Although it's a little late, I would like to share my thoughts on the European Championship 2021, which ended recently.
EuroVolley 2021 Men's Final Standings
Winner: Italy
Runner-up: Slovenia
3. Poland
4. Serbia
MVP: Simone Giannelli (Italy)
Fan-Voted Dream Team
Setter: Gregor Lovret (Slovenia)
Opposite: Nimir Abdelaziz (Netherlands)
Middle blocker 1: Marko Podrascanin (Serbia)
Middle blocker 2: Piotr Nowakowski (Poland)
Outside hitter ①: Daniele Lavia (Italy)
Outside hitter 2: Alessandro Micheletto (Italy)
Libero: Fabio Barrasso (Italy)
Winner: Italy
The winner was Italy. It was their 7th victory in 16 years. They replaced their members and coach since the Tokyo Olympics, where they finished in the quarterfinals, and went into the match with a mainly young team, but they swept away the other strong teams one after another with their youthful power and achieved a splendid victory. I don't think many people could have predicted that Italy would win without Zaitsev or Juantorena. The MVP of the tournament was the new captain and setter Giannelli, but personally I would like to give the MVP to 19-year-old Micheletto, who has been showing explosive performance since the VNL this season.
He showed great performance at the Tokyo Olympics, but this time, along with Giannelli, he was definitely the center of the team, which was mainly made up of young players. In the final set of the final against Slovenia, he scored consecutive service aces in a close match, leading the team to victory. At the VNL, he still looked young, but over the past few months, not only his play but also his expression seems to have become much more mature. A tall outside player at 205 cm, he is good at receiving and has experience as a libero in the under-age category, and his spikes, serves, and blocks are also powerful. He is also left-handed and is still only 19 years old. He is a formidable talent.
The first time I saw him was in a match against Trento when Ishikawa was in Padua. At that time, he was still the fourth outside player and mainly played as a pinch receiver, and I only thought, "He's left-handed and big, but he's a pinch receiver? That's interesting," but I'm just amazed that he's grown so much during the coronavirus pandemic. I wish I'd gotten his autograph (laughs). I think the Michelet era is upon us in the men's volleyball club. With him, both Yuantorena and Zaitsev can retire with peace of mind.
Italy's Micheletto was also amazing, but the outside player Ravia, who didn't play much at the Tokyo Olympics, also played a big role. In addition, the libero Barrasso, the opposite Pinali, and Romano, who was the key player in the comeback in the final, all showed impressive plays from young players, and I think they were a team with a lot of momentum that you just wanted to watch and cheer for.
Thanks to coach De Giorgi for the good work. I was a little worried because the results were terrible at the Euros in 2017 when he led the Polish national team, but I'm glad it turned out to be the best. I'm looking forward to seeing the team at the World Championships in Russia next year!
Runner-up: Slovenia
The runner-up was Slovenia. They made it to the finals with consistent strength this time, but lost again to Italy, who they had lost to in the group stage, and came in second. This was their third time in the finals, following 2015 and 2019, but they lost again. Slovenia has become a collector of silver medals at the Euros. Even a silver medal is impressive enough.
The outside duo of Urnarut and Cheby, who have been in the starting lineup since 2015, was stable in this tournament as well. Furthermore, Roblett, who took over as the regular setter from Vincic, and Stern, who took over as the regular opposite from Gasparini, also performed well.
I was personally happy with the performance of middle blocker Paienc! Paienc is a 35-year-old veteran who has led the Slovenian national team for many years with his blocks and quick plays, but in this tournament he also made opponents suffer with his serves. In particular, I think it was his serve that secured victory in the semi-final against Poland.
Pijenk played for Poland's Jastrzebski Węgyel (JW) for two seasons from 2013, winning the bronze medal in the 2014 European Champions League after beating Russia's powerhouse Zenit Kazan. Kubiak was also on the team, and it was a team I really liked, so I'm happy to see Pijenk, a member of the team, doing well. Ishikawa fans will likely support Kozamelnik, who played opposite him at Milan last season, but I'm suddenly a fan of Pijenk! Haha
When Slovenia appeared like a comet in 2015, it seemed that they would soon be gone from the starting volleyball lineup, but after some changes in members, they have firmly established themselves as a strong country. The aforementioned Pajenk and Urnarut are in their mid-30s, and there are concerns about how far they can go in the future, but young players such as Mojic, an outside player who also performed well in beach volleyball, and Štalekal, a 214cm middle player, are steadily developing.
Two years from now, we will be aiming to win the Euros! And we hope to make our first appearance in the Olympics!
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