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We left the Verona Arena at around 5:30pm, so perhaps the more accurate title would be "Running into the Evening" (lol).
The next train leaving from the nearest Verona Porta Nova station is the express train at 6pm.
Google Maps shows that the station is a 25-minute walk away, so it's not deep enough to warrant catching a taxi, but I still make the effort to jog over to the station, leaving time to buy a ticket there.
Why is he holding such a big cake in his right hand at a time like this? (lol)
And I arrived at the station at 5:50pm.
From there, I easily purchase a ticket from the automatic ticket machine and head to the platform.
The express train from Verona to Padua takes 45 minutes and costs 24 euros (about 3,400 yen), while a regular train takes about 55 minutes and costs 8 euros (about 1,100 yen), so local trains are much more cost-effective, and I have never used the express train on this route before. However, this time the game in Padua ended while I was waiting for the local train, so I had no choice but to use the express train.
The match in Padua started at 6 p.m., exactly the same time as the train was leaving, but it took a while to find a seat, and by the time I got there and checked the match coverage on VBTV, a bit of the game had already progressed.
That's right, I missed Takahashi's two consecutive service aces at the start of the match... (laughs).
I later found out about it on Twitter, so I rewound the live footage to check it out (laughs).
After that, a fierce exchange of blows continued between Takahashi and his opponent OH Repki!!!
Also, Takahashi's soft hits were so effective in the first set that it was annoying.
It was as if he could see right through the court, and it made me wonder how many points he would score in just the first set.
I want to see this at the venue as soon as possible!!!
Padua took the first set and was leading early on in the second set, but Taranto began to catch up thanks to OH Repki's hard work in the middle stages, and I arrived at Padua station just as they were starting to score.
I arrived around 6:45pm, and the bus to Kioene Arena left at 6:55pm, but buses can be delayed and I wanted to get to the venue as quickly as possible, so I opted to take a taxi, something I had never used in Padua before.
A bus ride to the arena costs 1.3 euros (about 180 yen), but a taxi costs 10 times as much, 13 euros (about 1,800 yen).
Maybe because I usually try to save as much as possible, it had been a long time since I felt like I was buying so much time with money, including taking the express train (lol).
However, I was a little worried because the taxi was taking a route that was quite different from the one the bus took, but it seemed that it was avoiding the traffic jam (thank you).
Of course, I checked the game on my smartphone while in the taxi.
Taranto then took the lead at 15-16, but Takahashi's spike tied the score at 16-16!
Takahashi then served an ace to turn the game around to 18-17!
And Saitta's two attacks were successful, making the score 19-17!!
And then Takahashi got a service ace to make it 20-17!!!
Seriously, I want to see it in person soon!!!
And then the taxi arrived at Kioene Arena.
I listened to the sound of the game with my ears and made the payment, but while I was doing so, there was another ace!!!
Did you miss any really great scenes?!?!?!?!
Holding onto the glimmer of hope that Takahashi might still be serving, I sprinted to the entrance of Kioene Arena.
However, Takahashi's serve had already ended, and Padova was at set point.
Even so, it felt as though the venue was still filled with the afterglow of Takahashi's super play, or that unique atmosphere.
Also, there were more spectators than the last time I came to play against Cisterna.
After winning the second set, they moved to the press box and the match went into the third set.
I wanted to see Takahashi's consecutive aces from this angle!!! (lol)
Since the match ended with this set, I would only be able to see one more set, and I wouldn't get to see Padua play up close, so I secretly rooted for Taranto in the third set (laughs).
Perhaps because of this, Padova made a series of mistakes early on, allowing Taranto to take a 3-6 lead.
Good, good (lol).
However, when OP Guzzo was substituted for OP Petkovic, Padua tied the score at 9-9 with OP Guzzo's serve and spike.
After that, the serve came to Takahashi, but he missed (however, the loud "Ah!" that rang out from the crowd when he made the mistake showed how high the expectations were).
Then in the middle of the game, a block from Guzzo and an ace from OH Aspa gave Padua a two-point lead at 16-14.
On the other hand, Takahashi did not perform particularly well in this set, getting caught in a block.
After that, Padua's MB Crossart shut down the opponent OH Lepki, exciting the crowd, but Takahashi's serve after that was another error.
Eh? I didn't get to see Takahashi's good side until the 4th set, so that's not a good thing for me! (laughs)
But that wasn't the end for superstar Takahashi.
With the score at 22-20, he scored a brilliant pipe attack.
Furthermore, at match point, he provided a brilliant fake set to OP Guzzo, providing a brilliant assist for the winning point!
It was a straight-set victory that got the crowd excited!!!
A detailed match report can be found here:
After the victory, everyone clapped their hands as usual!
We were able to do an interview after the match!
We also had the chance to talk to libero Zenger that day!
As expected, German English is easy to understand because it doesn't have a strange accent (laughs).
The contents will be uploaded soon!!
Even more fortunately, former Japanese national team player and Padova player Yu Koshigawa was also there, so I was able to chat with him for a bit.
Koshigawa-san was a very active player on the Japanese national team around the time I started playing volleyball in junior high school, so I never thought I'd meet him here!!
Even though I thought to myself, "That was stupid," I'm glad I went from Verona to Padua!!
Also, thank you so much to everyone who sent messages of support and concern on Twitter during this move!!
It was a great encouragement, and I'm going to keep trying my best to see everything I can (laughs).
I am grateful for all the encounters!!
Also on this day, the fans waiting for Takahashi continued to line up, even more than 40 minutes after the end of the match, and Takahashi himself continued to interact with fans until the very last one.
You are truly amazing.
Thank you for your hard work until the end.
Photo: Author
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