03/02/2021 15:26
Giani stays at the helm of Team Germany at least for another year
News from the National Federations
Frankfurt, Germany, February 3, 2021. Volleyball legend Andrea Giani and the German Volleyball Federation (DVV) have agreed on extending their cooperation for another season. Giani, who has been at the helm of the German men’s national team since 2017, will stay at least for another year, with the 2021 season including major highlights such as the FIVB Volleyball Nations League and the CEV EuroVolley. Giani’s contract had expired at the end of a 2020 season heavily disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic – where Germany could only play a couple of friendly matches against Poland.
The extension of the agreement comes after extensive discussions between Giani and DVV Volleyball Sports Director Christian Dünnes: “We have come to the decision to take this step with Andrea Giani. With regard to the sporting future, we are currently at a point where the results in the Volleyball Nations League, which for the first time allocates world-ranking points and the EuroVolley will have a major impact on the long-term development of the team. Andrea and we will therefore sit down again at the end of the year, evaluate the performance and decide whether we want to continue on the path together or not. However, we will not make this depend on individual results. It is rather about the development of the team, which has to give us the feeling that we can move up from the current 21st place to the top of the world rankings,” Dünnes said.
Andrea Giani and captain Lukas Kampa portrayed during a timeout of the matchup with Bulgaria at the CEV Tokyo 2020 Volleyball qualifier
Andrea Giani looks back at his contract extension: “In the past four years we have celebrated great success as a team, but we also suffered painful defeats. We are at a crossroads – and I would like to continue this journey with my team. However, to do that, I also need a clear signal from the team and I would like to see strong performances in all competitions.”
“I am extremely happy that Andrea is staying on board. Overall, anyone could see in recent years that we really enjoy working with him, that we can learn a lot from him, that young players are brought in and that there is an excellent atmosphere when we meet as a team. For me the extension of “only” one year is not a bad signal. On the contrary, I can follow Andrea and Christian's argumentation. We will prove to Andrea that he did the right thing in extending the contract and that we want to keep him with us,” commented team captain Lukas Kampa.
Giani helped Germany secure a historic silver medal at EuroVolley 2017 in Krakow, losing only to Russia in a dramatic final match. The result accounted for Germany’s first podium finish ever from the continental championship. Back in January 2020, Germany failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics after losing the final match of the European qualifier held in Berlin to France. Giani’s resume includes an endless list of accolades achieved during his competitive career, when he registered a record 474 caps for the Italian national team. He coached Team Slovenia for two years, securing a European League title and historic EuroVolley silver in 2015 within the space of a couple months only.
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