Italy men's national volleyball team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Italy

[[File:|180px|frameless|Flag]]
Nickname(s)	Gli Azzurri (The Blues)
Association	Federazione Italiana Pallavolo
Confederation	CEV
Head coach	Ferdinando De Giorgi
FIVB ranking	3 (as of September 2014)
Uniforms
Home 　 Away
Summer Olympics
Appearances	13 (First in 1976)
Best result	(1996, 2004, 2016)
World Championship
Appearances	19 (First in 1949)
Best result	(1990, 1994, 1998, 2022)
FIVB World Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1989)
Best result	(1995)
European Championship
Appearances	29 (First in 1948)
Best result	(1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2021)
Website	federvolley.it

The Italy men's national volleyball team represents Italy in international volleyball games. They are often called Gli Azzurri, which means "The Blues". The team is managed by the Italian Volleyball Federation. Italy is one of the most successful volleyball teams in history. They have won four World Championships, seven European Championships, one World Cup, and eight World League titles. Italy is currently the reigning World Champion, having won the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship.

Team Achievements

The Italian men's national volleyball team has a rich history of winning. They have achieved great success in many major tournaments around the world.

The Golden Team Era

In 1989, Julio Velasco became the coach of the Italian team. He quickly led them to a gold medal at the European Championships that same year. His team won this championship two more times in 1993 and 1995. They also earned a silver medal at the World Cup in 1989.

Velasco focused on making the team work together as a strong unit, rather than relying on individual players. He was very detailed and demanding, but he knew how to win. From 1990, the Italian team dominated world volleyball for five years. They won gold medals at the World Championships in 1990 and 1994. They also won the World League five times between 1990 and 1995. In 1996, they won a silver medal at the Olympic Games.

Julio Velasco left the team in 1996. During his time, he built a "Golden Team" with famous players like Zorzi, Andrea Gardini, Giani, Bernardi, and Papi.

Olympic Games Record

Italy has competed in the Olympic Games many times. They have won several silver and bronze medals.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

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

World Championship Success

Italy has won the World Championship four times, showing their strength in global competitions.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World Championship Record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
1949	1st round	8th	5	2	3	8	9
1952	Did not qualify
1956	1st round	14th	10	6	4	22	14
1960	Did not qualify
1962	1st round	14th	11	5	6	19	23
1966	1st round	16th	11	2	9	9	31
1970	1st round	15th	11	3	8	23	28
1974	1st round	19th	11	7	4	24	14
1978	Final	2nd	10	8	2	24	12
1982	1st round	14th	10	8	2	24	12
1986	2nd round	11th	8	3	5	14	18
1990	Final	1st	7	6	1	18	7
1994	Final	1st	7	6	1	20	6
1998	Final	1st	12	11	1	33	7
2002	Quarterfinals	5th	9	6	3	23	14
2006	2nd round	5th	11	8	3	28	13
2010	Semifinals	4th	10	8	2	26	12
2014	2nd round	13th	9	3	6	14	22
2018	3rd round	5th	10	8	2	26	11
2022	Final	1st	7	7	0	21	4
2025	Qualified
Total	4 titles	19/21	169	107	62	376	257

World Cup Appearances

Italy has also performed well in the World Cup, winning one gold medal.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World Cup Record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
1965	Did not qualify
1969
1977
1981	-	7th	7	1	6	9	18
1985	Did not qualify
1989	-	2nd	7	6	1	20	5
1991	Did not qualify
1995	-	1st	11	11	0	33	3
1999	-	3rd	11	8	3	26	14
2003	-	2nd	11	9	2	29	8
2007	Did not qualify
2011	-	4th	11	8	3	28	15
2015	-	2nd	11	10	1	30	8
2019	-	7th	11	5	6	14	19
2023	Did not qualify
Total	1 title	8/14	80	58	22	189	90

• 1995 — Gold medal

World Grand Champions Cup Record

     Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World Grand Champions Cup Record (No longer held)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
1993	-	1st	5	5	0	15	4
1997	Did not qualify
2001
2005	-	3rd	5	3	2	11	6
2009	Did not qualify
2013	-	3rd	5	2	3	12	10
2017	-	2nd	5	4	1	14	8
Total	1 title	4/7	20	14	6	52	28

World League Dominance

Italy has won the World League eight times, making them one of the most successful teams in this former competition.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

World League Record (No longer held)
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
1990	Final	1st	14	11	3	37	21
1991	Final	1st	18	16	2	52	16
1992	Final	1st	18	16	2	50	17
1993	Semifinals	3rd	22	20	2	62	17
1994	Final	1st	16	12	4	38	19
1995	Final	1st	17	14	3	45	19
1996	Final	2nd	17	14	3	45	19
1997	Final	1st	17	14	3	47	17
1998	Final Round	4th	15	7	8	27	26
1999	Final	1st	16	12	4	42	20
2000	Final	1st	18	13	5	44	33
2001	Final	2nd	17	12	5	41	24
2002	Semifinals	4th	17	14	3	44	19
2003	Semifinals	3rd	17	10	7	37	27
2004	Final	2nd	15	9	6	34	22
2005	1st round	7th	12	6	6	22	26
2006	2nd round	6th	16	7	9	32	31
2007	1st round	9th	12	4	8	19	30
2008	1st round	7th	12	8	4	30	22
2009	1st round	7th	12	8	4	27	17
2010	2nd round	6th	14	9	5	35	21
2011	2nd round	6th	15	11	4	35	18
2012	1st round	11th	12	5	7	23	28
2013	Semifinals	3rd	14	10	4	35	23
2014	Semifinals	3rd	16	9	7	33	25
2015	2nd round	5th	14	7	7	26	31
2016	Semifinals	4th	13	7	6	25	20
2017	1st round	12th	9	2	7	13	23
Total	8 titles	28/28	425	287	138	1000	631

Nations League Results

The Nations League is a newer competition where Italy has also shown strong performances.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

Nations League Record
Year	Round	Position	GP	MW	ML	SW	SL
2018	Preliminary Round	8th	15	8	7	30	28
2019	Preliminary Round	8th	15	8	7	31	25
2020	Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Preliminary Round	10th	15	7	8	28	33
2022	Final Round	4th	15	11	4	35	16
2023	Semifinals	4th	15	10	5	33	17
2024	Quarterfinals	5th	13	9	4	31	17
Total	0 title(s)	6/6	90	53	35	188	136

European Championship Victories

Italy has won the European Championship seven times, showing their strength in European volleyball.      Champions       Runners up       Third place       Fourth place

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

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

Goodwill Games Medal

     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

This section provides details about the current team and its history.

Current Roster

Here is the team roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Head coach: Ferdinando De Giorgi

Coach History

Many coaches have led the Italian national volleyball team over the years.

• Pietro Bernardi (1947)
• Angelo Costa (1947-1949)
• Renzo Del Chicca (1949-1953)
• Ivan Trinajstic (1953-1966)
• Josef Kozak (1966-1969)
• Odone Federzoni (1969-1974)
• Odone Federzoni & Josef Kozak (1970)
• Franco Anderlini (1974-1976)
• Adriano Pavlica (1976-1977)
• Edward Skorek (1978 ad interim)
• Carmelo Pittera (1978-1982 + 1988)
• Nino Cuco (1981 ad interim)
• Silvano Prandi (1983-1986)
• Aleksander Skiba (1987)
• Michelangelo Lo Bianco (1988 ad interim)
• Julio Velasco (1988-1996)
• Angelo Frigoni (1990-1991 ad interim - World League)
• Daniele Bagnoli (1992 ad interim - World League)
• Paulo Roberto de Freitas (1996-1998)
• Andrea Anastasi (1998-2002)
• Kim Ho-Chul (2001)
• Gian Paolo Montali (2002-2007)
• Andrea Anastasi (2007-2010)
• Mauro Berruto (2010-2015)
• Gianlorenzo Blengini (2015-2021)
• Antonio Valentini (2021 - Volley Nations League)
• Ferdinando De Giorgi (2021-)

Player Appearances Record

This table shows the players with the most appearances for the Italian national team (updated to August 12, 2012).

Team Support

This section covers the companies that provide kits and sponsorships for the team.

Kit Providers

Here is a list of companies that have provided kits for the Italy national volleyball team.

Sponsorship

The team has several important sponsors. These include main sponsors like DHL, Kinder (Ferrero SpA), Honda, and Mizuno. Other sponsors are Santal, Diadora, EthicSport, Reaxing, Crai, Nutrilite, Uliveto, and Winform.

Media Coverage

Italy's matches and friendly games are shown on TV by RAI and Rai Sport.

See also

In Spanish: Selección de voleibol de Italia para niños