08/09/2017 13:43
Italian youngsters poised to follow in Lupo and Nicolai’s footsteps
2017 CEV U20 Beach Volleyball European Championship
Vulcano, Italy, September 8, 2017. Home rising stars Manuel Alfieri and Mauro Sacripanti are determined to make sure hosts Italy will be standing on a step of the podium at the #EuroBeachVolleyU20 in Vulcano.
Beach Volleyball is becoming bigger and bigger in Italy. Kids and adults of all age groups have fallen in love with Beach Volleyball and the way of life, which goes with this young kind of sport. Everywhere on the beautiful beaches of the Italian peninsula, people come together to play Beach Volleyball.
The reason for the hype in Italy over the last years? Rio 2016 silver medallists Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai. The triple European champions (2014, 2016 and 2017) have won the hearts of Italian sports fans by storm and have become idols to look up to for the younger generations with their success.
Unsurprisingly, the rising stars of Italian Beach Volleyball at the #EuroBeachVolleyU20 want to follow in Lupo and Nicolai’s footsteps. Two of those very promising prospects are Manuel Alfieri and Mauro Sacripanti.
“I had the honour to play a little test match with Daniele and Paolo in Rome last year and it just felt amazing – even though I did not find a way past Paolo at the net,” Alfieri recounts.
“I know Daniele and his family very well as we have always met at the Beach Volleyball facilities. I always watch his games when possible. He is not only an amazing player, but a very nice person off the court too,” Sacripanti adds.
Manuel Alfieri is determined to follow in Lupo and Nicolai’s footsteps and to make sure that Italy will have a leading role in the Beach Volleyball world. “What Daniele and Paolo have done for Beach Volleyball is indescribable. I want to become a professional Beach Volleyball player too and to win medals for Italy at major events.”
Alfieri has already proven that he has what it takes to become Italy’s next big Beach Volleyball star: at the age of 15, he won gold at the U18 national championship and did the same in the U19 age group at the age of 16.
Now the 19-year-old is eager to give everything to become a Beach Volleyball pro – despite the big effort of various clubs to keep him in Volleyball. “I played in the junior team of Cucine Lube CIVITANOVA, but I can’t imagine that I will stop playing Beach Volleyball. My dad has a Beach Volleyball school in Pescara, and that is why I made my first steps on the beach. Beach Volleyball is more than just a kind of sports for me, it is my life.”
Teammate Mauro Sacripanti, on the other hand, has to admit that he loves Beach Volleyball, but he does not feel like he will stop playing Volleyball anytime soon. “I grew up on a Volleyball court as my father, Vittorio Sacripanti, has been working as Volleyball coach at professional level. When I was two, my grandmother even took me to the venue to watch my father claim the Italian championship with Piaggio ROMA.”
Sacripanti already plays for Ceramica Scarabeo GCF ROMA in the second division of the Italian national league.
At the #EuroBeachVolleyU20 on home soil, the two Italians want to earn their spurs now. “We are not amongst the top favourites here in Vulcano, but we are willing to give everything we have in every single rally of the game – and hopefully, we can make the amazing fans at the #EuroBeachVolleyU20 here in Vulcano proud of us,” says Alfieri.
The Italians can make a big step closer to a medal as they battle for the top spot in their pool and a ticket to the Round of 16 versus Kindl/Ochaya from Austria at 15:10 on Friday afternoon.
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