De Gennaro’s Italy finds themselves beating Croatia led by Conegliano Paura’s coach for the yellow-blue central: in the third set he falls and injures his right knee
ZADAR (croatia)
Obviously, the first between wife and husband wins. The blues of volleyball conquer, as expected, the first place (still virtual, but almost certain) of group C at the European Championships, beating Croatia 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-14), with Moki De Gennaro to command the Santarelli house; today’s game at 8pm against Switzerland can be an opportunity to let those who have played the most breathe their breath. Another story, therefore, compared to Tokyo, where the two defeats with China and the USA had raised the quotient of difficulty prematurely. Italy found itself against the strongest opponent of the group, albeit at a lower technical level: the pace increased, the attention in reception increased, the necessary aggression on the wall returned. The steps forward compared to the complicated match against Slovakia were evident, despite some minor flaws. Egonu (24 points for her at the end, with 3 aces and 2 walls) returned to excellent levels, overcoming the barrier of 100 per hour several times and reaching heights unattainable for anyone: 71% of the first set and 83% of the second are a nice business card in view of the knockout matches.
The tile of Sarah Fahr’s injury in the third set – she fell back on the wall holding her right knee, she could not lean and was carried out in the arms at the end of the match, there is to cross her fingers – maybe she doesn’t weigh so much in key blue, but for Imoco, which still has Folie on the road to a slow recovery, it is certainly bad news.
On the evening of the “conjugal” derby between Santarelli and De Gennaro, three svirgolate by Moki made noise in the same set: an almanac rarity, amply compensated by the rest of the evening, in which the safety of the free blue on the second touch was still a once one of Italy’s winning weapons. On the other hand, the husband and coach of Croatia made himself heard several times from the red and white bench: he did not spare himself in calling his girls to order, even with harsh tones, so that they respected roles, skills and did not give way to Italy. The words used were the same ones that, with much less frequency, were heard in some Conegliano timeouts, when things were really going to 90%, instead of 100%.
The first direct confrontation between the two sees De Gennaro emerge as the winner; for Santarelli, however, the predictable and predictable defeat certifies the passage of the round for a growing national team, which he took over just three years ago, without the worry of victory at all costs. Under the net there was no lack of defiant looks, seasoned with a smile, between the two captains Sylla and Fabris, teammates in Conegliano in 2018/19. On the Croatian side, Butigan remained below its standards, inaccurate more than usual. –
MIRCO CAVALLIN