Citizens, while seven red and white contests are in check

As the Lube meeting, scheduled for Monday, draws near, these are the last useful days for seven red-and-white players who want to impress their selection and get into the squad list for Europeans, South Americans and Norseca. Between the end of the month and the beginning of September, the three continental competitions will start and specifically seven Civitanova elements must be involved, and we only used the conditional because in most cases the official call-up was not there. However, given the technical value of such athletes as Balaso, Bottolo, Lagumdzija, Chinyenyeze, Nikolov, De Cecco and Yant, it is hard to believe that technical commissioners will not call them….

Certainly for the Blues (there should have been three but unfortunately Anzani will not join due to known heart problems that have surfaced recently), the friendly tournament starts today which is worth a lot in anticipation of the European Championships which start on August 28th. In fact, our national team is in Poland and this evening will start the “Memorial Hubert Wagner”, an amazing quadrangle with Poland, France and Slovenia. Mainly the Azorean world champion and European champions against the winner of the VNL and the great favorite for the continental title, as well as the Olympic champion of France and two-time finalist of Slovenia in the European Championship.

Coach Fefè De Giorgi has called 15 for the tournament (they will become 14 for the European Championship) and today at 8 pm Balaso and Bottolo will compete against Chineneyeze, Lube’s partner.

However, at the European Championships, Italy’s opponents in Group A will be Belgium, Estonia, Serbia, Switzerland and Germany, so there will be no cross-challenges between colleagues, just like Nikolov, the baby but already a reference point for Bulgaria in the group stage, will have no Group B.

In Group D Lagumdzija and Chinyenyeze will compete in Türkiye-France on August 30. The South American Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Recife, in northern Brazil, from August 26 to 30, will last for a very short time. The champion national teams will be hosts Brazil (they have won the event 33 times out of 34), Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru. Golden Green and Albiceleste Di Cecco are the favorites to win the title, both of whom were knocked out in the quarter-finals in the last VNL. Finally, Marlon Yant will be with Cuba in Charleston in the United States from September 3 for the Norceca Central American Championships.

Andrew Scoba