Andrea Giani to lead France

Andrea Giani is the new head coach of the French men’s national team and will lead the reigning Olympic champions at this year’s FIVB Volleyball Nations League and FIVB Volleyball World Championship. The Italian specialist takes over the position vacated by Brazilian coach Bernardo Rezende.

“It gives me real satisfaction to be the new coach of this world-class team, the reigning Olympic champions, who have the potential to win all the competitions in which they participate,” Giani told ffvb.org. “There is a large pool of very high-level players in France, who play in big clubs, and this will allow me to manage the team in a timely manner depending on the competitions. My objective will be to prepare them well physically and technically, and the goal will always be to win. I can't wait to start the season and live this experience with the players who will lead us to the Olympic Games in Paris.”

France will be the fourth national team the 51-year-old coach has worked with. He had been at the helm of Germany since 2017 leading them to a CEV European Championship silver. Two years earlier, he achieved a similar feat with Slovenia, leading the team to the 2015 continental final. Giani took the Slovenians to the top of the 2015 CEV European League podium too. It almost seemed he had a subscription to that EuroVolley silver, as he also earned the medal as an assistant coach of his native Italy at the previous two editions of the competition, in 2011 and 2013. In that role, he also collected four bronze medals at major world-level competitions, the London 2012 Olympic Games, the 2013 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Champions Cup, and the 2013 and 2014 editions of the FIVB Volleyball World League.

At club level, Andrea Giani is the head coach of one of Italy’s leading teams, Leo Shoes PerkinElmer Modena, who are playing to qualify for the SuperLega semifinals. In his coaching career, which started in 2007, he has led several Italian club teams, collecting several national-level medals as well as the CEV Challenge Cup trophy in 2008 and 2016.

Giani left a remarkable trail as an athlete. The 1.96m-tall middle blocker was a five-time Olympian, a three-time Olympic medallist, a three-time world champion and a four-time European champion with the Italian national team. Among many other achievements, he also won gold at the 1995 World Cup, the 1993 World Grand Champions Cup and as many as seven editions of the World League. Giani triumphed as a 1989 club world champion with Maxicono Parma and claimed numerous trophies and medals at the highest continental and national club level. He is one of only three Italians inducted into the international Volleyball Hall of Fame.

Quick links:
FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2022
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