Italy men's national volleyball team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Italy

Nickname(s)	Gli Azzurri (The Blues)
Association	FIPAV
Confederation	CEV
Head coach	Ferdinando De Giorgi
FIVB ranking	3 127
Uniforms
Home 　 Away 　 Third
Summer Olympics
Appearances	13 (First in 1976)
Best result	Silver: (1996, 2004, 2016) Bronze: (1984, 2000, 2012)
World Championship
Appearances	19 (First in 1949)
Best result	Gold: (1990, 1994, 1998, 2022, 2025) Silver: (1978)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1989)
Best result	Gold: (1995) Silver: (1989, 2003, 2015) Bronze: (1999)
European Championship
Appearances	29 (First in 1948)
Best result	Gold: (1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2021) Silver: (1991, 2001, 2011, 2013, 2023) Bronze: (1948, 1997, 2015)
federvolley.it
Honours Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 0 3 3 World Championship 5 1 0 World Cup 1 3 1 World Grand Champions Cup 1 1 2 World League 8 3 4 Nations League 0 1 0 European Championship 7 5 3 Universiade 3 1 5 Mediterranean Games 7 2 2 Goodwill Games 1 0 0 Medal record Olympics Silver 1996 Atlanta Team Silver 2004 Athens Team Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team Bronze 1984 Los Angeles Team Bronze 2000 Sydney Team Bronze 2012 London Team World Championship Gold 1990 Brazil Gold 1994 Greece Gold 1998 Japan Gold 2022 Poland/Slovenia Gold 2025 Philippines Silver 1978 Italy World Cup Gold 1995 Japan Silver 1989 Japan Silver 2003 Japan Silver 2015 Japan Bronze 1999 Japan World Grand Champions Cup Gold 1993 Japan Silver 2017 Japan Bronze 2005 Japan Bronze 2013 Japan World League Gold 1990 Osaka Gold 1991 Milan Gold 1992 Genoa Gold 1994 Milan Gold 1995 Rio de Janeiro Gold 1997 Moscow Gold 1999 Mar del Plata Gold 2000 Rotterdam Silver 1996 Rotterdam Silver 2001 Katowice Silver 2004 Rome Bronze 1993 São Paulo Bronze 2003 Madrid Bronze 2013 Mar del Plata Bronze 2014 Florence Nations League Silver 2025 Ningbo European Championship Gold 1989 Sweden Gold 1993 Finland Gold 1995 Greece Gold 1999 Austria Gold 2003 Germany Gold 2005 Italy/Serbia and Montenegro Gold 2021 Poland/Czech Republic/Estonia/Finland Silver 1991 Germany Silver 2001 Czech Republic Silver 2011 Austria/Czech Republic Silver 2013 Denmark/Poland Silver 2023 Bulgaria/Israel/Italy/North Macedonia Bronze 1948 Italy Bronze 1997 Netherlands Bronze 2015 Bulgaria/Italy Universiade Gold 1970 Turin Gold 2019 Naples Gold 2021 Chengdu Silver 1997 Sicilly Bronze 1983 Edmonton Bronze 1985 Kobe Bronze 1987 Zagreb Bronze 1995 Fukuoka Bronze 2005 Izmir Mediterranean Games Gold 1959 Lebanon Gold 1983 Casablanca Gold 1991 Athens Gold 2001 Tunis Gold 2009 Pescara Gold 2013 Mersin Gold 2018 Tarragona Silver 1963 Naples Silver 1975 Algiers Bronze 1987 Latakia Bronze 2022 Oran Goodwill Games Gold 1990 Seattle

The Italy men's national volleyball team is a super successful team that plays for Italy in volleyball games around the world. The Italian Volleyball Federation manages the team. They are known as one of the best teams ever in volleyball history! They have won many big titles. They won the World Championship five times (in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2022, and 2025). They also won the European Championship seven times (in 1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2021). Plus, they won the World Cup once (1995) and the World League eight times (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2000). Italy is currently the world champion, having won the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship on 28 September 2025. They even made history by winning both the men's and women's world championships, just like the USSR did a long time ago!

A History of Triumphs in Volleyball

Before the late 1980s, Italy's team had some good moments. They earned a silver medal at the World Championships held in Italy in 1978. They also won a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.

Things changed when Julio Velasco became their coach. He was a very successful coach! He quickly led the team to a gold medal at the European Championships in 1989. His team won this championship two more times in 1993 and 1995. They also got a silver medal at the World Cup in 1989. Velasco taught the team to work together as one strong unit, believing that a united team is always better.

From 1990 onwards, the Italian team became a powerhouse in world volleyball. They won gold medals at the World Championships in 1990 and 1994. They also won the World League many times: in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 1995. Other wins included the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1993 Grand Champions Cup. They even won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. Coach Velasco helped create a "Golden Team" with amazing players like Zorzi, Andrea Gardini, Giani, and Bernardi.

Olympic Games Results

Here's how the Italian men's volleyball team has performed at the Olympic Games.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1964	Did not qualify
1968
1972
1976	1st round	8th	5	0	5	2	15	Squad
1980	1st round	9th	5	2	3	5	11	Squad
1984	Semifinals	Bronze	6	4	2	14	7	Squad
1988	1st round	9th	7	4	3	13	13	Squad
1992	Quarterfinals	5th	7	5	2	18	8	Squad
1996	Final	Silver	8	7	1	23	5	Squad
2000	Semifinals	Bronze	8	7	1	21	8	Squad
2004	Final	Silver	8	5	3	20	11	Squad
2008	Semifinals	4th	8	5	3	17	14	Squad
2012	Semifinals	Bronze	8	5	3	16	13	Squad
2016	Final	Silver	8	6	2	19	10	Squad
2020	Quarterfinals	6th	6	4	2	14	10	Squad
2024	Semifinals	4th	6	4	2	12	10	Squad
2028	Future events
2032
Total	0 titles	13/16	90	58	32	194	135	—

World Championship Victories

The Italian team has a fantastic record at the World Championship.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1949	1st round	8th	5	2	3	8	9	Squad
1952	Did not qualify
1956	1st round	14th	10	6	4	22	14	Squad
1960	Did not qualify
1962	1st round	14th	11	5	6	19	23	Squad
1966	1st round	16th	11	2	9	9	31	Squad
1970	1st round	15th	11	3	8	23	28	Squad
1974	1st round	19th	11	7	4	24	14	Squad
1978	Final	2nd	10	8	2	24	12	Squad
1982	1st round	14th	10	8	2	24	12	Squad
1986	2nd round	11th	8	3	5	14	18	Squad
1990	Final	1st	7	6	1	18	7	Squad
1994	Final	1st	7	6	1	20	6	Squad
1998	Final	1st	12	11	1	33	7	Squad
2002	Quarterfinals	5th	9	6	3	23	14	Squad
2006	2nd round	5th	11	8	3	28	13	Squad
2010	Semifinals	4th	10	8	2	26	12	Squad
2014	2nd round	13th	9	3	6	14	22	Squad
2018	3rd round	5th	10	8	2	26	11	Squad
2022	Final	1st	7	7	0	21	4	Squad
2025	Final	1st	7	6	1	20	4	Squad
2027	Qualified
2029	Future event
Total	5 titles	19/21	176	113	63	396	261	—

World Cup Achievements

See Italy's performance at the World Cup.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1965	Did not qualify
1969
1977
1981	-	7th	7	1	6	9	18	Squad
1985	Did not qualify
1989	-	2nd	7	6	1	20	5	Squad
1991	Did not qualify
1995	-	1st	11	11	0	33	3	Squad
1999	-	3rd	11	8	3	26	14	Squad
2003	-	2nd	11	9	2	29	8	Squad
2007	Did not qualify
2011	-	4th	11	8	3	28	15	Squad
2015	-	2nd	11	10	1	30	8	Squad
2019	-	7th	11	5	6	14	19	Squad
Total	1 title	8/14	80	58	22	189	90	-

• 1995 — Gold medal

World Grand Champions Cup History

Here are the results for Italy in the World Grand Champions Cup.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World Grand Champions Cup record (Defunct)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1993	-	1st	5	5	0	15	4	Squad
1997	Did not qualify
2001
2005	-	3rd	5	3	2	11	6	Squad
2009	Did not qualify
2013	-	3rd	5	2	3	12	10	Squad
2017	-	2nd	5	4	1	14	8	Squad
Total	1 title	4/7	20	14	6	52	28	-

World League Successes

Check out Italy's impressive record in the World League.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World League record (Defunct)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1990	Final	1st	14	11	3	37	21	Squad
1991	Final	1st	18	16	2	52	16	Squad
1992	Final	1st	18	16	2	50	17	Squad
1993	Semifinals	3rd	22	20	2	62	17	Squad
1994	Final	1st	16	12	4	38	19	Squad
1995	Final	1st	17	14	3	45	19	Squad
1996	Final	2nd	17	14	3	45	19	Squad
1997	Final	1st	17	14	3	47	17	Squad
1998	Final Round	4th	15	7	8	27	26	Squad
1999	Final	1st	16	12	4	42	20	Squad
2000	Final	1st	18	13	5	44	33	Squad
2001	Final	2nd	17	12	5	41	24	Squad
2002	Semifinals	4th	17	14	3	44	19	Squad
2003	Semifinals	3rd	17	10	7	37	27	Squad
2004	Final	2nd	15	9	6	34	22	Squad
2005	1st round	7th	12	6	6	22	26	Squad
2006	2nd round	6th	16	7	9	32	31	Squad
2007	1st round	9th	12	4	8	19	30	Squad
2008	1st round	7th	12	8	4	30	22	Squad
2009	1st round	7th	12	8	4	27	17	Squad
2010	2nd round	6th	14	9	5	35	21	Squad
2011	2nd round	6th	15	11	4	35	18	Squad
2012	1st round	11th	12	5	7	23	28	Squad
2013	Semifinals	3rd	14	10	4	35	23	Squad
2014	Semifinals	3rd	16	9	7	33	25	Squad
2015	2nd round	5th	14	7	7	26	31	Squad
2016	Semifinals	4th	13	7	6	25	20	Squad
2017	1st round	12th	9	2	7	13	23	Squad
Total	8 titles	28/28	425	287	138	1000	631	-

Nations League Performance

Here's how the Italian team has done in the Nations League.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Nations League record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2018	Preliminary Round	8th	15	8	7	30	28	Squad
2019	Preliminary Round	8th	15	8	7	31	25	Squad
2020	Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Preliminary Round	10th	15	7	8	28	33	Squad
2022	Final Round	4th	15	11	4	35	16	Squad
2023	Semifinals	4th	15	10	5	33	21	Squad
2024	Quarterfinals	5th	13	9	4	31	17	Squad
2025	Final	2nd	15	12	3	39	19	Squad
Total	0 title(s)	7/7	105	65	38	227	159	–

European Championship Highlights

Here are the results for Italy in the European Championship.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

European Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
1948	-	3rd	5	3	2	11	6	Squad
1950	Did not qualify
1951	1st round	8th	5	2	3	8	9	Squad
1955	1st round	9th	7	5	2	15	8	Squad
1958	1st round	10th	11	8	3	26	19	Squad
1963	1st round	10th	11	8	3	24	15	Squad
1967	Final Round	8th	10	3	7	11	25	Squad
1971	1st round	8th	8	6	2	21	10	Squad
1975	1st round	10th	7	2	5	8	17	Squad
1977	1st round	8th	7	3	4	12	16	Squad
1979	Final Round	5th	7	3	4	13	14	Squad
1981	1st round	7th	7	5	2	15	9	Squad
1983	Final Round	4th	7	4	3	16	16	Squad
1985	Final Round	6th	7	1	6	10	18	Squad
1987	1st round	9th	7	3	4	14	14	Squad
1989	Final	1st	7	6	1	20	7	Squad
1991	Final	2nd	7	6	1	18	7	Squad
1993	Final	1st	7	7	0	21	5	Squad
1995	Final	1st	7	6	1	19	6	Squad
1997	Semifinals	3rd	7	5	2	15	8	Squad
1999	Final	1st	5	4	1	13	5	Squad
2001	Final	2nd	7	4	3	14	10	Squad
2003	Final	1st	7	7	0	21	4	Squad
2005	Final	1st	7	6	1	19	8	Squad
2007	2nd round	6th	6	4	2	14	11	Squad
2009	2nd round	10th	6	2	4	8	12	Squad
2011	Final	2nd	6	4	2	15	8	Squad
2013	Final	2nd	6	4	2	15	9	Squad
2015	Semifinals	3rd	7	5	2	18	7	Squad
2017	Quarterfinals	5th	5	3	2	11	6	Squad
2019	Quarterfinals	6th	7	5	2	16	9	Squad
2021	Final	1st	9	9	0	27	5	Squad
2023	Final	2nd	9	8	1	24	7	Squad
2026	Qualified as co-host							Squad
Total	7 titles	31/32	228	151	77	430	330	-

European Games Results

Here's how Italy has done at the European Games.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

European Games record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL	Squad
2015 Baku	1st round	11th	5	0	5	4	15	Squad
2019 Minsk	volleyball tournament not held
2023 Kraków
2027 Istanbul	TBD
Total	0 titles	1/1	5	0	5	4	15	-

Mediterranean Games Medals

Italy has won many medals at the Mediterranean Games.

• 1959 — gold medal
• 1963 — silver medal
• 1975 — silver medal
• 1979 — Fourth place
• 1983 — gold medal
• 1987 — bronze medal
• 1991 — gold medal
• 1997 — Fourth place
• 2001 — gold medal
• 2005 — Fifth place
• 2009 — gold medal
• 2013 — gold medal
• 2018 — gold medal
• 2022 — bronze medal
• 2026 — Future event
• 2030 — Future event

Goodwill Games Wins

Here's Italy's record at the Goodwill Games.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Goodwill Games record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
1986	Did not participate
1990	Final	Champions	5	4	1	14	6
Total	1 titles	1/2	5	4	1	14	6

Team Information

Current Roster

This is the team roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Head coach: Ferdinando De Giorgi

Meet the Coaches

Great coaches have guided the Italian team over the years. One of the most famous was Julio Velasco, who led the team to many victories from 1988 to 1996. Today, the team is coached by Ferdinando De Giorgi, who started in 2021.

Top Players by Appearances

Here are the players who have played the most games for the Italian national team.

• Table updated to August 12, 2012.

Team Gear and Sponsors

Kit Providers

The table below shows the history of companies that made uniforms for the Italy national volleyball team.

Sponsorship

Many companies support the team! Main sponsors include DHL, Kinder (from Ferrero SpA), Honda, and Mizuno. Other supporters are Santal, Diadora, EthicSport, Reaxing, Crai, Nutrilite, Uliveto, and Winform.

Media Coverage

You can watch Italy's volleyball matches and friendly games on TV channels like RAI and Rai Sport.

See also

In Spanish: Selección de voleibol de Italia para niños