Volley Bergamo is an Italian women's
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
club based in
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
and currently playing in the
Serie A1.
Previous names
Due to sponsorship, the club have competed under the following names:
* Volley Bergamo (1991–1992)
* Foppapedretti Bergamo (1992–2000)
* Radio 105 Foppapedretti Bergamo (2000–2006)
* Play Radio Foppapedretti Bergamo (2006–2007)
* Foppapedretti Bergamo (2007–2010)
* Norda Foppapedretti Bergamo (2010–2012)
* Foppapedretti Bergamo (2012–2018)
* Zanetti Bergamo (2018–2021)
* Volley Bergamo 1991 (2021– )
History
Beginnings (1991–1994)
Volley Bergamo was founded in 1991 by Mauro Ferraris and first played in the 1991–92 Serie B1 (third tier). In the following season (1992–93) it started a partnership with Foppapedretti and gained promotion to the Serie A2 (second tier). The club gain a second successive promotion in 1993–94 by winning the Serie A2 and being promoted to the
Serie A1 (first tier).
Major success (1995–2007)
In 1994–95, its debut season at Serie A1, the club finished in fifth position, earning for the first time qualification for a European competition (
CEV Cup
The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year.
Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 it was renamed CE ...
). In the following season it won both the Serie A1 and the Coppa Italia for the first time. In the 1996–97 the club won the Serie A1, Coppa Italia, Italian Super Cup and the
CEV Champions League
The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation.
Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification
A tot ...
. For the next decade the club became one of the strongest women's volleyball clubs in Europe, winning another five Serie A1 (1997–98, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06), two Coppa Italia (1997–98, 2005–06), four Italian Super Cups (1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2004–05), four CEV Champions League (1998–99, 1999–00, 2004–05,
2006–07) and one CEV Cup (2003–04).
Recent years (2008–present)
Despite not being as dominant as before, the club after 2008 won the Serie A again (2010–11), the Coppa Italia (2007–08 and 2015–16), the Italian Super Cup (2011–12) and the CEV Champions League (
2008–09 and
2009–10).
[ It is the most successful Italian team in the CEV Champions League history with 7 titles and the second most successful team in Serie A history with 8 titles, having never being relegated since its debut in the 1994–95 season.
]
Team
''Season 2022–2023, as of June 2022.''
Notable players
Retired numbers
* 11 Giseli Gavio; the number was retired in 1999
* 12 Francesca Piccinini
Francesca Piccinini (born 10 January 1979 in Massa) is an Italian volleyball player who has represented Italy four times (2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012) at the Summer Olympics. She was a member of the Women's National Team that won the gold medal at ...
; the number was retired in 2013
Head coaches
* Francesco Sbalchiero (1993–1995)
* Atanas Malinov (1995–1997)
* Marco Bonitta
Marco Bonitta (born 5 September 1963) is an Italian professional volleyball coach. He currently serves as head coach for the Slovenia women's national volleyball team, Slovenia women's national team and G.S. Porto Robur Costa, Consar RCM Ravenna ...
(1997–2000)
* Giuseppe Cuccarini
Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph,
from Latin Josephus, Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף.
It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it.
The feminine form of the name ...
(2000–2002)
* Mario Di Pietro (2002–2003)
* Giovanni Caprara (2003–2005)
* Marco Fenoglio
Marco may refer to:
People
* Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco
* Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor
* Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin
* Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish co ...
(2005–2007)
* Lorenzo Micelli (2007–2010)
* Davide Mazzanti (2010–2012)
* Stefano Lavarini
Stefano is the Italian language, Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Ch ...
(2012–2017)
* Stefano Micoli (2017–present)
Honours
National competitions
* National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
: 8
:1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2010–11
* Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 6
:1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2015–16
* Italian Super Cup: 6
:1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2004–05, 2011–12
International competitions
* CEV Champions League
The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation.
Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification
A tot ...
: 7
:1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10
* CEV Challenge Cup
The CEV Challenge Cup is the third tier official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe.
It started in the 1980–81 season under the name CEV Cup. In 2007 it was renamed CEV Challenge Cup.
History
* CEV Cup (1980– ...
: 1
:2003–04
* Women's Top Volley International: 2
:1996
:1998 (January)
References
External links
Official website
Official supporters website
{{Italian women volleyball league
Italian women's volleyball clubs
Volleyball clubs established in 1991
1991 establishments in Italy
Sport in Bergamo
Serie A1 (women's volleyball) clubs