Milan, Italy, September 28, 2010 - The first is a 27-year old player, the second is seven years older but Ahmed Abdalla and Valerio Vermiglio are both well-established and talented setters for Egypt and Italy respectively.

Abdalla, key-player of the Egyptian national team, and Vermiglio, who captains the Italian team, were once close team mates at Sisley Treviso, but have become rivals during the FIVB Men’s World Championship in Italy, where they both met on Sunday in Italy's 3-0 win over the African champions.

“I am very happy as I can play in this wonderful country again” Abdalla said. “I have been part of two of the best teams [Treviso and Monthichiari], those two seasons were fundamental for my professional improvement and career."

And winning the Coppa Italia trophy is the best example of it. It was for Sisley Treviso, in 2007, that Abdalla and Vermiglio had to join forces: the Egyptian athlete had to substitute the Italian setter who was injured during the final match of the twenty-ninth edition of the Italian trophy.

Just three years later, fate wanted to see the two players together again, as main characters on the second day of the first round in Pool A. However, Abdalla is already focusing on the foreseeable future: “I would love to stay in Italy but next year I will be playing in Turkey,” he revealed.