The Codognè plant, almost 40 years old, has announced his farewell in the last match of Olbia, where he is playing
CONEGLIANO
His motto has always been “Play every ball as if it were the last”. And the moment of the last ball, of the last lap in the locker room to wear knee pads came by his own choice: Jenny Barazza, central of Codognè, on the threshold of 40 years, announced her farewell to volleyball played on Monday evening on the occasion of the last home match of Volleyball Hermaea Olbia, the A2 team of which she has been the captain in the last four seasons.
«The idea of quitting had already been around for some years – explained Barazza – but every time the passion for a sport that has given me so much has won. Now the time has really come to say enough is enough because the body no longer holds up as I would like ».
In his personal showcase there are 2 European golds and a silver with the Italian national team, 3 scudetti, 3 Italian Cups, 2 Super Cups, 3 Champions League and a Cev Cup won with the Bergamo jerseys, where he played from 2003 to 2009, and dell’Imoco Conegliano, where he played from January 2013 to 2017.
In the Gialloblù jersey he played 134 games (fifth overall after De Gennaro, De Kruijf, Wolosz and Hill), scoring 762 points of which 303 blocks, his specialty.
«I’m happy to have contributed to making Conegliano great. The Scudetto escaped us a little, but we got there three years later ».
At the Imoco he wore the number 18, the one that is today on Egonu’s shoulders; in 2017 he took him to Olbia, choosing in the last two seasons the 8, the one he had had in Novara and Modena during the years between motherhood. And this shirt was withdrawn from the Sardinian club on Monday: it was the president of the biancoblù club Gianni Sarti (who is from a father from Treviso) to pay homage to Barazza before the kick-off of the match against Talmassons, the last of the season played in the gym of Golfo Aranci.
«I thank Hermeaea and President Sarti: it was thanks to him that this wonderful adventure began in Olbia. I conclude my career in a company that has given me a lot and where I have always felt well liked. The withdrawal of the shirt is the umpteenth demonstration of this affection ».
Volleyball will still remain in Barazza’s daily life, who has long since begun the experience of coaching the Gallura youth sector. “I will try to reciprocate the affection received by giving all of myself for the little athletes.”
In Olbia, where he lives with his daughter Luisa and her husband Antonio Castelli, a former football player, Barazza will also continue the business in the family business that produces Sardinian myrtle. The Sardinian team played the last two home games against Talmassons, a Friulian team in which Valentina Tirozzi plays, also a former panther (they were team mates in 2013/14) and a mother for a short time; these are two examples of how, also thanks to clubs, sports and family commitments can be reconciled. The year of the first Gialloblù Scudetto was characterized by the presence in the team of five players with children in tow at Palaverde: in addition to Barazza there were in fact Serena Ortolani, Megan Easy, Valentina Serena and Jovana Brakocevic.
Imoco Volley also recalled the four and a half seasons of Barazza in “his” Conegliano, where he “delighted the Palaverde fans with his walls, his fast in the center and above all with his smile and his sweetness. made one of the most popular players ever by the Gialloblù supporters; thank you for everything you have given to Italian volleyball and Imoco in particular ». –
MIRCO CAVALLIN