07/08/2015 14:00
Fancied Italian twins dream of special return to Brazil
2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship - Biel/Bienne Masters
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, August 7, 2015. The second seed of the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship – Biel/Bienne Masters, Italy’s Matteo Ingrosso/Paolo Ingrosso have their eyes on the title this week, but for them the “real prize” is to be won outside of the competition. Earlier this season they already topped the final standing at the Jurmala Masters in Latvia, first stop of this year’s CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship.
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There have always been twin success stories in sport. The Swedish Sedin twins in Ice Hockey, the de Boers in Football and the Morris twins in Basketball. As twin brothers also, Matteo and Paolo Ingrosso could not know each other’s game any better. But it hasn’t always been this way. As Matteo Ingrosso admits “at the beginning of our careers we struggled to play together due to our competitive spirit, but over the course of our journey in this sport we have developed as players and as human beings and our connection as twins is a huge advantage on and off the sand.”
Matteo Ingrosso likes to draw upon a tactic they used in their early Volleyball days: “With our chemistry on the court coupled with our identical appearance, we could confuse the opponent since they were never too sure which one of us was attacking.”
Humour aside, the story of the two twins is without doubt an impressive one. Born in Fortaleza, Brazil, and adopted by Italian parents four months after their birth, they grew up in the beautiful surroundings of southern Italy. However Paolo Ingrosso admits that “although we may have Brazilian blood in our veins and love Brazilian music, we feel totally Italian.”
Paolo also expresses his relief for having his brother next to him: “Most adopted siblings in Brazil are separated and I feel privileged to have grown up with my brother by my side.”
This gratefulness and humility can also be seen on court. Despite what winning the 2015 CEV Beach Volleyball European Championship Biel/Bienne Masters title would mean to them, there can be no denying that their ultimate dream is to seal a special return to the city where they made their bow on the international stage, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “It is destiny,” Paolo Ingrosso says. “We are working tirelessly to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games on our native soil.” Ingrosso however is under no illusions regarding the scale of the task ahead: “We’re taking nothing for granted. We both know it will be tough, since we’ve got two other very strong Italian Beach Volleyball teams at this point in time.”
They have also proven their desire to improve their game to the next level at the recent major competitions, with several landmarks coming in 2015 (their first major title at the Jurmala Masters, followed by a 4th place finish at the Stavanger Major and 5th place at the Yokohama Grand Slam), culminating in a meteoric rise to claim a top two seed in Biel/Bienne. Thus it appears that these siblings have finally found their form and are beginning to peak on the sand.
With the confidence boost of their triumph in Jurmala back in May, the Italians are also sure to fancy their chances of going all the way in Biel/Bienne to add another title to their resume this year. The Ingrossos certainly are the stand-out side in Pool B having eased to two opening wins and are heavy favourites to progress as pool winners which would secure a critical automatic quarterfinal berth, bypassing the first elimination round.
Now, as the brothers take to the sand in this championship once again, one suspects that this could just be their year at Biel/Bienne which would put the gloss on a memorable 12 months. Yet the real work for them comes after the tournament, and they are a team to keep an eye on as they aim for another successful season in pursuit of their ultimate dream: an Olympic berth in Rio and a glorious return to their homeland.
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