Simone Giannelli (Italy)
-You are the world champion.
This is unreal. I can't believe it. Last year when we won the European Championships I cried. But I can't cry now because I'm so happy and I'm so excited. So all I can do now is laugh. I can barely think about anything now, but I'm smiling, I'm laughing, I see my teammates and I'm proud of them, I'm proud of Italy, I'm proud of winning the World Championships.
-Poland was a very strong team, but what do you think was the reason for Italy's victory?
Poland was an incredibly strong team. We played hard. I said we would play hard, whether it was Poland or wherever, whatever they were doing. We enjoyed the game, I loved the game. We had fun together. We're like a family. I'm very, very happy.
--With consecutive victories at the European Championships and World Championships, it's becoming a special era for Italian volleyball.
I hope so. But what we have to think now is that we still have to make changes. There are many young and talented players in Italy, so we have to wait for them to develop, and then we will have great moments again. We have to make Italian volleyball better and think about Italian volleyball. That's all.
-You played at venues in both Slovenia and Poland in this tournament. What do you think of the venue in Poland?
It's an incredible place. The Polish fans are amazing. They cheer loudly for the Polish team, but they're also very kind to other teams. I'm very grateful for the atmosphere here, the Polish people and the fans. In Poland you can breathe volleyball, you know? It's great to play here and I love and look forward to playing here every time, so I want to say thank you to all the people.
(Translated from an English interview in a video from Volleyball World TV (https://www.volleyballworld.tv))
Photo: FIVB
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