Fans in Italy and beyond were pretty much surprised by the decision of the men’s national team head coach, Ferdinando De Giorgi, to cut Ivan Zaytsev from the list for the 2022 FIVB Volleyball World Championship.
The results of the Italy National Team in the ongoing Men’s World Championship are good enough thus far to eliminate any doubts about the choice of players for the event by the head coach, De Giorgi. However, the expert has never specified the reason(s) for cutting the country’s volleyball icon, Ivan Zaytsev, from the roster. The player himself spoke about this for the first time since it happened, and he still doesn’t know why he didn’t travel to Poland and Slovenia.
“Speaking with coach De Giorgi, I wasn’t given precise reasons, only that I wouldn’t have been part of the group, not even as a backup. It seemed strange to me for how I was training and for the technical quality I was giving,“ Zaytsev said in an interview for Il Resto del Carlino.
The ’Tsar’ was asked whether or not he and De Giorgi had a good relationship at that exact moment. He replied, “Yes, of course… Indeed, I asked him to point out what was wrong, also as a function of my growth. Instead, the answer was that he had nothing to criticize me for. I was amazed.“
The experienced opposite hitter stressed that he won’t give up on playing for Italy in the future; quite the opposite – this will stimulate him to show how much he is worth. Zaytsev also said that he has been cheering for the ’Azzurri’ since the first match of the World Champs.
