Champion teams Italy, France shift gears as FIVB Worlds bring a different test

Reigning world champion Italy and back-to-back Olympic gold medalist France approach the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship with caution, acknowledging that the global stage presents a unique kind of challenge compared to their previous triumphs.

Italy, the 2022 FIVB World Championship winners, said that their victory came three years ago, stressing that much has changed since then, both within their squad and across the global volleyball landscape.

"No pressure, because we won three years ago so it’s [been] a long time that we didn’t win [in the Worlds] and the European and the Olympics," Italy's outside spiker Alessandro Michieletto said.

Italian setter Simone Giannelli echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that the team carries a mindset of having nothing to defend. 

Back in 2022, Italy bannered the exact same lineup with Michieletto, Daniele Lavia, and Yuri Romano carrying the fight in the finals against world no. 1 Poland. This time, though, the Italians are missing the services of Lavia due to injury. 

Still, Italy prevailed over Algeria to open its fresh campaign with Michieletto and Mattia Bottolo, who filled in for Lavia, leading the charge for the Italians.

"I think that we don’t have to defend anything because the title is now history. We have to go and to try to search and find another title and another history for Italy," Gianelli said.

"I think we have to be focused on the games and not put too much pressure on us. I think the important thing is to be on the court and focus on what we have to do technically and mentally and then see what happens."

'Not easy' for Olympic volleyball champions France

France likewise sees the World Championship as a different challenge with head coach Andrea Giani stressing the importance of staying in the present, especially in a field stacked with powerhouse teams.

The reigning Olympic champions passed their first test against South Korea with a dominant 25-12, 25-18, 25-16 victory on Sunday. 

"It’s not easy because the teams we play are strong teams. There’s Italy, the world champion, Poland, the European champions, Italy, Belgium, and Japan. For me, this one is not easy," Giani, who was once a star middle blocker for France, said. 

"At the end, we need to think about the present. We don’t think about the finals, only match by match."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News