With only one player over 26 and several talents, the Italians put an end to Polish domination in this competition, after the titles of 2014 and 2018, and confirmed their European title last year, already in the Saucer ( literal translation of Spodek) from Katowice.

They also reconnect with the glorious global past of their elders, the "Fenomeni" (phenomena in Italian), titled three times consecutively in 1990, 1994 and 1998.

Conversely, this hat-trick who held out his arms to the Poles, at home, finally escaped them.

They will therefore not succeed the Brazilians, another team to have succeeded in this performance, in the 2000s (2002, 2006 and 2010).

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As throughout the competition, Italy was able to rely on Yuri Romano (25), Daniele Lavia (22) and Alessandro Michieletto (20), the trio which gradually brought the Saucer supporters back to earth in force of slashing attacks.

Giannelli as a leader of men

To these attackers, we must add the passer and captain of the team: Simone Giannelli, undoubtedly the best player in this final, under the eyes of his coach Ferdinando De Giorgi, passer of the "Fenomeni".

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Yet it was the other captain, Bartosz Kurek, who set the tone at the start of the game, stringing together incisive attacks and allowing Poland to win the first leg to the rhythm of "raz, dwa, trzy" (one, two , three in Polish) chanted by the public.

Nothing seemed to be able to stop the Whites and Reds of the best player of the 2018 World Cup, who started the second set with a scathing 3 to 0.

But at the end of the second set, the Italians were able to tighten the game at the right time, winning three points in a row at 20-20 to lead 23-20, then equalize.

Paradoxically, the Poles then seemed to tense, despite their experience, and folded in front of Romano and Michieletto, who went up another notch in the third set.

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Despite a final round still disputed, the Poles ended up breaking, as if beaten, like this point lost at 20-17, where none of the three players threw themselves to restart the ball.

The Italians were finally able to exult, and the white eagle of Poland ceased to soar.

© 2022 AFP