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| Yesterday and today's Champions | |||
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| During the way that leads to the start’s whistle of next European Volleyball Championships, you’ll go with a series of interviews of yesterday and today’s “Azzurri”. Triumphant memories and new emotions in comparison to get close to the prestigious event through a more and more Italian path. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The first stage of
this path is dedicated to a memorable athlete of yesterday’s Italy,
Andrea Zorzi. He was born in Noale (Venice) in the 29th of July 1965.
Zorro is one of the most preeminent and esteemed representative of
this sport at a worldwide level, belonging to that “phenomena’s generation”
that from 1989 gave the start to a series of memorable challenges.
Together with Tofoli, Gardini, Lucchetta, Bracci, the ex number 11
of Italian National team was the absolute maker and protagonist of
the first Italvolley’s success in the European Championships of 1989
in Sweden: a gold medal that represented the beginning of an epoch
in Italian Volleyball’s history. Zorzi’s debut in Italian National team can be traced back to the 12 th of August 1986 during a test match against Greece won 3-0. The last official match he played was in the 24th of November 1996 during the Super Challenge of Tokyo. In his 10-years career, Zorzi collected 325 participation in National team and won: two World Championships (Rio de Janeiro in 1990 and Athens in 1994), three European Championships (Stockholm in 1989, Turku in 1993, Athens in 1995), a silver medal in Atlanta’s Olympic Games, three World League, a World Cup and a Grand Champions Cup. In 1991 Fivb awarded Zorzi as the best player of the year. |
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 How
much today’s Italy differs from yours?“We can’t make a comparison between the two Italian teams. Many things are changed since I played volleyball: first of all is changed the volleyball world, then the athletes and the atmosphere. Volleyball of that times is part of the past and it’s impossible compare it to today’s one”. How do you notice Montali’s team in this season’s phase? “This isn’t an easy moment for our National team. When we don’t win it’s obvious that we have much pressure from the external world. But in this moments we need to be strong and determined to be able to turn up the head and begin again”. Which is the proper recipe to get out of this situation? “During my career I was able to find the greatest mental energies just when I passed the hardest periods. When the glass seems to be empty, every athlete must recover his own face. The team’s soul however emerges only if it’s prompted by many wills: each player has to isolate himself from the rest of the world and to focus his attention on the final aim. Beyond the physical and technical qualities, in fact, in these circumstances it becomes of fundamental importance using reason”. How much is important the role of the head coach? “In a group the head coach is a benchmark, not only for what he says but rather for what he’s able to give to his players. A winning team also depend on the human sensibility of the person that is in chief”. Why did you choose to stop playing when you could have continued? “I said goodbye when I realised I couldn’t give anything else as an athlete and that had arrived the moment of following other ways. It has been a rational decision, different from the choices taken by my teammates: in their opinion the most important thing was playing, despite the performance had got worse. We must accept the fact that things may change and I have been the first to abandon the Volleyball and to devote myself to other interests. By now I’m looking on Volleyball’s court with a new perspective. Anyway in my opinion, Volley continues to be my life, my home”. How much differs Andrea Zorzi’s newswriter and commentator from Andrea Zorzi’s athlete? “The most important thing is the first approach with the external world. I changed my way of life but not my mentality: I’ve always tried to analyze the different aspects of reality that surrounds us by calling myself into question. Probably the fact I have left the court has been a backward step, but also an act full of consciousness. For the rest, I keep on being the same Andrea of the past. I like reading books and magazines of scientific nature, I keep on writing articles strictly in prose. Furthermore I started working in the world of theatre as art designer. It’s a very fascinating field but completely different from the sporty one”. |
