Argentinean coach Julio Velasco, who led the Italian women’s national team to the top of the Volleyball Nations League 2024 podium and to Olympic gold at Paris 2024, announced his extended roster for the upcoming VNL 2025 season. The list of 30 players features as many as 10 Olympic champions.
“These are thirty well-studied names. The core is the same as last year,” Velasco said upon presenting the roster. “I have not called up athletes who have not played as starters (in their clubs) to the A national team, because you have to demonstrate your value on the court to wear the blue jersey. We just need to increase the number of Italian players who play as starters in the top league.
“We are working in the right way. The girls are fantastic and I must say that they are working not just well, but very well. They are good, motivated and have the right attitude. We are working with many groups – the A national team, the B national team that will go to the Universiade, and the youth national teams that are giving us a big hand to fill the missing roles in the various training sessions. We definitely need to give more trust to young people, because they are the ones who bring enthusiasm and we work for this.”
