Four of the top teams in the SuperLega Credem Banca will take a quick break from Italian League action at the start of the week to focus on the 2022 Italian Super Cup, which will be played between Monday and Tuesday at the PalaPiratsu, in Cagliari.
Superlega 2022
Lube, Modena, Perugia and Trentino to battle for Italian Supercoppa title
The two-day competition will take place in Cagliari between Monday and Tuesday
Published 01:00, 30 Oct 2022
Zaytsev and Ngapeth will face each other in the opening match of the Italian Super Cup
Cucine Lube Civitanova, Valsa Group Modena, Sir Safety Susa Perugia and Itas Trentino are the teams set to compete in this year’s edition of the two-day tournament, the 27th since the event was first held, in 1996.
· Watch all Super Cup matches live on or on demand on Volleyball TV.
The four Italian giants have been extremely successful in the Italian Super Cup as they have won - combined - all of the last 11 editions of the tournament. The teams have split the trophies almost evenly, with defending champions Trentino, Perugia and Modena having won three titles each in the period, against Lube’s two.
The first semifinal, set to take place on Monday, at 17.30 local time (15.30 GMT), will reunite reigning Italian champions Lube and Modena. Three hours later, defending Super Cup champions Trentino and Perugia will face each other for the second spot in the final. The bronze medal match will be played on Tuesday, at 14.00 local time (12.00 GMT), three hours before the starting time of the gold medal match.
Lube, who won the Italian Cup on four occasions, the last of which was in 2014, will meet Modena for the second time in the season after securing a three-set victory over their opponents in the third round of the Italian League. The national champions, who have Argentinean setter Luciano De Cecco and French Olympic champion Barthélémy Chinenyeze as some of their top players, are currently ranked fourth in the Italian League with three wins in six matches.
“We play every tournament to win and the SuperCup won’t be an exception,” middle blocker Simone Anzani commented. “The biggest mistake we could make would be lowering the bar. Lube have a big tradition of performing well in important moments and this squad, although young, has what it takes to succeed.”
Modena, who have also claimed the title four times and were last at the top of the podium in 2018, can approach the Super Cup as an opportunity to turn their season around. The team led by Brazilian setter Bruno Rezende and French star Earvin Ngapeth has lost four of its first five SuperLega matches, including duels with Super Cup opponents Lube and Trentino.
“We have to work, there’s no other option,” libero Salvatore Rossini commented. “One of the good things about sports is that it quickly gives you a new opportunity to change things when they aren’t going well. We need to remain strong. We believe in the work we’re doing and we understand we need to do it better. It hasn’t been the start of the season we expected, but we can still see some good things in it.”
The defending champions, Trentino will try to lift the Super Cup trophy for the fourth time. The team led by Italian world champions Alessandro Michieletto and Daniele Lavia and Bulgarian veteran Matey Kaziyski currently rank third in the Italian League with three wins in six matches.
“I have very deep connections with Cagliari from the time I coached the youth national team,” Trentino’s coach Angelo Lorenzetti reacted. “We hope to play good volleyball and entertain the fans. The Super Cup is always a very important event and we hope to be protagonists again.”
Perugia have won three of the last five editions of the Super Cup and will be vying for their fourth title in six years. The strong core formed by FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Most Valuable Player Simone Giannelli and Poles Wilfredo Leon and Kamil Semeniuk has propelled the team to a great start in the Italian League as Perugia are the only undefeated team and sit at the top of the standings with five wins.
“Trentino have a great squad and a coach that I admire a lot in Angelo,” head coach Andrea Anastasi reflected. “They have several world champions, a true legend in Kaziyski and will be very tough opponents. It will be a wonderful match for us to play and it makes me happy to have that opportunity.”
