French international and reigning Olympic champion from Tokyo 2020 Yacine Louati will return to the Italian SuperLega Credem Banca after playing in Poland and Türkiye for four seasons. 2024 bronze medallists Allianz Milan announced the player as an incoming transfer for next season. The club has also signed Italian international middle blocker Edoardo Caneschi, who is moving to Milan from Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza.
Superlega 2023
Olympic champ returns to Italian SuperLega
Yacine Louati joins Allianz Milan for next season
Published 02:45, 14 May 2024
“I was positively impressed by the level that the team has reached this season,” Louati told powervolleymilano.it. “I would like to make my contribution to achieving the club's ambitious goals. I come to Milan because coach Roberto Piazza convinced me of president Lucio Fusaro's whole project and I am really happy to work with coach Piazza. I want to tell everyone that I am very happy to return to Italy. I followed the path of Allianz Milan in the season that just ended from a distance with great pleasure. Seeing the Allianz Cloud so full and hearing the fans support the team with so much passion gave me a lot of energy. I can't wait to experience these emotions on the court.”
The 32-year-old outside hitter is expected to replace Japanese star Yuki Ishikawa, who has parted ways with the club from Milan.
“I am convinced that Yuki has left an indelible memory in Milan,” the French athlete continued. “He is a player I really respect a lot. Louati, on the other hand, has arrived now. We must not make the mistake of forgetting that volleyball is a team game. Every season a team can change some elements, even lose important players, but if the basis of the group is maintained, the team remains strong. The task of those arriving is to quickly adapt to the dynamics of the team.”
Louati has already spent two seasons in Italy. In 2018-2019, he played for Kioene Padova Padua before transferring to Vero Volley Monza for the following season. After that, he competed with Poalnd’s Jastrzebski Wegiel Jastrzebie-Zdroj for a season, Türkiye’s Fenerbahce HDI Sigorta Istanbul for two seasons and Poland’s Asseco Resovia Rzeszow last season, from where he transferred to Alllianz. He also defended the colours of clubs from his native France and from Belgium in the past. In his club career, the 1.98m-tall outside has celebrated domestic trophies in France and Poland, as well as last season’s CEV Cup with Resovia.
Louati’s biggest achievement with the French national team was, of course, the Olympic title at Tokyo 2020. He was also one of the contributors to the team’s three Volleyball Nations League medals, including the 2022 gold.
“I can't hide that I'm very excited for this summer,” said the Frenchman. “We are already qualified for Paris and playing at home, but we will still have to work hard during the VNL to raise our level of play and find a way to win again. As always, there will be many strong teams competing for the title, but we will give everything to get to August without any regrets.”
Edoardo Caneschi is another incoming transfer that Allianz recently announced. The 27-year-old 2.05m-tall middle will be in his eighth season in the SuperLega, after competing for Globo Banca Popolare del Frusinate Sora, NBV Verona and, most recently, Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza for three seasons. With his latest club, the Italian international celebrated the Coppa Italia trophy in 2023.
“From next season I expect an even more balanced and competitive championship, full of great battles from which I hope to gain a lot of satisfaction. I think playing on such a young team just will give me more determination and desire to never give up. I can't wait to play both with my national teammates and with the guys I've never played with. The city of Milan already speaks for itself and I am ready to get to know it much better. I think the Cloud is one of the most beautiful arenas in the league, so playing there at home will be an extra boost. I hope to find the fans as excited as I felt them as an opponent this season and to be ready to face every battle with us,” Caneschi told the club’s website, and added in regards to the upcoming national team season, “I have high expectations of myself and I want to give 110% to earn my place for the VNL and, why not, dream big for the Paris Olympics.”
