Italy coach Gianlorenzo Blengini in the match between Italy and Mexico
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 11, 2016 – Italy defeated Mexico in straight set in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games men’s volleyball competition and coach Gianlorenzo Blengini is already eager to play in front of a packed crowd against hosts Brazil.
Gianlorenzo Blengini, Coach of Italy:
This kind of match seems easy in the end, but it’s never easy before coming into this match. We are strong and we had a good approach in this tournament. We started off strong and we kept our focus, that’s why we won.
The next matches will be definitely harder, especially against Brazil. We know that they are one of the favourites because they are playing at home. For sure the stadium will be packed and it would be fantastic to play in that match.
Filippo Lanza, Player of Italy:
We are happy that we won this important match. We just want to think about this match per match. We need to play our game well and with consciousness, and try to play our game like it’s the final.
Jorge Azair, Coach of Mexico:
We had difficulty in reception in this match because the Italians were serving very hard. I think my players played well. We started well in the first set and also in the third set. Gonzalo Ruiz and Nestor Orellana played well. We blocked-out, changed the tempo of the attack. Italy are a strong team and I think there is a strong possibility that they will get a medal in this Olympic Games.
This experience is very important for our future. I hope that we can have a professional league in Mexico and we can set short-, mid- and long-term goals for the national team.
Nestor Orellana, Player of Mexico:
It was a very hard game. Italy are playing on such a high-level. It is our first time to play in a match that is this demanding. We have to use wisely every point we have for our future and Mexican volleyball. We just have to forget what we did wrong. We should focus on the right things for our match on Saturday.