Kraljevo, Serbia, May 25, 2018 – Italy captain Ivan Zaytsev sees there is room for improvement in their 3-1 opening match win and hopes that they will grow as a team in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
Italy coach Gianlorenzo Blengini: “It was maybe too easy for us in the first two sets, but it was too difficult to maintain the right rhythm all the way so we suffered a little set back in the third. This is what the Volleyball Nations League is all about. We have to take it slowly, match by match, and try to improve. I am happy for the victory. That’s the important thing right now. Tomorrow we play with Brazil, the Olympic champion, and everybody wants to beat them. For us I think all the matches are equally important because the competition is very intense and we have to try and find the right pace in these circumstances. I am hoping for the best.”
Italy captain Ivan Zaytsev: “It is a good result for us. It is always nice to start the tournament with a win. Of course, we can improve especially the coordination between the players on the court, and I hope we will grow as a team. Being at the start of the competition feels a little bit weird because you don’t know what to expect, but now we know what we should do before the match and how to approach it, so it’s means a lot for the experience as well."
Germany coach Andrea Giani: “Italy played with four guys that just ten days ago competed in the Champions League finals, and my guys played their last match one or two months ago. So we find ourselves in a slow rhythm but we were improving our game during the match, we won the third set and we suffered a little bit in reception in the fourth but we were close. Italy are a better team at this moment, no doubt. Tomorrow we play a big match with Serbia and we want to compete. It will be very difficult but if we improve some elements of the game especially the block, I think we can hope for a good result.”
Germany captain Lukas Kampa: “They are a very experienced team and we started too shy I think. We were too nervous at service, we wanted to make some pressure at the beginning but they have some excellent players that can deal with all kinds of situations. We won a set and that is something we can build on, so I am expecting us to be better in the following matches.”