Volleyball world championships, Italy to scream, beats Poland and wins the fourth gold!

by our correspondent Gian Luca Pasini

Sept. 11
– Katowice (Polonia)

Italy-Poland 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-2)

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The sky above Katowice is bluer than ever. 24 years after the world title with De Giorgi on the pitch, his team, already European champion, returns to the top of the world. Against all odds and in an evening that smacks of legend, for how this title arrives and for what this group has done. It is not the same story as in 1990, it is different and just the DNA of people who never give up and can lose a game, but who first spit their soul on the taraflex. The building is silent, only Italy sings. Italy with the consolidated “septet” and Poland with the seven that brought it up to here. The Spodek Arena is a screaming pit at stake there is not “only” the World Cup, but the hat-trick that only Brazil and Italy managed in the past. The red and white won in 2014 and 2018. Italy shows that it is not afraid to fight point by point, on the contrary it keeps the beat of the Poles and hits with its extraordinary Lavia and Romanò does the rest. Balaso defends everything and the blue flies to +4 (21-17). Spodek is silent. Grbic makes the double change with Lomacz and Kaczmarek and Poland draws at 21. And overtakes at 23. And closes with a block on Romanò 25-22, with a partial 8-1. Only Lavia passes and the second set starts badly (3-0) time out Italy. But the Azzurri struggled until 10-10. On 13 equal, Russo returns to the field for Galassi. But in the center, the Poles are making a difference. Again the double change of Grbic results in a break. Italy grits its teeth, but must always chase (20-18). The beauty of the blue is that he never gives up, that he suffers, recovers, clings with his teeth to the opponent’s shirt. And when the set seems to fall, Italy reverses the story. The Katowice Arena is still silent and with a series of jokes by Giannelli from the tear that leads to a draw. Poland still starts with momentum 7-4 in the third. But Italy bites the red and white calves and does not give them up. Now Russo is firmly in the center of the blue grid and the home stations are a little more in awe. Poland is under pressure, it is a position struggle. One point at a time. Grbic continues to change, Kaczmarek returns again who on May 1st won the Champions League with Zaksa against Trento of Michieletto and Lavia. The blues take a break ahead. Michieletto goes up, in difficulty at the beginning of the game. Italy plays like a veteran. Romanò crashes the Polish reception. The Katowice sports hall understands that the air is bad. Italy starts with the turbo, but half of the people no longer sing, only the blue boys who are going to take their first world championship (despite Grbic’s men try it), the fourth for history, smile. But here began another Italian legend that points to Paris and that aims to write another important piece of the sporting history of Italy.