Italian volleyball player Fefè, from Puglia, doesn't write it off: "Disappointed, yes. But we're on the right path."

NINGBO (CHINA) – "Clearly, it wasn't the final we imagined and wanted to play. Incidents also occurred that complicated certain aspects. Ultimately, we've completed a part of the journey, because reaching the final was something important for us." There's disappointment in the words of Italian volleyball coach Ferdinando De Giorgi after the Azzurri's resounding defeat in the 2025 Nations League final against Poland. "We're certainly not happy with how things went: aside from Poland playing very well this week in the Finals, we weren't capable in some very clear game situations," the national team coach continued. "Partly because of the skill of their attackers and partly because we lacked in some situations where we should have been more efficient. The game wasn't particularly difficult today, even though their spikers made a big difference."

As for the overall journey through this event, "we can say it was positive, long, and with fairly clear ideas. Everyone contributed to the result. This final mustn't erase all the good work we've done. This year we have a World Championship, and this was an important step to make progress. Clearly, there's still more to do, but we need to look ahead," De Giorgi concludes. "I think there are few words to describe this last race. If I then analyze the journey we've taken to get here, I'm satisfied with what the group has accomplished in the last month and a half," Italy captain Simone Giannelli said. "We were present, we managed to get to the end, something we've never achieved before, so from that perspective, it's a step forward. Obviously, we'll need some time to analyze what happened. Each of us will have to take responsibility. Congratulations to Poland are due because today, once again, they demonstrated why they're first in the World Ranking."

"They have so many options; they were excellent at causing us problems from start to finish, and we weren't as good at reacting and taking action to change the momentum of this match. However, we'll take this silver medal and move forward, continuing to work," concludes the Sir Safety Perugia setter. "It's disappointing because we wanted to play differently, but in the first set we stayed in the game, we had a good attitude, we were ready to play with open arms," explains Mattia Bottolo, Italian spiker from Lube Civitanova. "Then things got complicated, and as the minutes passed, it was increasingly difficult to react. Overall, however, I think the overall result should be considered positive because we played a good Volleyball Nations League, achieving a second place finish, something we'd never achieved before. We've grown in the last month and a half, and many of us have been involved. I think this is a good intermediate step on our journey towards the World Championship, which is the most important competition of the summer."