Italy beat Germany in five-set thriller in Munich

Reigning world champions Italy got on the court for the first time in the 2025 season on Sunday, when they defeated Germany in an exciting five-set friendly match held in front of over 6,500 fans at the BMW Park, in Munich.

Part of both teams’ preparations for the Volleyball Nations League 2025, the match ended with the Italians winning 3-2 (25-19, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 15-7) and avoiding a reverse sweep from the Germans.

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The debut of opposite Kamil Rychlicki with the Italian national team was one of the attractions of the match. Born in Luxembourg, the 28-year-old player has been representing Italian clubs since 2018 and recently got his citizenship. In his first match in an Italian uniform, Rychlicki got to start and produced 11 points.

Only two Italian players got more points than him in the match – outside hitters Luca Porro and Francesco Sani, who tallied 12 points each.

“It was a good test for us,” head coach Ferdinando De Giorgi reflected. “Some of the guys who played today joined us two days ago, and others a week ago. Germany are a very competitive team and the matches against them are always useful. It’s just the start for us, and we understand that many things will still need to be improved. I appreciated the team’s desire to win and the ability to recover in the fifth set. We need to work on several aspects of our game and also on our consistency, but that will only come with time.”

Six Germans make their debuts

German opposite Filip John was the match’s top scorer with 16 points. The home team also got to celebrate the debut of six players, including outside hitters Theo Mohwinkel and Simon Torwie, who registered 12 points apiece.

“It was a great match and our players got to gain international experience, which is very important,” assistant coach Thomas Ranner, who replaced head coach Michał Winiarski on the sidelines, said. “We didn't have a good start, but we took advantage when the Italians slowed down a little bit in the third set and were ready to win the match. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end.”

The world champions have a pair of friendly matches against Iran scheduled for May 30 and 31, while the Germans are set to compete in the Silesia Cup from May 28-31, where they will face Bulgaria, Ukraine and Poland.

Italians and Germans will both start their VNL campaigns in Quebec, Canada, from June 11-15 – they’re set to play each other on June 12.

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