Olympic medallist lands first SuperLega head coach job

Former Italian international, London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Dante Boninfante landed his first job as a head coach of a SuperLega Credem Banca team. The former setter of the Italian national team will continue his coaching career at the helm of Gioiella Prisma Taranto as of the 2024-2025 season.

• Watch Italy’s SuperLega Credem Banca live and on demand on VBTV.

Boninfante will replace another volleyball legend in that position. Under Serbian specialist Ljubomir Travica, Prisma finished the SuperLega season in 11^th place, safe from relegation, but also short of progressing to the fifth-place playoffs. They were the team with the highest number of tie-breaker sets played during the regular season, losing on seven of the nine occasions their games were pushed to five sets.

Boninfante finished his playing career in 2017 at the age of 40. As an athlete, he took a London 2012 Olympic bronze and a 2011 CEV European Championship silver with the Italian national team, in addition to a 1999 European Super Cup crown, a 2000 European Champions Cup title and a 2011 CEV Cup trophy with Sisley Treviso, two Italian championship titles (one with Sisley in 2001 and one with Copra Nordmeccanica Piacenza in 2009), two Coppa Italia trophies (one with Sisley in 2000 and one with Parmareggio Modena in 2015) and two Supercoppa Italiana crowns (one with Sisley in 2000 and one with CoprAtlantide Piacenza in 2009) in club volleyball.

Upon his retirement as a player, the 1.88m-tall playmaker took up coaching as an assistant to Angelo Lorenzetti at the helm of Trentino Volley Trento and during his second season on the job he celebrated the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship title and the CEV Cup trophy. Boninfante is still in his first head coaching job at Tinet Prata di Pordenone, a team he has been in charge of over the last three and a half seasons and helped promote from the third to the second division in Italian men’s volleyball. They are currently running fourth in A2 and are already qualified for the playoffs for promotion to the SuperLega. Boninfante was also in charge of the men’s national team of Greece in 2022 and 2023.

“Coming to Taranto is a step forward in my career, which certainly brings a stimulating challenge. I expect it to bring a lot of work. In recent years I have learned between the SuperLega, A2 and A3 that what counts is work and sacrifice. I believe that the period of work with the Greek national team helped me, most of all, to accumulate experience with athletes of international calibre,” Boninfante told prismatarantovolley.it. “I say to the fans of Taranto that when we get to know each other personally, it will be wonderful. I know what volleyball means in southern Italy and I hope that we will be able to grow together and fill the PalaMazzola match after match.”

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024 quarterfinals – 3rd leg:
Mar 16: Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza v Allianz Milan 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 17-25, 31-29, 15-12)
Mar 17, 17:00 local (16:00 UTC): Itas Trentino Trento v Valsa Group Modena
Mar 17, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Cucine Lube Civitanova v Mint Vero Volley Monza
Mar 17, 18:00 local (17:00 UTC): Sir Susa Vim Perugia v Rana Verona

SuperLega Credem Banca 2023-2024: full schedule and results

Quick links:
Lega Pallavolo SuperLega Credem Banca
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