Okayama, (Japan)

I’m living pleasant and exciting days in Japan following the 2007 World Cup, but the waking up is “quite early”.
Waking up at 6.30 each day could be considered absolutely common or not depending on the individual lifestyle, but for me is definitely “quite early”.

In the morning, I usually spend almost one hour eating breakfast and reading the English newspapers available in Japan.
It’s impossible comparing the crazy Italian attention for the Sport (we have three different newspapers that write only about sport or better about soccer!) but also in Japanese tabloids there are many Sport news.
Every morning, I find information about Volleyball, Baseball, Ice-skating (three Japanese athletes are among the World’s top six) and even Sumo. It is a competitive contact sport born in Japan and still very popular here, being the only country where is practiced professionally.

Obviously, the soccer is omnipresent and, just reading a commentary about the European Championship qualification failure of England, I was concerned.

Probably you know that 28th Nov in Italy, one of the European Prequalification Volleyball tournament to Beijing 2008, will start.
Italian team has to win this competition (other participants are Montenegro, Croatia, Holland, Romania and Greece) to qualify for the next tournament (in Turkey in January) when only one Olympics berth will be available. Actually, the road to Beijing is very long and tough.

Here, almost every day a lot of people ask me: “What’s going on with the Italian team?”

Now I answer quoting from the soccer commentary that hit me.

…hubris turned to humiliation…
…English talents were over-rated, the system unimaginative, the time for England to learn rather than preach was nigh…
…no Croatians will start in England team…
…super motivated players...
..the integrity of the sport was again enhanced by a team that has nothing to win but honor going all the way for that prize….
…nothing new there. Since time immemorial, the faithless committeemen have breakfasted on scapegoats* for their own failing…
…until the teaching of grass root skills is revised, England would fail to reach, never mind win, international tournaments..

*The word is more widely used as a metaphor, referring to someone who is blamed for misfortunes, generally as a way of distracting attention from the real causes.



If you replace England with Italy as well as Croatians with the next Italian’s opponents, you’ll comprehend my fears.

I’m really worried that “azzurri” will play with too self confidence taking for granted an Italian superiority.
For many years the National team and the clubs were the best in the World, but in the sport every day you have to start from scratch.
I hope that the recent defeats are a opportunity to go back to the top.
The economic stability of Italian Volleyball system, might have affected the enthusiastic attitude necessary to win in a very competitive environment as Europe. Moreover, a few Italian athletes played abroad, missing the opportunity to better understand the privileges that Italy offers.

About the “scapegoat” I ought an explanation.

I have never believed Giampaolo Montali (the former Italian coach) as an innocent scapegoat. He has his own responsibility about the running mistakes done in the last years.
However, the sacking decision taken by the Italian Federation after the sixth place in the European Championship, is hurried and late.
Since the last year, the warning sign of the wearing relation between the coach and the team were recognizable. In those days nobody took any decision, waiting for the coming events.
Hiding the truth, utterly ran out the team spirit and now we are still preaching rather than learning.

And now I promise you that tomorrow, I’ll focus again on the technical commentaries on the 2007 World Cup matches, leaving my concerns about Italian Volleyball future on the back burner for now.

Bye bye andrea zorzi