Superlega 2022
Must watch action: Coppa Italia - Final Four
Italy's premiere Superlega teams battle in the heart of Rome
Published 05:18, 21 Feb 2023
In a mirror image of Coppa Italia 21/22, Itas Trentino will again play Allianz Milano . Sir Safety Susa Perugia, who were the 21/22 Coppa Italia winners and currently top of the table in the Superlega by a wide margin with 20 wins over the season, will be taking on 6th placed Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza.
You can watch all the action LIVE on VBTV from 3:30pm Saturday.
Saturday February 25th:
- Sir Safety Susa Perugia VS Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza @ 3:30pm CET
- Itas Trentino VS Allianz Milano @ 6pm CET
Sunday February 26th:
- Winner A vs Winner B @ 4pm
Defending champions Perugia, who have won the Coppa Italia on three occasions over the last five years, eliminated Top Volley Cisterna in the quarterfinals. The reigning world champions have been in excellent form since the start of the season, having won all 33 matches they played – their last defeat happened in May 2022, in the SuperLega Credem Banca.
“We’ll arrive at the Final Four in a very good position,” head coach Andrea Anastasi reflected. “We’re in good shape physically and worked very hard in the last few weeks. The team hasn’t been brilliant in the last few matches, but we’ll try to push the right buttons and make sure everyone is ready to play at their best on Saturday.”
Their opponents Piacenza have won the Coppa Italia once, in 2014. Currently in sixth place in the Italian League, they knocked WithU Verona out in the quarterfinals with a dramatic five-set victory.
The team, which fell to Perugia in each of the last 13 encounters between the teams, could have an additional hurdle to overcome on Saturday with the potential absence of star outside hitter Yoandy Leal, who injured his ankle during a SuperLega match against Cucine Lube Civitanova on Sunday. Brazilian outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli, who recently returned from injury and just had his contract extended until 2024, will play a big role in the team's offence.
The two teams that will meet in the second semifinal, Trentino and Milano faced each other on Sunday in the SuperLega and the side from Trento secured a dramatic five-set victory after dropping the first two sets.
Trentino, who won the Coppa Italia three times, the most recent of them in 2013, enter the Final Four determined to return to the top of the podium after a decade. They topped 12-time Coppa Italia winners Valsa Group Modena in the quarterfinals.
“It will be the same opponent from our last game, but I expect it to be an entirely different match,” said outside hitter Daniele Lavia. “But Milano is a strong opponent, they have great value and won’t give us anything easy. We want to play on Sunday and are motivated for it, but we need to focus on Milano first.”
The only semifinalist to be chasing its first Coppa Italia title, Milano are in a difficult run of form in the Italian League, having lost four of their last five matches – they are currently eighth in the standings. The team has won three of its seven matches since eliminating Lube in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals.
“We wasted the opportunity of winning the match in three sets and that’s disappointing,” Milano’s middle blocker Matteo Piano said after Sunday’s match. “I think the lesson we take from it is that in some moments of a match like this we have to raise our level and make whatever it takes to close it. Trentino are a great team and create some problems for us, but I believe we were on a good flow.”
