31/10/2018 14:53
Getting to know - 24-year old Italian leads Finnish contenders in #CLVolleyW
2019 CEV Volleyball Champions League - Women
Hämeenlinna, Finland, October 31, 2018. The only 24-year-old Sardinian Matteo Pentassuglia will be for sure one of the youngest head coaches ever contesting the CEV Volleyball Champions League when the pool phase starts in less than three weeks’ time. Even the youngest ever? Pentassuglia leads newcomers HÄMEENLINNA, the reigning Finnish champions, in Europe’s elite club competition on his very first year as a head coach. This is obviously quite a big challenge for the ever-smiling Italian.
Many things had to come together quite fast so that Pentassuglia finds himself in this position at the right moment. He moved to Finland last season as scoutman of another Italian, Luca Chiappini. After Chiappini returned to Italy to be the head coach of A1 team Lardini Filottrano, the management of HÄMEENLINNA offered an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the young Italian from Sardinia.
“I felt ready to lead the team as a head coach and I decided to take this opportunity. Yes, it is true that I am extremely young as a head coach, but I think that age is something that does not affect coaching. The most important thing in this case is what you have inside, especially the determination and the desire to learn and study more and more every day. This is what pushed me to accept HÄMEENLINNA’s offer.
“I know that I will devote myself 100% to this sport and I will be trying to give my utmost every single day. For sure, sometimes I will be making mistakes and I am sure I have already made some. However, mistakes are something that make you improve also. You can learn a lot from your own mistakes.”
It has been quite a big move for this young man, who saw snow for the very first time in his life last winter in Finland. “In Sardinia we go to the beach even on December 26,” Pentassuglia responded when asked about the biggest difference between his home country and Finland.
Pentassuglia, who likes listening to coach Giovanni Guidetti because of his big energy and total love for Volleyball, knows that his team is not among the favourites, but he does not mind at all about that.
“To compete in the CEV Champions League means that I have received a great opportunity from my club and I am lucky to be here. The Champions League is going to be a great opportunity to rise our level individually and a team as well, because playing with the best teams in the world make you think about different solutions. This is something that we have to take without any pressure, but rather knowing that we can make one little step forward with every match,” he continued.
Pentassuglia started his career as an assistant coach and scoutman back in 2013 in his home city Cagliari. Later in 2016, he moved to Olbia to work with an A2 team there as a professional. Only two years later, he is coaching at the highest level in club Volleyball.
Now all eyes turn to Budapest on Friday, where the Drawing of Lots for the pool phase will be taking place. Pentassuglia does not know what to wait or hope from there.
“I really do not know what to hope in this case. Sometimes I think that it could be great to play against the strongest teams, but most of the time I hope to be lucky and to find some “normal” teams playing against us,” the Italian laughed.
Pentassuglia would be happy to meet Igor Gorgonzola NOVARA, Savino Del Bene SCANDICCI or Imoco Volley CONEGLIANO in the pool. Coaching against fellow Italians Massimo Barbolini, Carlo Parisi and Daniele Santarelli would be for sure a great experience.
HÄMEENLINNA, known as Hämeenlinnan Lentopallokerho in the Finnish Mestaruusliiga, is only the third team ever to represent Finland in the pool stage of the CEV Volleyball Champions League after LP SALO did so in 2014-2015 and Ford Store Levoranta SASTAMALA achieved the same feat in the 2017-2018 season.
Pictures courtesy of Veli-Matti Pitkänen.
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