Legitimate satisfaction for a semifinal they controlled with determination from start to finish, but concentration remains high. Behind the scenes at the World Cup: books, Pokémon, and Japanese lessons. This is how the Azzurri relax
In the corridors of their hotel in Manila, far from the court but always together, the national team relaxes with Mario Kart and briscola games, card collections, Japanese puppets and anime, but also books, TV series, and studying.
Reaching the end of a World Cup like this, with a final to be played tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. against Bulgaria, also means a very long retreat. With all the comforts of the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati, in central Manila. But with little or nothing to do, except for a stroll around the hotel and dinner, strictly all together on Thursday evening, in an Italian restaurant where at one point everyone had their cell phones in their hands watching the exciting final stages of the Bulgaria-United States quarterfinal. “Because we can’t do without volleyball,” laughed Alessandro Michieletto. So we went to see what happens, what the Azzurri do in the hotel when they’re not training.
Pokemon cards are very popular this year, a passion for which Giovanni Gargiulo is a recognized authority. He seems to have helped spread the craze to many. Not everyone. Numerous purchases had already been made in Japan during the pre-World Cup training camp. The phenomenon continued in Manila. As did the appearance of several Labubu dolls hanging from the backpacks of some of the Azzurri players. All this goes hand in hand with the involvement in anime, Japanese animated series. The most popular is One Piece, with Gargiulo and Bottolo among its followers, who are teaching others about it. And then, of course, there is Haikyuu, obviously because it is set in volleyball, which Gargiulo and Pace watch together. Staying on the subject of Japan, Bottolo makes an important revelation: “I came here to study Japanese. Because it fascinates me, I like that culture. And because it might come in handy. I’m sure that later in my career I’ll go abroad, because it’s an experience I want to have. And so, given my passion, I’d like to go to Japan. Also because I believe that with the third foreign player being introduced, it will become a fantastic league.”
No PlayStation— And the great thing is that through the app, Bottolo has also got Galassi, Giannelli, Porro, and even Michieletto interested in Japanese, who, unlike many others, is not interested in anime at all. Michieletto confesses: “Compared to other trips, there is a big difference for me: I didn’t bring my PlayStation. Because I realized I was wasting a lot of time playing FIFA, especially. And in fact… I’m getting really bored. So I started rewatching my favorite series: Prison Break and Breaking Bad. And then I brought a couple of books: I really love sports biographies, here I have Javier Zanetti’s and “Volevo essere Robin” (I wanted to be Robin) by Pippo Ricci.”
Tournaments— Group activities are fundamental, and we’re talking about real championships. There’s one for Mario Kart, in which Gargiulo, Galassi, Sani, and occasionally Gianelli, Romanò, and Bottolo participate. When asked who the champion is, Bottolo stepped forward: “You have him in front of you.” This generated some complaints. “Bottolo brags about a lot of things,” said Giannelli. “Let’s just say he’s very lucky,” Gargiulo summed up rather effectively. Another popular competition is Briscola in 5. The table is fixed, always the same: Sbertoli, Giannelli, Balaso, Anzani plus Gargiulo, who occupies the chair left empty by Lavia. “No, we don’t keep a ranking for the whole retreat,” says Giannelli, “otherwise those who fall behind would be discouraged.” But another competitor sensationally contradicts him. “That’s not true at all, the ranking has been the same since we arrived in the Philippines, and Giannelli is in the lead.” Mystery. TV series Romanò says he is glued to the TV, scanning it all the time looking for “any kind of sporting event.” One person who is not interested in either Pokémon or anime is Roberto Russo. At most, he watches one TV series: “La Regina del Sud,” which he watches with Luca Porro. Alternatively, he reads “The Last Secret,” Dan Brown’s latest novel. Yuri Romanò, on the other hand, has thrown himself into “La Casa delle Voci” by Donato Carrisi and “Strani Disegni” by Japanese YouTuber Uketsu. Giannelli also has two books he is reading at the same time: “Il tempo non si ferma per i topi” (Time Doesn’t Stop for Mice), the story of the clockmaker mouse Hermux Tantamoq by Michael Hoeye, and “Le rane che si credevano pesci” (The Frogs Who Thought They Were Fish) by Cristiano Ghibaudo. Tomorrow’s final against Bulgaria, which has proven to be a tough nut to crack for everyone. Giannelli and his teammates come out of the match against Poland with much more confidence but not satisfied. “A crazy game,” says Romanò, one of the best players on the court today. “We played very well. We believed in this victory, not so obviously, but it’s not over yet.” The Italian opposite also had words of praise for Francesco Sani, who came on for two decisive service turns: “During the last timeout, I told him he would score an ace. I was sure because he had trained very hard, and I felt he would score. The difference was in our heads; we have a very strong mentality.”
Luca Porro was emotional: “It’s special, I have no words. Now we’ll celebrate a little, just what we need, and then we’ll focus on the final. Tomorrow’s match,” added the Italian, “will be a battle like today’s, and we’ll definitely give it our all. We know the level is very high, as we’ve seen from how many outsiders have advanced.”
Fefé De Giorgi is also happy but focused: “I’m very proud of the team. Not because they’re unbeatable, but because they’re special and play very well together.” And now, as Romanò says, “Tomorrow, there’s a job to finish.”
