Italy-Netherlands Report Card 3-2
Alessandro Micheletto, 8: You recognize the special players when the stakes are high. The more difficult things become, the more their extraordinary qualities appear. Even today Micheletto gave us a demo. When he gets into a fight, he gets angry. His haunted gaze yearns for victory with a rage that cannot be contained. This boy’s personality is also captivating to the rest of the team. He finished the game with 22 points, also recorded 2 aces and 3 blocks, and also finished the game with a positive reception rate of 54%. Overall champion.
Simone Giannelli, 7.5: The captain never loses his compass, even when the ship seems to be falling under the thunder unleashed by Namir Abdul Aziz. Rosso’s exit deprives him of a valuable weapon in the midfield, but he does not mind calling on the young Sanguinetti and Mosca from time to time. He stands out with four blocks, but his serve, while not very strong, is also always a factor.
Fabio Palaso, 6.5: His evenings were objectively better, Abdelaziz’s attacks made him face difficulty several times, but it is not easy for anyone to contain the Dutch opposite. His contribution is not without defense. With France, he can and must raise his level further.
Gianluca Galassi, 7.5: Without Rousseau, he becomes the only experienced centre-back in this national team. Responsibility does not destabilize it, but on the contrary, it raises it. He scores 9 points and is the best saver of the night, with 4 decisive saves.
Daniele Lavia, 7.5:The same goes for Micheletto. He suffers in some moments of the match, and reception difficulties undermine certainty even in attack. He will be replaced by De Giorgi in Group D. But in the fifth, he returns to the field and is a real tiger. No longer misses an attack. What a hero!
Yuri Romano, 8: The counterpart made of iron, who strikes with determination and does not give up in difficult moments. A mistake on a potential 24-24 counterattack in the fourth set might have stunned the Bull, but the Brianza player started scoring points again as if nothing had happened in the fifth set. High quality game: At the end of the day, 21 points and 64% attacking talk about it.
Roberto Russo, without a vote: He went out with an ankle injury in the first set after making contact with Micheletto while falling off a vault. It doesn’t look particularly dangerous, but it will be tough to see him back on the pitch in the semi-final. The extent of distortion must be assessed.
Tommaso Rinaldi, 6.5: He enters the final part of the fourth set with fire in his eyes. A true luxury reserve: few national teams in the world can count on substitutes of this caliber in the squad.
Giovanni Sanguinetti, 6Enough encouragement. It was not easy to replace a column like Rousseau’s. We’re talking about a young but certainly talented lad, responsible for an excellent Premier League campaign last season. Of course, at this level he is still immature.
Leandro Mosca, 6.5: Better than Sanguinetti. If Rousseau does not recover, he could apply for a starting position.
Photo: La Presse
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