Italy gets a little out of balance during 4th week – 2011 FIVB World League
Italy is one of the top teams of the 2011 FIVB World League. They are placed in Pool D along with Cuba, South Korea, and France.
The 8-time gold-medallist team of the FIVB World League worked out great results this year and climbed up the top slot in pool ranking of preliminary round. Italy remained un-defeated in the first three weeks of the tournament and assembled a score of 6-0.
In the fourth week, France broke the winning streak of Italy and defeated them in the seventh match.
Italy got a little out of balance but refused to lose the top slot. Italians recovered from the shock of defeat in the next match by beating France. Hence, Italy is still leading Pool D with maximum points at the end of fourth week.
France was the same team, which contested its abilities with the Italians in first week of the tournament. The two teams appeared in two matches and showcased their attack and defence skills. French team totally collapsed in the hands of Italian squad and
dropped both matches of the first leg of intercontinental round. Team Italy bagged six points on account of conquering success against France.
In the second and third week, Italy was challenged by Cuba and South Korea respectively. Nothing could hinder the performance of Italians and they overpowered both Cuba and Korea. Another 12 points were added to the score of Italy.
Nonetheless, the fourth week brought a different luck for Italy and they faced first defeat in the tournament. It was a painful and shocking experience for Italians, when French boys outshone them in four-set match.
Italian head coach, Mauro Burreto regretted the loss of match against France as it was the first blow for Italian team during the 2011 FIVB World League. Burreto stated the reason for losing the match. He said his side committed too many mistakes in attack,
which caused the damage. France, on the other hand, took away the game by displaying solid defence. Anyhow, the coach urged his players to reverse the game scenario in next feat.
Nicolas Marechal, France’s captain was more than happy after beating Italy in front of their local fans.
He commented, “We are very happy for the first victory in this World League. After a very bad start in the tournament now we can do better in the next matches thanks to the effort of all the players on the team.”
However, Italy met France in the same week and took revenge of the previous match. France could not penetrate the powerful spikes and promptly lost ground. Italy claimed victory and finished fourth week with an overall score of 7-1. Italy is scheduled to
take on Cuba and South Korea in the fifth and sixth week. Team has big plans to make it to the top slot.
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