Julio Velasco facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Julio Velasco |
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Velasco in 2016
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| Nationality | Argentine / Italian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 9 February 1952 La Plata, Argentina |
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| Current team | Italy Women | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Julio Velasco (born February 9, 1952) is a famous Argentine volleyball coach and former player. He is known for leading many teams to victory around the world. In 1992, he also became an Italian citizen.
Velasco is so respected in the volleyball world that he was added to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2005. He is currently the head coach for the Italy women's national volleyball team, which he led to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Contents
Julio Velasco's Amazing Career
Julio Velasco's journey in volleyball started when he was young. He became one of the most successful coaches in the sport's history.
Playing Days
Julio Velasco started playing volleyball when he was 15 years old. He played for the National University of La Plata Club.
Becoming a Coach
Velasco's coaching career began as an assistant. He worked with the Argentine men's national team from 1981 to 1983.
In 1983, he moved to Italy to coach Tre Valli Jesi. He then coached Panini Modena from 1985 to 1989. During this time, he led Modena to win four Italian national championships.
Coaching the Italian Men's Team
In 1989, Velasco became the head coach of the Italian men's national team. He led them to many incredible wins.
- His first big win with Italy was at the 1989 Men's European Volleyball Championship in Sweden. They won their first official tournament by beating the host team 3-1 in the final.
- In 1990, Velasco helped Italy become the best in the world. They won the World Championship in Brazil. They beat strong teams like Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba to win their first world title.
During his time as Italy's coach, Velasco's teams won many more trophies:
- Two more European Championships
- Another World Championship
- Five World Leagues
- Other important tournaments like the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup and FIVB World Cup.
Velasco also led the Italian men's team to win their first silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Coaching Other National Teams
After the 1996 Olympics, Velasco coached the Italian women's team from 1996 to 1997. They won a gold medal at the Mediterranean Games.
He also coached the Czech Republic men's national team in 2001. Later, he returned to Italy to coach the Copra Piacenza club in 2002.
In 2008, he became the coach for the Spanish men's national team. They won the European Volleyball League in 2009.
From 2011, Velasco coached the Iranian men's national team. He led them to win two Asian Championships. He then became the coach of the Argentine men's national team in 2014. This move was very important to the people and president of Argentina.
He led the Argentine team to win the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2018, Velasco coached Modena Volley again for a season.
In 2024, he was officially named the head coach of the Italy women's national volleyball team. His main goal was to guide them to the 2024 Summer Olympics, where they achieved a gold medal.
Working as an Administrator
Besides coaching, Velasco also worked in sports management. In 1998–99, he was the General Director for the football club S.S. Lazio. In 2000, he moved to Inter Milan, another famous football club.
Julio Velasco's Achievements
Julio Velasco has won many awards and championships throughout his career.
Club Honours
- Ferro:
- 4 Argentine League titles: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982
- Modena:
- 4 Italian League titles: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
- 3 Italian Cups: 1986, 1988, 1989
- 1 Cup Winners' Cup: 1986
- 1 Italian Supercup: 2018
International Team Honours
- Italy Men's National Team:
- 1 Mediterranean Games Gold: 1991
- 2 FIVB World Championship Gold: 1990, 1994
- 3 European Championship Gold: 1989, 1993, 1995
- 1 European Championship Silver: 1991
- 5 FIVB World League Gold: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995
- 1 World League Silver: 1996
- 1 World League Bronze: 1993
- 1 FIVB World Cup Gold: 1995
- 1 Olympic Games Silver: 1996
- 1 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup Gold: 1993
- Italy Women's National Team:
- 1 Mediterranean Games Gold: 1997
- 1 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League Gold: 2024
- 1 Olympic Games Gold: 2024
- Spain Men's National Team:
- 1 Mediterranean Games Silver: 2009
- 2 Men's European Volleyball League Silver: 2009, 2010
- Iran Men's National Team:
- 2 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship Gold: 2011, 2013
- Argentina Men's National Team:
- 1 Pan American Games Gold: 2015
Individual Awards and Recognition
Julio Velasco has received many personal awards for his coaching skills.
- 1990 FIVB World Championship - Best Coach
- 1991 Medal of Merit Sport Organization Italy
- 1993 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup - Best Coach
- 1995 FIVB World Cup - Best Coach
- 2000 Konex Award - Technical Director
- 2012 Società Italiana Medici Manager - Technical Award
- 2014 Coach of the Year in Iran
- 2022 CEV - Lifetime Achievement Award
Special Honors
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CONI: Golden Palm of Technical Merit: Palma d'oro al Merito Tecnico: 2018
President of Italy: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic: 2019
Interesting Facts About Julio Velasco
Julio Velasco studied philosophy in university. He faced some challenges early in his life due to his past activities, which led him to move to Buenos Aires. There, he got his first job coaching volleyball.
He is also known for sharing ideas with famous football coaches. For example, Pep Guardiola, a well-known football mastermind, once traveled a long distance just to meet Julio Velasco. Guardiola wanted to learn from Velasco after seeing him in a TV interview. This shows how much other top coaches respect Velasco's knowledge and ideas.
See also
In Spanish: Julio Velasco para niños
