basic information
Club name: Powervolley Milano
Founded in: 2010
Hometown: Milan
League: Serie A Superlegga (2014/15~)
Home arena: Allianz Cloud (5,347 capacity)
Results for the last three seasons
2022/23
League: 4th place
Coppa Italia: Top four
2021/22
League: 9th place
Coppa Italia: Top four
2020/21
League: 6th place
Coppa Italia: quarterfinals
CEV Challenge Cup: Winner
2023/24 season squad
director
Roberto Piazza
Italy
1968/01/29
5th season (2019/20~)
A passionate Italian coach. He is often seen giving passionate words to his players during timeouts, but he is also a strategist and adapts his tactics to suit the situation. He has a lot of trust in Ishikawa, who he has worked with for three seasons. He also serves as the head coach of the Netherlands men's national team. His playing position was middle blocker.
Player list
#1 Matej Kaziyski★ OH/203/1984
#2 Osniel Melgarejo OH/197/1997
#4 Nicola Zonta★ S/186/2000
#5 Damiano Catania★ L/180/2001
#6 Marco Vitelli MB/203/1996
#7 Ferre Regels★ OP/202/2003
#8 Agustin Rosell MB/198/1997
10 Andrea Innozzetti★ MB/203/2000
11 Matteo Piano (C) MB/208/1990
14 Yuki Ishikawa OH/192/1995
16 Paolo Porro S/183/2001
17 Luca Colombo L/178/2004
30 Petar Dirlic★ OP/205/1997
★・・・New member
#1 Matej Kaziyski
Outside hitter
Nationality: Bulgarian
Date of birth: 1984/09/23
Height: 203cm
New member (← Trentino (Italy))
A living legend in the world of men's volleyball. In addition to winning the Italian League five times, he has also won in Russia, Turkey, the European Champions League, and with Japan's JTEKT. He is a true championship contractor. Although he is a veteran who turns 39 this year, he still shows no signs of slowing down, having led his team Trentino to victory in the league last season and winning the league MVP himself. He is undoubtedly a key player this season.
#2 Osniel Melgarejo
Outside hitter
Nationality: Cuban
Date of birth: 1997/12/18
Height: 197cm
Second season
Last season, he played an active role as a starter opposite Ishikawa. He brings momentum to the team with his explosive power. With the addition of Kaziyski, he will mainly play as a reserve this season, but there is no doubt that he is a reliable player even when coming on as a substitute. The coach calls him "Merga." Cuban national team player.
#4 Nicola Zonta
Setter
Nationality: Italian
Date of birth: 2000/05/15
Height: 186cm
New member (←Fano (Italy))
A young setter who transferred from the lower league A3 and participated in the top league for the first time this season. Due to an injury to regular setter Porro in the preseason, he has been in the starting lineup since the opening game and has been gaining experience right away. There is still a lack of players, but this season both of his opposites are starting-level players, so his growth is very important in increasing the tactical range.
#5 Damiano Catania
Libero
Nationality: Italian
Date of birth: 2001/03/28
Height: 180cm
New member (← Cisterna (Italy))
Italian representative. This year, he contributed to the gold medal win at the Universiade with Porro and Vitelli as a member of the Italian national team. It is expected that he will reduce the defensive burden that was placed on Ishikawa last season. Incidentally, his hometown is Catania, which is the same as his name.
#6 Marco Vitelli
Middle Blocker
Nationality: Italian
Date of birth: 1996/04/04
Height: 203cm
Second season
He is often on the bench, but his skills are starter-level. When he comes on as a substitute, he is always a skilled blocker or server. The author calls him "big brother" because of his "big brother"-like appearance, but he is one year younger than Ishikawa. He is a member of the Italian national team.
#7 Ferre Regels
Opposite
Nationality: Belgian
Date of birth: 2003/07/18
Height: 202cm
New member (←Maaseik (Belgium))
She was the best scorer in the entire qualifying round for the Paris Olympics this year, and is a rising star of Belgium who led the team to the brink of qualifying for the Paris Olympics. In addition to hitting sharp spikes from supple jumps, she is also skilled as an outside hitter. She is also a volleyball player representing Belgium (and she's super cute).
#8 Agustin Rosell
Middle Blocker
Nationality: Argentine
Date of birth: 1997/10/12
Height: 198cm
Second season
At the Tokyo Olympics, he was a starter and contributed to Argentina winning the bronze medal, and was also named the best blocker of the tournament. He is one of the top active middle blockers. Although he is not tall, he has excellent mobility and makes a strong presence in every play, including quicks, blocks, and jump serves. The highlight is his drift quick, which jumps diagonally and toyed with the opposing blockers. He has a baby face, but is quite aggressive during games.
10 Andrea Innozzetti
Middle Blocker
Nationality: Italian
Date of birth: 2000/10/06
Height: 203cm
New member (← Brugherio (Italy))
Like Zonta, he is a young middle blocker who transferred from the lower league A3. I don't think he will get much playing time in that position because the other three players are so high level, but I hope he will play his role well when he gets the chance.
11 Matteo Piano (C)
Middle Blocker
Nationality: Italian
Date of birth: 1990/10/23
Height: 208cm
7th season
Captain Milan. Former member of the Italian national team and one of the members who won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics. A block demon who symbolizes "Milan's Block" and stops the ball. Also, as a captain, he creates a good mood for the team with positive words. He has a dandy voice. His unique run-up serve is also worth watching.
14 Yuki Ishikawa
Outside hitter
Nationality: Japanese
Date of birth: 1995/12/11
Height: 192cm
Fourth season
Ishikawa is in his ninth season in the Italian league and his fourth season with Milan. When Piano is not around, he serves as the court captain, leading the team with the same captaincy as when he played for the Japanese national team. At the club, the defensive burden is greater than when he played for the Japanese national team, but his aggressive play is still alive and well.
16 Paolo Porro
Setter
Nationality: Italian
Date of birth: 2001/10/27
Height: 185cm
Third season
Milan's young playmaker. His strengths are his aggressive use of central attacks and his powerful serve, which is hard to imagine from his youthful face. He has an excellent relationship of trust with Ishikawa, and last season he often entrusted the ball to Ishikawa in important situations, not just in front or back. His younger brother Luca also made his Serie A debut this season with Padova. He also has a younger brother who is a volleyball player. He is an Italian national team player.
17 Luca Colombo
Libero
Nationality: Italian
Date of birth: 2004/01/14
Height: 178cm
Second season
Milan's youngest player. Although he had a few opportunities to play last season, he was unable to perform at a sufficient level. I think it will be difficult for him to get a chance to play this season, but I hope he will show his growth when he steps onto the court.
30 Petar Dirlic
Opposite
Nationality: Croatian
Date of birth: 1997/05/27
Height: 205cm
New member (← Cisterna (Italy))
A reliable and authentic opposite. In addition to the height and power of an opposite, he is also dexterous. He led the team with his performance, ranking second in the best scorer rankings in the regular season last year. I hope he will use his skills to the fullest in Milan this season and contribute to the team's advancement to the top.
Main starting lineup
OH: Kaziyski, Ishikawa
MB: Roselle, piano
OP: Dillrich
S: Pollo
L: Catania
Toshiki's comment
About half of the players have been replaced since last season, when the team made it to the semi-finals of both the Coppa Italia and the league, but it can be said that the team is stronger overall this season.
In particular, the addition of three players, outside hitter Kaziyski, opposite hitter Dilic, and libero Catania, is a very good addition to the team. Kaziyski is a veteran player with the leadership skills to lead the team not only in terms of play but also in terms of mentality, and both Dilic and Catania are players with little fluctuation, so they have wonderfully filled in the various issues that were a problem last season.
Ishikawa is a player who excels in both offense and defense and makes few mistakes, and his awesomeness is growing year by year here in Italy. I am always impressed by the number of options he has and the excellence of his choices when attacking. I can't help but exclaim, "Mr. Ishikawa!" (laughs).
The two middle players are also strong. Piano's height and Rosell's mobility will produce a lot of blocks. In addition, these two are also strong in that they can break the opponent with their serves. Quick has been honing the combination of Porro and Rosell since the second half of last season, so we can expect that to continue this season. Vitelli, who is waiting on the bench, is also at a high level.
One concern is setter Porro, who is currently unable to play due to injury. Zonta has been on the bench for the last two games, but the quality of his sets and his pitching means there is still a lack of players, so I hope he returns soon.
Because they can get a break from any rotation with serve and block, they have the strength to turn the game around even if they are slightly behind in points. On the other hand, they are a little worried about serve reception, and they only have three outside hitters (and Ishikawa is the only defensive outside hitter), so how they deal with the opponent's serve will be an issue.
However, there is a good chance that we can achieve better results than last season, especially in the CEV Cup, which I think we can win.
Photo: legavolley.it, author
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