PERUGIA – Sir Safety Conad Perugia is back in the headquarters, after two days in Ortona.
Castellani gave the Block Devils the Monday off, considering the two matches played during the four-way tournament in the Abruzzi. Perugia came in second in the competition, losing the final against Molfetta.
They achieved a positive and optimistic result, considering the difficulties the Black-and-white staff has been facing since the end of August due to the lack of available staff and hence the inability to set up a certain kind of work in the gym, under a technical-tactical point of view.
The team instead, in Ortona just like in the other tests, always made a good impression, playing well and standing the ground against a team in its entirety, and certainly interesting, like Molfetta, one of the magnificent 12 in SuperLega.
Our chat with Daniel Castellani begins exactly with the report from the weekend that just ended. And Castellani is certainly pleased about his players:
«We had the need to play against a strong opponent like Molfetta. A team in its entirety, experienced, of high quality, that plays quickly and with strong strikers. We need to that kind of serves, blocks of a certain height, defending against strikers like them. Yes, we lost, but we got what we were looking for. And I saw a positive adjustment in the guys. It was difficult at first with Molfetta, then we adjusted to that level of volleyball and during the last sets we were doing better on the field. This tournament was also important for the group. First of all, because it was our first time away with the jersey and with referees. And for the youngest players it’s always different. Then we were also all together for two days, just like an away game during the championship, and this improved the guys’ cohesion».
Tomorrow they will start another week of work. A week, the second to last before the beginning of the official season, during which they will be facing three more tests in the PalaEvangelisti (Thursday against Tuscania, Friday and Saturday two joint trainings against Molfetta). The first national team members will also be arriving in Perugia:
«Yes, now the real work for the championship will start», says Castellani. «Russell and Luciano (Ed. De Cecco) will arrive for sure and by the end of the week they will be on the field. Then we’ll see how the European championship goes for Italy, Serbia and Germany and hence for Buti, Atanasijevic, Fromm and Kaliberda. I have to say that I am eagerly waiting for them. The guys here were great, hanging in there in the gym, training for eight weeks with a group of seven people; however, it’s obvious that many things, a lot of difficult situations are hard to train with such a small group. We did a nice job on technique, but the game pace is of course missing and this is also why we did so many friendly matches».
We will close the interview with a smile. The same one that Daniel Castellani has on his face. Because during the semi-final in Ortona, since Maric was not available, sport manager Goran Vujevic entered the field. 42 years old and with basically no training this period, he stood the ground like a true champion. Is Castellani going to think about it?
«Well, I thought about putting him under contract, because he would be an ace in the hole. Jokes apart, in Italy they often say that you cannot buy class. I think that it’s the best way to describe Goran, since he has enough class and to spare and nobody can take it away from him!»
DISCLAIMER: Questo articolo è stato emesso da Sir Safety Perugia Volley ed è stato inizialmente pubblicato su www.sirsafetyperugia.it. L'emittente è il solo responsabile delle informazioni in esso contenute.
