Italy - SuperLega Credem Banca 2025_26

Quote from Realista

I love all the transfers they've made actually, haha:

- Loreti IMHO is a real deal as a talent, he was great in CEV Cup games this year for Piacenza as a starter, and was awesome for Italy U20 team last summer at the WCH, so it would be hard to find a local replacement better than him for Colaci, especially from long-term perspective,

- Henno had a very good year in PlusLiga and with all the absences, he'll be a starter of France NT alongside Clevenot IMHO, so he may be completely ready to play an important role for Perugia very quickly,

- Reggers is one of the most talented opposites in the world - and while Ben Tara is in general awesome - I think upside-wise Reggers is even better,

- Sanguinetti had a career-best season for Modena - I don't consider him as an improvement over healthy Russo, but oftentimes Russo isn't healthy.

So considering Ishikawa was a non-factor for almost the full season, and Colaci has been mid for like 5 years straight and was a starter due to his position in the locker room and for the fact of being a Perugia legend - I'd actually argue in terms of their roster, they can be even a superior team than they were this season.

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I hope I didn't give the impression of labelling them as mediocre. These are all good moves, but I would've done them a bit more gradually. The team will surely be very competitive, but I fear they may suffer the same rollercoaster Lube is having since they rejuvenated the roster. Hence, I'm not sure they'll be as dominant as they've been this season.

Quote from side.out

I hope I didn't give the impression of labelling them as mediocre. These are all good moves, but I would've done them a bit more gradually. The team will surely be very competitive, but I fear they may suffer the same rollercoaster Lube is having since they rejuvenated the roster. Hence, I'm not sure they'll be as dominant as they've been this season.

Naah, I get your reasoning. They still have Giannelli, Semeniuk, Loser, Plotnitskiy among the experienced guys though, and Lorenzetti has always been known as a great fit to work with young players. But I agree with your overall sentiment - also because of a fact that I expect top teams (Trentino and Civitanova mainly) to be stronger than this season. Especially considering Trentino had awful season after all the injuries, Verona was out of shape for the playoffs, and Piacenza played the semifinals without Mandiraci, also, Modena played with injured Buchegger in the quarterfinal - I don't think this year's level of Superlega was actually that high. No disrespect to Perugia, easily the best team in Italy, but let's say Zawiercie easily crushed Civitanova in the Champions League - and they'll play a 5th game of the finals in PlusLiga, so it's not guaranteed that they'll win a title in Poland.

Quote from side.out

Absolutely, even Ishikawa had a bit of a troublesome season, but overall they had enough talent to cover every position. Still, things can take an ugly turn, like Trento experienced.

In fact, I'm not too sold on the team they're building for next season. Don't get me wrong, they will be competitive, but I don't think they will be near to this one.

IMHO Semeniuk and Oleh made Perugia the team it is now... Sir Safety has a great reception game for men's volleyball standard.

Reggers and Ben Tara are very close when it comes to level. Sanguinetti, Solé and Loser + Crosato look like a ridicously good and deep pack of middles.

The new libero is the only question mark... mostly because it will be his first full time season as starter on a top team.

Quote from Realista

Naah, I get your reasoning. They still have Giannelli, Semeniuk, Loser, Plotnitskiy among the experienced guys though, and Lorenzetti has always been known as a great fit to work with young players. But I agree with your overall sentiment - also because of a fact that I expect top teams (Trentino and Civitanova mainly) to be stronger than this season. Especially considering Trentino had awful season after all the injuries, Verona was out of shape for the playoffs, and Piacenza played the semifinals without Mandiraci, also, Modena played with injured Buchegger in the quarterfinal - I don't think this year's level of Superlega was actually that high. No disrespect to Perugia, easily the best team in Italy, but let's say Zawiercie easily crushed Civitanova in the Champions League - and they'll play a 5th game of the finals in PlusLiga, so it's not guaranteed that they'll win a title in Poland.

I am honestly more concerned about Perugia and Warta coming to F4 tired, while Ziraat will have its golden trio fully rested...

Quote from VBdiamond

The new libero is the only question mark... mostly because it will be his first full time season as starter on a top team.

It's not given Loreti will be the first choice though, Gaggini is solid in general and was a starter for Monza when they reached a final 2 years ago. Loreti was completely wasted as a backup of Pace in Piacenza, and when Boninfante played him as a starter in CEV Cup - he was pretty great throughout the event, I remember when Piacenza played against Jastrzębski, he was pretty much on par with Maks Granieczny, and he's like the most talented Polish libero who has already played in the VNL.

Anyways, I don't think any of them will be worse than Colaci tbh.

Quote from VBdiamond

I am honestly more concerned about Perugia and Warta coming to F4 tired, while Ziraat will have its golden trio fully rested...

I'm not concerned about Perugia, they played 11 games or so in the last 9 weeks basically, and they'll have a 10 day break prior to the Final Four. Hard to imagine a better schedule in terms of a rhythm and rest. It would be much more problematic if the series against Civitanova had extended, but that wasn't the case. Especially when you compare that to Warszawa, who lost Bednorz due to injury, and Zawiercie that has to prepare for the 5th finals game on Sunday. They look so exhausted already, so I agree about Ziraat, they should be favorites in the 2nd semifinal.

Quote from Realista

It's not given Loreti will be the first choice though, Gaggini is solid in general and was a starter for Monza when they reached a final 2 years ago. Loreti was completely wasted as a backup of Pace in Piacenza, and when Boninfante played him as a starter in CEV Cup - he was pretty great throughout the event, I remember when Piacenza played against Jastrzębski, he was pretty much on par with Maks Granieczny, and he's like the most talented Polish libero who has already played in the VNL.

Anyways, I don't think any of them will be worse than Colaci tbh.

I'm not concerned about Perugia, they played 11 games or so in the last 9 weeks basically, and they'll have a 10 day break prior to the Final Four. Hard to imagine a better schedule in terms of a rhythm and rest. It would be much more problematic if the series against Civitanova had extended, but that wasn't the case. Especially when you compare that to Warszawa, who lost Bednorz due to injury, and Zawiercie that has to prepare for the 5th finals game on Sunday. They look so exhausted already, so I agree about Ziraat, they should be favorites in the 2nd semifinal.

Or maybe Ziraat will come to F4 with total lack of rhythm...

They ended their league like 10 days ago...