect lesson to greet the 2025 edition. After him, the authorities take to the stage and greet a legendary festival. As per legend, these are the words of Julio Velasco: he leaves with the giant page of the Gazzetta celebrating his triumph, with the perfect words to say goodbye to the Sports Festival.
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