The match between two Japanese players in the world's top Italian men's volleyball league, Serie A, will finally begin today, Sunday, November 13th, at 15:30 local time (23:30 Japan time), with Padova facing Milan.
As you may know, Padova is home to Japan's young national team hopeful Ai Takahashi, while Milan is home to national team captain Yuki Ishikawa.
This match has not only attracted attention from Japanese sports media and fans, but it has also been featured in local Italian newspapers, and Volleyball World TV, which broadcasts the Italian league, has even launched a major campaign to mark the occasion, indicating the high level of global interest.
This time, we'll be bringing you 10 little tidbits that will make the upcoming Japanese showdown even more interesting!
①Milan won last year's match
Last season, they were both on the same team and faced off against each other. Milan won in straight sets, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-22). However, both teams have changed their members significantly since last season, so it's unclear how the results will turn out this time. Also, last season Takahashi played as a libero, so this is the first time they've faced each other on the court in an official match as outside hitters.
②Milan is on a five-game winning streak against Padua
Milan has won five games in a row against Padua since the 2020/21 season. Furthermore, the 2019/20 season in which Padua beat Milan was the season Ishikawa played for Padua, so Ishikawa personally has won six games in a row against this match without a loss (laughs).
3. Ishikawa is undefeated in the Italian League against other Japanese players
Last season, not only Padua's Takahashi, but also Japan national team opposite Nishida Yuji played for Vibo Valentia in the Italian league. Ishikawa has won both of his matches against this team, and is undefeated against Japanese players so far.
④Milan has the strongest team
Milan has a strong team. Seven of the 13 registered players are currently playing for their home countries. Another notable feature is that the team is made up of high-level players from national teams, such as France's Patry, who won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and Argentina's Rosell, who won the bronze medal at the same tournament. Even though they are not active on the national team, captain Piano won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics with Italy, and setter Porro won the U21 World Championship as Italy's representative and was the best setter.
Meanwhile, Padua has 5 of its 14 registered athletes who are national team players, but none of them have won medals in major tournaments.
⑤ Padua is the place with momentum
Milan is the strongest team, but Padua is on a roll this season. They shocked the Italian volleyball world by defeating strong teams in Modena and Roubaix in succession from the start of the season. They then lost to Cisterna and Perugia, but in their most recent match against Taranto, they came back from 0-2 to win 3-2 and are in good form heading into the match against Milan.
On the other hand, Milan lost their opening match against Cisterna, a match that most people expected them to win, by a surprising 0-3. They then won their second match against Monza in a full set 3-2, and went on to win three consecutive matches, but have since lost their last two matches by 0-3.
⑥Ishikawa, who has just returned
Ishikawa had not played since the third match against Siena due to poor condition, but made a substitute appearance in the fifth match, and only just returned to the starting lineup in the match against Perugia a week ago. Even though he has returned to the starting lineup, it seemed like he had not yet regained his form in the previous match, so it will be interesting to see how much he has regained his condition in this match against Padua.
7. Takahashi in top form
Meanwhile, Takahashi is in top form. In the first two games, he not only made the most of his receiving skills, but also contributed greatly to the team's victory with his spikes, winning the MVP award for two consecutive games. In the third game against Cisterna, he struggled offensively, but has maintained his good form ever since. In particular, the top team is already wary of Takahashi's defense, and it seems that they are avoiding his receiving in preference to the libero when the opponent serves.
8. Milan's Vitelli just transferred from Padua
Milan's middle blocker Vitelli is a player who transferred from Padua to Milan this season. Padua's middle blockers have not changed since last season, so Vitelli's block may be a fire against them. Of course, the same is true in reverse.
9. Padua has not played in two weeks.
The Italian League is basically held every weekend, but last week Padova's match was postponed because their opponent Siena had three or more coronavirus infections. It's good to have a break, but if there's too much time between games, it can have a negative effect, so I'd like to see how this turns out.
10. Passionate Padua fans
The venue for this match is Ai Takahashi's Padua. Padua's fans are very passionate, and in their last home game against the top-ranked Perugia, a crowd of just under 4,000 people filled the venue, and although Padua missed out on victory, they managed to take a set against this super-strong opponent (Meanwhile, Milan lost to Perugia 0-3 last week). If they can turn the support of Padua's fans into strength again this time, they may be able to stop their losing streak against Milan.
Photo: Lega Pallavolo Serie A, FIVB
English 
Japanese