Dick-Kooy
The 31-year-old former Dutch National Team member Dick Kooy has already trained with Italy in July, in Civitanova, getting accustomed to the environment and players with whom he will soon become a teammate. Kooy has been an Italian citizen since 2016, after marrying an Italian girl. He is the resident of Milano for many years. Since last winter, the outside hitter has become eligible to compete for “Azzurri”. In an interview for La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Dutchman confirmed that he will play the World Cup and described how does he feel about that.
”It’s too good, I am happy as a child. It’s been a long time since I wanted it. Playing for the national team is different, being with all the guys together and aiming for a goal. Everything went well from the start. In Civitanova, I found a nice group. Then Chicco Blengini (Italy head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini) was honest, he asked me: ‘Do you want to come?’ I agreed even though I knew there was Osmany (Osmany Juantorena). It’s nice to find people like that, who speak clearly,” Kooy stated.
The misfortune for Kooy is that Osmany Juantorena has already established himself as an important link in Italy National Team and only one player that changed sports citizenship is allowed to play per a team, according to the FIVB regulations. This means that Kooy will not have many opportunities to be on the Italian roster in the near future. The World Cup is his chance to persuade Italian coaching staff that he might jeopardize the status of Juantorena.
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