MATCH INFO

Tokyo, Japan, November 16, 2011 - Press Conference, Italy vs Germany: Italy manage to escape a difficult five-set match against Germany on Wednesday in Tokyo, also clinching an Olympic ticket in the process by securing a top two finish in this World Cup.

Italy coach Massimo Barbolini: I am really happy; I think we have played one of the best matches in this tournament against a strong team who have played very well in all their matches. I have no words to describe what my team is doing. It is wonderful what they are doing. In a difficult situation, down 0-2 my players were very fantastic to win this match and qualify automatically for the Olympic games.

Italy captain Eleonora Lo Bianco: I think that it's always difficult to play against Germany, but I’m very satisfied with our reaction after the first two sets. We started to defend, to block, and to play well and I think it was a very good game.

Germany coach Giovanni Guidetti: I want to congratulate the Italian team. They really showed why they are first in this tournament. Their defence was something really special, and they started to play very good volleyball, and they deserved to win in the end. They are much more patient, they waited for our mistakes. they are better in block and defence. I’m happy for our team, this point could be important for us. We still have a chance to take an Olympic spot in this tournament. Now we have to think about our match against Japan tomorrow.

On his two setters: When I put Mareen in the team played better so I left her in. I am lucky to have two good setters, and I used them both today. And it was almost successful.

On Japan tomorrow and key players for that match: My team doesn’t have key players, because we only play well if all the team plays well. There will be many fans supporting Japan, but we enter the court trying to win because it is very important for us.

On Germany’s past and future improvements: I think our players were young, very talented, and with a passion to work. All we did was train very hard and try to instill better skill and better individual technique. The main difference today was that the Italians did the easy things with precision, and the German team made some mistakes. So our goal moving forward is to do things technically much better.

Germany player Angelina Grün: Congratulations to the Italian team. We started well, and led two-zero. I have to congratulate Italy; they fought back with great defense and blocking, but we just lost patience. Of course we are disappointed we couldn’t get two points instead of one. Now we have a difficult match against Japan in will likely be a full gym with many fans. We’re excited to play and I’m confident we can recover from this defeat today.