GIANNELLI Simone

General
TEAM PLAYER
He tried a number of sports, including tennis, football and skiing, before deciding to focus on volleyball. He says the team aspect of volleyball was one of the main reasons he chose to pursue the sport. "I started with tennis, football and skiing. Volleyball came later, but my father, who was a tennis coach, always set me free on the sporting path to take. In tennis I was quite good, but I had difficulties in managing my emotions alone. In the team I found another way of living, sharing. I immediately liked the locker room, group life, being in difficulties and joys together, always having someone close by who can help you. It was something concrete. I trained hard in tennis, but I had that limit that blocked me, while in volleyball I discovered the responsibility of playing for others too. When you know that you are not alone in difficulties, you feel compelled to react, not to give up." (vanityfair.it, 06 Apr 2019)

BOOK
He was the lead character in a comic book titled 'Simone Giannelli. My first volleyball manual', in which he introduces the sport of volleyball to young readers. The comic was released in 2021 by Italian publisher BeccoGiallo. "In the comic I try to train a team of very young superheroes, with great talent but with little team spirit, put to the test by selfishness. I try to strengthen just that, the team spirit between them. This has always been important to me and I think it is an essential condition to fight for great goals. I really hope to be able to convey, at least in a small part, all this." (thewaymagazine.it, 22 Apr 2021; Instagram profile, 26 Apr 2021, 12 Apr 2021)

At age 17 years, two months and 18 days he became Trentino's youngest senior player when he made his debut for the team in a 3-0 win over Ravenna in October 2013. (trentinovolley.it, 28 Oct 2013)