Volleyball, Superlega, Giani: “Modena second always fighting”

From fifth to second in a few hours but without certainties. The roller coaster of the Super League shows no sign of abating two days from the end of the first round. Five points contain eight teams that have to compete for seven positions and also the pairings of the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup. Everything is at stake and Modena knows it, even if Sunday’s victory over a direct competitor like Verona gave Ngapeth and teammates some fresh air. Andrea Giani knows it too, struggling with a team that still has to find its own identity, a bit like this championship: “I don’t remember a season like this in which you’re never sure how a game will go – admits the yellow coach – and in which after nine days you don’t even know broadly what the Coppa Italia grid will be like”. An uncertainty that makes any prediction useless: “With twelve teams of this level it’s difficult to overreact. Day after day we have seen just this: in every round there are surprises, you have to contemplate them, it’s difficult to make predictions and this means that in In terms of standings, it’s difficult to make calculations for anyone, apart from Perugia so far”.

No distraction

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“We’ve all had past experiences – continues the 52-year-old coach and former Azzurri – you always have to stay there in terms of resources and energies committed. How you lower your level, but also very slightly the others are above you and you look good… you you say “damn, I was just below and they outclassed me””. Meanwhile, against Verona Modena has put an important piece in place considering that he already has one more game having already played the last leg against Trento. On Sunday there is Monza, another team that is proudly trying to hook up to the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. In the meantime, today the Valsa Group leaves for Turkey where tomorrow they face Izmir in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Cev Cup. Modena comes from a good moment having scored four consecutive victories in the Superlega. “On the one hand we’re fine, we’re always growing – says Giani – we live compared to other teams with the problem of injuries. We’re short, especially in the spiker department, I can’t give turnover”. It’s a team that also pays for the youth of some of the protagonists: “It’s a team that even at the beginning, when we lost games, has always been consistent, it has its own strength. They’re making a journey. The young players before had little responsibility. We are trying to make them grow from this point of view. They must enter permanently into the perspective that they cannot stay out of the way. If you want to obtain a certain type of performance, everyone must have an impact, not wait for another to take charge. Everyone is so important the points that each player brings to the team, you can’t wait. The opposing teams won’t let you breathe. The boys are giving positive answers, otherwise we wouldn’t be here. Let’s say that we pushed hard on this redistribution of responsibility.”

With Monza

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Meanwhile Modena is the architect of its own destiny. After Verona it finds Monza and another three points, as well as securing participation in the quarterfinals, would put it on pole position for a good pairing (the quarterfinals will be played on 28 and 29 December at the home of the best classified therefore finishing in the first four would give the advantage of playing them at the PalaPanini). “Monza is a team on the same level as Verona, very competitive, with strong players, very physical. Whether it’s going to be a battle will depend a lot on us, on how many mental resources we’ll have by playing every three days. Training is affected as usual but we’ll have to make do and don’t let your guard down.”