Volleyball, the Imoco is social: the panthers reach one million followers on Instagram

The players (and the coach) of Conegliano depopulate with the photos of the holidays: only the Swede followed by 275 thousand fans

TREVISO. There are many rankings in which the Panthers of Prosecco Doc Imoco have been or are in first place. The world record of 76 consecutive victories will have a long enough life to be able to talk about it for a long time, not counting the row of Italian trophies, Scudetto, Supercoppa and Coppa Italia, which have entered the bulletin board in recent years. Imoco and his panthers are at the top also for an aspect that is not directly competitive and sporting, but which is increasingly closely linked to matches and athletes. Social media, especially Instagram, are used as a direct channel for sharing, promotion, including commercial, and contact with fans. In the absence of competitive events, after the conclusion of the VNL it was the holidays that dominated the scene. The seaside resorts are still at the top of the preferences, with some exceptions. In the list of destinations the beaches of Greece, Croatia, Sardinia, Jesolo and Caorle stand out, but there are those like Lubian who have chosen the coolness of Iceland. Fahr, struggling with the long recovery, made a few trips to Italian locations, while almost all the foreigners remained close to home, Haak in Sweden, Gray in Canada, De Kruijf in Holland, Robinson and Plummer in the United States.

For the latter, in the second season in the yellow and blue, the marriage proposal among the California vineyards has also arrived. It is also on this dimension that the bond between the players is based and, consequently, between the whole team and the fans, who for the most part are simple followers, not being able to closely follow all the competitive performances of the season. The social weight of the panthers, despite the “loss” of Egonu’s 300 thousand contacts, remains among the highest in the whole championship.

Thanks to Haak’s 257,000 and Robinson’s 175,000, Conegliano in fact reaches one million followers, counting also the 123,000 who follow the club. Only Busto Arsizio (more than 1.4 million, of which 1, 2 by Rosamaria Montibeller alone and 80 thousand for the club) and Novara (1.2 million, thanks to Karakurt, who brings “dowry” 860 thousand fans, ten times more than the Piedmontese company). Monza, which counts 670 thousand, of which 50 thousand for the club which also includes the men’s team, and the ambitious Scandicci, under half a million, with Pietrini (soon to marry) who has more fans than star Zhu are far behind.

The numbers, in general, are growing, also due to the commercial function that many athletes use as testimonials for various products, but we are very far from Brazil and Turkey, two other cradles of world volleyball, where, however, the clubs are based in populous cities. . Just to give an example, Gabi and Gunes, spiker and central of Vakifbank, alone have more than 3 million contacts and their club has twice as many as Conegliano. A further boost will be given by the results on the field, starting with those of the national teams, at the World Cup in September. Then it will be up to the clubs and already tomorrow the attention is on the publication of the A1 calendar, starting on the 22nd October