TEAM COMPOSITION

Italy's first major volleyball success came in the form of a bronze medal at the 1948 European Championships, which they hosted, but it was only in the early 1970s – after gold at the 1970 World University Games in Turin – that Italy became a major force in the sport.

In 1978, Italy hosted the FIVB World Championship and the team, led by Carmelo Pittera, won the silver medal. They followed this up with a bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games under Silvano Prandi. In 1989, with the advent of Julio Velasco as the leader of the "Azzurri," Italy began a 15-year spell of domination that continued under coaches Paulo Roberto “Bebeto” Freitas, Andrea Anastasi and Gian Paolo Montali. From 1989 to 2005, Italy won three FIVB World Championships, one FIVB World Cup, six European Championships, eight FIVB World Leagues and three Olympic medals (silver in Atlanta in 1996, bronze at Sydney in 2000 and silver at Athens in 2004).

More recently, there have been glimpses that a possible return back to the glory days with their current young and progressive line-up. They finished sixth at the FIVB World League 2010, second at the 2011 European Championship and fourth at the FIVB World Cup in 2010.

The team also won a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games.