A special victory in front of a special fan. After the knockout at the Club World Cup against Istanbul, Imoco Conegliano relaunches by taking the Coppa Italia under the eyes of a special fan, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, on his last public appearance as Head of State and greeted by Rome with great affection: it was a coincidence, but the exit from the Palazzetto while the winners were celebrated on the notes of “We are the Champions”, with applause and greetings returned, seemed the perfect script at the end of the term. On the pitch, a vibrant and comeback victory for Imoco, 3-2 (19-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-13), fourth Coppa Italia won after those of 2016/17, 2019 / 20 and 2020/21.
And whatever the fate of Paola Egonu in the future (we are talking about Turkey), today’s trophy will forever remain indelible in the memory of the opposite blue: “What an honor to win in front of the President, it was an honor, I was excited”, she The MVP of a match that kept Mattarella himself glued to the stands, alongside the president of Coni Giovanni Malagò, that of Fipav Giuseppe Manfredi and that of the women’s volleyball league Mauro Fabris, was admitted hot.
The head of state was gifted with the jerseys of the blue Paola Egonu and Cristina Chirichella, the autographed balls of the two teams, the reproduction of the Italian Cup and a golden ball from the women’s volleyball league. But above all the title of “Best Player”, given to him by the League before the match in a room reserved for the Palasport. A sporting and at the same time metaphorical award. “I don’t deserve it …”, Mattarella shielded himself, but he appeared pleased to find himself in the volleyball environment. Always passionate about sports, the Head of State has always spent words of praise and approval for volleyball.
On the occasion of the last visit to the Quirinale following the blue victories of the Europeans, he told the girls that they are “an example to follow” expressing the desire that the country too would be like the national women’s volleyball team, “cohesive”. He then affirmed that “when I can and when some television broadcaster broadcasts the matches, unfortunately rarely, I always follow you”. Today, in front of the 3,230 spectators present, Mattarella handed the trophy to the captain of Conegliano Joanna Wolosz, who in turn gave him a jersey, before taking the side exit of the building with the notes of ‘We Are the Champions’ and the long applause of the Roman public returned by the President with greetings to all the stands. We are the champions, Egonu seems to be singing immediately afterwards in the mixed zone, walking an inch off the ground: “Congratulations to them, they played the game of their life – continued the blue – under two sets to zero we said to push a ball at a time. Brave, we needed it after the World Cup knockout. I’m proud of my team. “
After an uncertain start, the blue has loaded Conegliano on the shoulders in the last three sets, collecting a total of 26 points, three more than the opposing opponent, the very strong Turkish Ebrar Karakurt. “Never give up, it was a great victory, so uphill”, Imoco coach Daniele Santarelli let go. On the other hand, only the illusion of the first two dominated sets: “We had to put that extra grit in the last three sets – admitted Cristina Chirichella – We needed one or two points ahead, we did an excellent performance but we missing the comma. The first two sets make us go out with our heads held high, we still have room for improvement “. A head to head that in any case will resume in the championship, where Novara is only three points behind the champions of Italy and Europe. On the other hand, the A2 Italian Cup final between San Giovanni in Marignano and Brescia was skipped due to some positivity in the Omag team group. As foreseen by the Fipav protocols, the challenge will be recalendarized on the first available date.
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