Italian coach Giovanni Guidetti emotionally celebrates the victory of Netherlands
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 10, 2016 – Italian coach Giovanni Guidetti was elated after the victory of his Netherlands team over the representative of his native country and said he is fortunate to have the chance to guide a group of players like the one he has in his squad.
Giovanni Guidetti, Coach of Netherlands: I am very proud of my team and its performance. To perform is not to be perfect, but be together, going strong and going for your goal. Today’s match was not our best but you like the intensity of the players in one very important match as we move closer to the quarterfinals. Let me tell you, I am lucky for coaching this team of players who are so united.
Antonella Del Core, Captain of Italy: It was a difficult match for us because we have to try and improve our play, but it was difficult to go up against a good team like the Netherlands because they are playing really well. I am proud of my team because we tried to do our best today. Sometimes everyone plays well, sometimes we don’t. I think we don’t have the same drive as the other teams.
Anne Buijs, Player of Netherlands: I am really happy and proud of the team today, the way they stepped up and made sure the loss of Maret (the injured captain Balkestein-Grothues) was filled up in the right way. It may not be the prettiest volleyball but we fought a lot.
In the last few matches with Italy we did pretty well, like in the Olympic Qualification and the European Championship, so we know that we can play well against them. There might be some extra pressure on us, our captain was out, but in the end we did very well and we showed that we are a better team.