Vero Volley in the final with Conegliano also driven by the performance of its libero, a candidate to take the place of the champion in the national team
It is written Milan-Conegliano, but you can easily read Fersino-De Gennaro, a duel in which past, present and future merge. Eleonora Fersino, born in 2000, is in pole position to take up in the national team the heavy legacy of the strongest in the world in the role, Monica De Gennaro, but the history of the libero of the Lombards started right from Palaverde, from Imoco, alongside the legend Moki and the assault on the scudetto will now have to go against her. The blue future is mapped out, but the present is an extraordinary season for Fers (his nickname), who has made a great contribution, after the Super Cup won in October again against the Venetiansto reach the last milestone of the season (race 1 on Saturday 11th), an excellent result that few believed in after the farewells of Orro and Sylla. Instead, the 3-1 in the semi-final series against Scandicci testifies to the growth of the group but also of its libero, driving protagonist.
second final
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It will be the second final for her, after the 2019 title won with the Panthers. “A twist of fate” he says, “It has a special value to play on that field, in front of my people: I asked for 47 tickets for relatives and friends, there will be a “Fersino sector” at the Palaverde”. The road has not been easy: “Compared to the beginning we have become a different team in mentality” he explains. “It’s a shame about the Champions League tiebreaks, but in a long season, we also have to accept the negative moments, which allowed us to be ready against Scandicci. Few believed in us at the start, so I’m proud of this group, I want to shout that we really deserved this result. Now we’ll have to take to the field in free practice, we know the value of Conegliano, but we shouldn’t be afraid of it: I expect a good series.” Fers began at 12 years old, in Chioggia, as a band, and arrived at Volley Pool Piave in 2014. Here is the turning point of the great Giuseppe Giannetti (discoverer of Cacciatori, Piccinini, Sangiuliano): “One day in 2016 he took me aside and told me that I would play as libero. I expected it, but it was still a blow, and I cried”. He also began frequenting the Palaverde stands: “I watched the 2018 final and it seemed like an unattainable level.” Instead, a few weeks later she was called to make her debut in A1 with the Italian champions Imoco: the libero was De Gennaro: “A dream” she repeated. “As a girl, I saw her play, she was the strongest in the world, and still is. An excellent relationship was immediately established, perhaps because I was someone who worked in silence. She is a model for the mentality that leads her to seek perfection. The most surprising thing is that she was already the strongest of all, but, when she finished training, she stayed an extra hour in the gym. Every day. I’ve never seen anyone like that. If she had to make 10 perfect receptions in a row to go home, and tenth was “only” positive, it started again. That’s why it’s different.”
heavy legacy
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And, with Moki’s retirement from the blue team, Fersino will take up his legacy. “An arduous, almost impossible task. It is wrong to compare us, she is something else. I still have a lot to do, I will give everything, I will be lucky enough to do it in a group, the blue one, very strong, which helps everyone”. And led by the coach, Julio Velasco: “A master, ahead of everyone in his mentality and principles. Before the semi-final at the last world championship, he told us that we had to be courageous, which doesn’t mean not being afraid of difficulties, because even the strongest athletes have them, but knowing how to face them.” Difficulties, in fact, like when, in 2024, she was excluded from the group that would then go on to win the Olympic gold. “I didn’t feel the blow right away, I went on holiday, I forgot about volleyball. But when I returned to the gym, that exclusion took its toll on me.” A teaching that helped us grow: “Bads can come and you have to know how to deal with them, without putting the dust under the carpet. And in those moments, it is important to remain true to yourself.” In Conegliano he won the championship, the Italian cup, the club world cup and two super cups, then he went to Bergamo for a year, then the call from Novara, from Lavarini, with the Cev Cup and Challenge, and now that of Milan. In the national team, the showcase includes 3 VNLs and last year’s world championship. His debut as a starter took place with then coach Mazzanti in the unfortunate summer of 2023: “The debut at the Verona Arena was exciting, but I wasn’t able to fully enjoy that experience, in a difficult summer”. Today Fersino is a mature player, aware of her abilities and the difficulties she may encounter. A lover of volleyball as well as simple things: the company of the dog Mia, for example, or watching football together with the boy Alessandro (“Unfortunately he is a Milan player, I am a Juventus player, but we like going to the stadium”), or even tennis, with the Sinner-Alcaraz matches, and the NBA, where he admires Doncic: “I like imaginative players, even a libero can be, but I like not to exaggerate, to be very concrete on the pitch. The main skill for my role? Reading, essential today. Egonu’s powerful attack, for example, is impossible to catch if you are not in the perfect position.” It was almost a fortune, therefore, to train with her every day, a privilege that the libero earned with effort, through difficulties, almost in secret (she was never part of the youth national teams). “Not everything went well along the way, but my sister Laura, my parents Valerio and Alessandra were always close to me, without ever pushing me, but helping me face the difficulties.” And leading her to look at the future more serenely: “I want to be remembered as a presence available to the team to which she always gives everything. I would tell young Eleonora to always enjoy everything, even the negative moments, because they serve to strengthen her character.” And maybe to run to replace a national legend.
