The theme of excluding the best player by explicit choice of the national team’s coach is a recurring topic in various teams, often with similar explanations.
The latest case refers to the women’s volleyball national team, where the coach preferred a young 20-year-old player with limited international experience over the champion Paola Egonu. The explanation given in interviews by Davide Mazzanti is clear: “Inside, everything is clearer, I don’t make my choices for convenience but based on my principles.”
It would have been interesting if he had explained what is clearer inside the team compared to someone who can only gather information by watching the games. I would say that the second part of the sentence is a typical expression of someone who feels attacked and rigidly defends their ideas. So, following his ideas means excluding the player considered to be the best in the world, while making her a starter would be seen as a convenience-based choice.
We can also say that from his words, there are apparent issues of leadership and interpersonal dynamics within the team, including the coach, driven by the presence of this player, which outweigh the benefits derived from her sporting value. According to the coach, a young player like Andropova, grateful for the unexpected role offered to her, fosters better team cohesion.
This style of leadership should not be surprising; team sports are filled with stories like this. Spalletti with Totti, Sacchi with Baggio, Valcareggi with the relay between Mazzola and Rivera. So, it’s not my intention to debate whether these choices are right or wrong, nor to express value judgments. In this high-level sport, there is one ultimate parameter we all are judged by: victory. The women’s national team has lost, so some choices were wrong and need to be pragmatically corrected. The role of the player Egonu should be interpreted according to this logic, aware that there have also been other limitations that emerged in the last two games.
Personally, I believe that in the national team, the players who have proven to be the strongest and are accustomed to winning in their clubs should be given the opportunity to play because this type of experience is extremely relevant for handling the crucial moments of the games and paying attention to the details that prevent errors in high-stress phases of competition. Building cohesion on the field and alignment with the coach’s ideas follows from this foundation.
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