USA (USA) vs. Serbia (SRB) women - Pool A #18411482

The seasoned Guidetti coached Serbia at the Paris 2024 Olympics

Italian veteran Giovanni Guidetti is set to start another chapter of his long international coaching career as the 52-year-old was appointed as the new head coach of the Canadian women’s volleyball national team.

Currently coaching VakifBank in the Turkish League, Guidetti has vast experience in international women’s volleyball and will have in Canada his sixth national team, the first outside of Europe.

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Guidetti will work with Canada in what’s certainly the program’s best-ever moment at the international level. Besides appearing in the highest-ever eighth place in the FIVB World Rankings, the team has also recently secured its best-ever results at both the Volleyball Nations League (ninth in 2024) and the FIVB World Championship (tenth in 2022).

With that, the next logical step for the team under Guidetti’s leadership is to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and return to the Games for the first time Atlanta 1996.

“I always admired and respected the way Canada played volleyball and improved so much in the last years,” the new coach said. “The number eight in the world ranking is an amazing result and now a great starting point aiming at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. I believe Canada has top-level international players and the young generations are very promising, so I am really excited to start this new journey.”

Guidetti started his international coaching career with Bulgaria back in 2003 – he served as an assistant with Italy from 1997 to 2000. After that, he coached Germany, the Netherlands, Türkiye and Serbia.

His coaching resumé includes four Olympic appearances, three medals in the VNL and eight at the European Championships. Guidetti’s background at the club level is even more impressive as, ahead of VakifBank since 2008, he led the Turkish powerhouse to three FIVB Women’s Club World Championship titles, six CEV Champions League trophies and seven national victories.

Winzer has a new role

With Guidetti’s hiring, his predecessor in the role, Shannon Winzer, was moved to the High Performance Director position, where she’ll oversee the program.

“Shannon Winzer has been a transformative leader for our women’s indoor volleyball program,” Kerry MacDonald, Volleyball Canada’s Chief Sport Officer, reflected. “Under her guidance, the senior national team has seen remarkable growth, but her impact extends far beyond the senior level. Shannon has driven the establishment of a robust development system, ensuring a clear pathway for athletes to reach the highest levels of competition. It’s incredibly exciting to now have her in the role of High Performance Director, where she can continue to shape and strengthen our high performance pathway for the women’s national team program as we build towards future Olympic success.”

Japan (JPN) vs. Canada (CAN) women - Pool 6 - Preliminary Phase #16655848

After four successful years coaching Canada, Winzer will now transition to the High Performance Director role

Guidetti’s first time coaching Canada will be in front of their home fans as the Canadians will play in Ottawa in the opening week of the VNL 2025, facing Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Japan and Serbia from June 4-8.

In 2025, the coach will also lead the team at the World Championship, which will be held in Thailand from August 22-September 7. The Canadians are in Pool E, alongside Türkiye, Bulgaria and Spain.

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