Giani: “it hurts me very much that so many people are dying”

National volleyball coach andrea giani worries about italy. "The gross problem besides this virus is simply the many, many dead," giani told the german press agency in an interview.

The former world-class player coaches the italian top club leo shoes modena in addition to his association job in his home country. The 49-year-old, who has been national coach since february 2017, is in talks with the DVV about extending his contract, which expires this year.

Mr. Giani, how are you and your family doing??

Andrea giani: I am well, my family is well. My children are at home, learning and studying. My big one is at university and the little one is in the last year at the gymnasium. They continue to do their teaching online, which is very important. My everyday life has naturally changed a lot, because there has never been a situation like this for anyone before. We always have to stay at home, we are only allowed out to go shopping, for example.

How difficult is the current coronavirus crisis for you??

Giani: this is already a difficult situation. If you can’t get out and live your life the way you want to, it’s naturally very difficult. The big problem besides this virus is simply the many, many deaths. That so many people die, that hurts me very much, and that hurts naturally many others very much. But our government is naturally doing everything it can to get a grip on this situation and improve it.

Are you worried about the situation in your country??

Giani: yes, i am concerned. But I also see and notice that because of these rules that you have to stay at home and can’t go out, that your whole life has been kind of shut down, the number of infections is going down. And of course we all hope that slowly, slowly the number of dead will be reduced.

When do you expect regular games to start again??

Giani: it’s hard to say, it’s going to take time. It will certainly be at least another month before we return to training. Maybe we can train again in a month. But I assume that we will certainly not take up the championship again.

How to communicate with your players?

Giani: we try to do fitness programs. We try to observe the players a little bit via internet. And we also give them tasks to do at home. Because of the national team we speak regularly. We have a meeting every monday to discuss the situation and the development. We are making plans, but it will take a little time.

Their contract expires this year. Is there any talk of you staying on as national coach??

Giani: we are talking about asking him to leave because my team, me and the federation have managed some good years. We have great trust in each other, our relationship is very open.

About him: andrea giani (49) is a volleyball legend. The italian was already world class as a player. He led germany to its first european championship medal in the fall of 2017, winning a silver medal. In january, the DVV selection narrowly missed qualifying for the olympics.