Tokyo, the Italy of volleyball annihilated, even women out: Ko 3-0 with Serbia. Mazzanti: “I said to break away from social networks”

Like in the worst nightmares. With inevitable final controversies also on the (excessive?) Use of social media. A very ugly Italy is annihilated by Serbia and is eliminated from the women’s volleyball tournament of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In the quarter-finals the blues were defeated for three sets to zero, with the partial of 25-21, 25-14, 25- 21 that show that there has never been a match. There has never been a match even in the comparison between the two most anticipated players, perhaps the strongest in the world: Tijana Boskovic (26 points) was decisive for the success of the Serbs, while the judgment on Paola Egonu’s performance is negative ( which closed at 16 but was very wrong). For the team coached by Davide Mazzanti (on the eve of Tokyo 2020 confirmed until Paris 2024), the disappointment is huge: starting with the clear goal of winning the first Five-circle medal in the history of women’s volleyball, it had to abandon the dreams of glory already in the first knockout match. In fact, worrying signs had already arrived from the last two games of the preliminary round, badly lost against China and the USA, after having dominated Russia, Turkey and Argentina in the first three. And so the Italian volleyball movement, in just under 24 hours (yesterday the men had been overtaken at the tie-break by Argentina), was swept away by the Olympics. Against the Serbs, Anna Danesi’s first walls seemed to be a decisive weapon and instead in the central part of the set Italy was unable to stop Boskovic, who was constantly sought by her companions. After a decent start to the game, Egonu was no longer able to land the ball: the direct consequence was the dominance of the Serbs, ahead of a set to zero and absolute masters of the game. In the second Mazzanti tried to shuffle the cards, changing the setter. But not even the entry of Orro for Malinov, together with those of Sylla for Pietrini and Chirichella for Fahr, brought benefits for the blues. On the contrary. And so, in just 22 minutes Serbia went 2-0. In the third set, the reaction of Italy arrived (ahead also 13-9) but it was only a flash, canceled by the opponents who closed the set for 25-21 and the match at 3-0 in an hour and 12 minutes of play . “Nothing worked,” said Captain Sylla with great bitterness. Bitter tears in the blue locker room: “This must be – said Chirichella – a great experience to reach something greater in the future”. After the Olympics chapter, there will be only a few days of vacation for the Italians, because the European Championships between Serbia, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria will begin on August 18. In the coming days we will understand Mazzanti’s intentions on the team to bring. Certainly, it will be hours of controversy. Also for what the coach himself underlined at the end of the match: «I said to the girls:“ Try to detach yourself from everything around you ”because we already have so many emotions. The slime when it arrives is slime, no matter who throws it at you. This Olympics has been a tough gym for everyone from this point of view: for me, who have made five posts in six years, it is easier to detach myself from social networks, perhaps it is a little more difficult for them. Certainly – he concluded – we did not lose for this ». But it is certainly a topic that, in the age of social media, cannot go unnoticed.