VOLLEYBALL: SILVER FOR THE GIRLS

After a decade of supremacy by the men’s team in the World and European Championships, going lately through a slow decline, here comes more good news. What we’re talking about is the alternation at the top of the league by the two Italian national volleyball teams. By winning silver, the women’s team has reached a historical goal, never before attained by the team, whose best placing up to now was third place in two previous European championships. In Bulgaria, the Russian team, at its fourth world victory after the break-up of the Soviet Union, interrupted the march of the Italian athletes. But on the whole, and considering that the final match was surrendered only at the tiebreak set, their performance allows for hope in the future. For years the role of the unbeatables in international volleyball was played by the men’s team. Now it seems that the winning ticket might pass on to the women, proving that a well-placed spirit of emulation can bring to prestigious results. Mr Bonitta, the team trainer, may have been over-confident when he voiced his intentions of going for gold in the next Championship, but it was mostly a psychological spur for the girls to recognise their potential and not to ease off after the fine result of a silver medal in the European Championship. In the meantime the girls have made the first important step, which was to come out from the cumbersome shadow of the men’s laurels and make their own stand as a winning team. The current team has a young core, and there is room for improvement, but the team will have to adapt itself to the mutability of its new objectives. Until now the team has played for the best possible results, but from now on any outcome less than the podium will seem sub-standard. It was nice to see our girls grinning enthusiastically while showing off their hard-gained medals and proudly waving the Italian tricolour. Without wanting to detract from their achievement, we can’t help noticing that winning teams have somewhat less wide smiles when defeat arrives at the final match. Losing the gold medal the way our athletes lost it might have justified, within reasonable limits, some show of disappointment. On a few occasions, during the second and third sets against the Russians, it looked as though success might smile on our team. Perhaps one of the girls, either Togut, Leggeri, or Mello, felt the thrill too much and was inevitably intimidated by the possibility of such a historical event. That’s the only peril – settling for second-best and taking the silver won in Varna as a point of arrival instead of a starting-point. Apart from that, we have no doubts. Having already won first prize in Bulgaria as far as gracefulness is concerned, the women’s volleyball team is sure to fight its way towards more honours on the court.