The Italy men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The national team is controlled by the Italian Volleyball Federation, the governing body for Volleyball in Italy. It is one of the most successful national teams in the history of volleyball, having won five World Championships (1990, 1994, 1998, 2022 and 2025), seven European Championships (1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2021), one World Cup (1995), and eight World Leagues (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2000). Italy is the reigning world champion, having won the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship on 28 September 2025. Italy equaled a record previously held by the USSR by becoming world volleyball champions in both men’s and women’s competitions — a feat the Soviet Union had achieved in 1952 and 1960.
Result history
Until the late 1980s, Italy's best results were a silver medal in the home-held 1978 World Championships and a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympic Games. Two years later, Italy classified only 12th at the 1986 World Championships. Subsequenrtly, Italy finished 9th at both the 1987 European championships and the 1988 Summer Olympics. The Italian federation decided for a hiring Julio Velasco as coach, after his successful tenure at Panini Modena.
Velasco immediately led them to a gold medal at the European Championships in 1989, a tournament his team won twice more in 1993 and 1995. The team also won a silver medal at the World Cup in 1989. He de-emphasized the specialization trend of the 1980s and introduce the concept of the “square”, team unity where the team was better than the sum of its players.
Starting at the 1990 World Championships and the 1990 Goodwill Games, the Italian National team swept the world volleyball events for five years. They won a gold medal in the World Championships in 1990 and 1994, the World League in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1995, the 1991 Mediterranean Games, and the 1993 Grand Champions Cup. They won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. Julio Velasco left the Italian National Men's Team in 1996. Velasco in 1989-1996 created Golden Team with Players such as Zorzi, Andrea Gardini, Giani, Bernardi, Gravina, Bracci, Tofoli, Lucchetta, Papi, Pasinato and Meoni.Italy in Hall of Fame
Olympic Games Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
Olympic Games recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1964Did not qualify 1968 1972 1976 1st round 8th 5 0 5 2 15 1980 1st round 9th 5 2 3 5 11 1984 Semifinals 3rd 6 4 2 14 7 1988 1st round 9th 7 4 3 13 13 1992 Quarterfinals 5th 7 5 2 18 8 1996 Final 2nd 8 7 1 23 5 2000 Semifinals 3rd 8 7 1 21 8 2004 Final 2nd 8 5 3 20 11 2008 Semifinals 4th 8 5 3 17 14 2012 Semifinals 3rd 8 5 3 16 13 2016 Final 2nd 8 6 2 19 10 2020 Quarterfinals 6th 6 4 2 14 10 2024 Semifinals 4th 6 4 2 12 10 2028Future events 2032 Total 0 titles 13/16 90 58 32 194 135 —
World Championship Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
World Championship recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1949 1st round 8th 5 2 3 8 9 1952 Did not qualify 1956 1st round 14th 10 6 4 22 14 1960 Did not qualify 1962 1st round 14th 11 5 6 19 23 1966 1st round 16th 11 2 9 9 31 1970 1st round 15th 11 3 8 23 28 1974 1st round 19th 11 7 4 24 14 1978 Final 2nd 10 8 2 24 12 1982 1st round 14th 10 8 2 24 12 1986 2nd round 11th 8 3 5 14 18 1990 Final 1st 7 6 1 18 7 1994 Final 1st 7 6 1 20 6 1998 Final 1st 12 11 1 33 7 2002 Quarterfinals 5th 9 6 3 23 14 2006 2nd round 5th 11 8 3 28 13 2010 Semifinals 4th 10 8 2 26 12 2014 2nd round 13th 9 3 6 14 22 2018 3rd round 5th 10 8 2 26 11 2022 Final 1st 7 7 0 21 4 2025 Final 1st 7 6 1 20 4 2027Qualified 2029Future event Total 5 titles 19/21 176 113 63 396 261 —
1990 — Gold medal Anastasi, Bernardi, Bracci, Cantagalli, De Giorgi, Gardini, Giani, Lucchetta, Martinelli, Masciarelli, Tofoli, Zorzi. Head Coach: Velasco 1994 — Gold medal Bernardi, Bracci, Cantagalli, Gardini, Giani, De Giorgi, Giretto, Gravina, Papi, Pippi, Tofoli, Zorzi. Head Coach: Velasco 1998 — Gold medal Bracci, Corsano, Fei, Gardini, Giani, De Giorgi, Gravina, Meoni, Papi, Pasinato, Rosalba, Sartoretti. Head Coach: Bebeto / 2022 — Gold medal Anzani, Balaso, Bottolo, Galassi, Giannelli, Lavia, Michieletto, Mosca, Pinali, Recine, Romanò, Russo, Sbertoli, Scanferla. Head Coach: De Giorgi 2025 — Gold medal Anzani, Balaso, Bottolo, Galassi, Gargiulo, Giannelli, Michieletto, Pace, Porro, Romanò, Russo, Rychlicki, Sani, Sbertoli. Head Coach: De Giorgi
World Cup Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
World Cup recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1965 Did not qualify 1969 1977 1981 - 7th 7 1 6 9 18 Squad 1985 Did not qualify 1989 - 2nd 7 6 1 20 5 Squad 1991 Did not qualify 1995 - 1st 11 11 0 33 3 Squad 1999 - 3rd 11 8 3 26 14 Squad 2003 - 2nd 11 9 2 29 8 Squad 2007 Did not qualify 2011 - 4th 11 8 3 28 15 Squad 2015 - 2nd 11 10 1 30 8 Squad 2019 - 7th 11 5 6 14 19 SquadTotal 1 title 8/14 80 58 22 189 90 -
1995 — Gold medal
World Grand Champions Cup Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
World Grand Champions Cup record (Defunct)YearRoundPositionSquad 1993 - 1st 5 5 0 15 4 Squad 1997 Did not qualify 2001 2005 - 3rd 5 3 2 11 6 Squad 2009 Did not qualify 2013 - 3rd 5 2 3 12 10 Squad 2017 - 2nd 5 4 1 14 8 SquadTotal 1 title 4/7 20 14 6 52 28 -
1993 — Gold medal Bracci, Galli, Gardini, Giani, Gravina, Zorzi, Cantagalli, Bellini, Pippi, Pasinato, Bernardi. Head Coach: Velasco
World League Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place World League record (Defunct)YearRoundPositionSquad 1990 Final 1st 14 11 3 37 21 Squad 1991 Final 1st 18 16 2 52 16 Squad 1992 Final 1st 18 16 2 50 17 Squad 1993 Semifinals 3rd 22 20 2 62 17 Squad 1994 Final 1st 16 12 4 38 19 Squad 1995 Final 1st 17 14 3 45 19 Squad 1996 Final 2nd 17 14 3 45 19 Squad 1997 Final 1st 17 14 3 47 17 Squad 1998 Final Round 4th 15 7 8 27 26 Squad 1999 Final 1st 16 12 4 42 20 Squad 2000 Final 1st 18 13 5 44 33 Squad 2001 Final 2nd 17 12 5 41 24 Squad 2002 Semifinals 4th 17 14 3 44 19 Squad 2003 Semifinals 3rd 17 10 7 37 27 Squad 2004 Final 2nd 15 9 6 34 22 Squad 2005 1st round 7th 12 6 6 22 26 Squad 2006 2nd round 6th 16 7 9 32 31 Squad 2007 1st round 9th 12 4 8 19 30 Squad 2008 1st round 7th 12 8 4 30 22 Squad 2009 1st round 7th 12 8 4 27 17 Squad 2010 2nd round 6th 14 9 5 35 21 Squad 2011 2nd round 6th 15 11 4 35 18 Squad 2012 1st round 11th 12 5 7 23 28 Squad 2013 Semifinals 3rd 14 10 4 35 23 Squad 2014 Semifinals 3rd 16 9 7 33 25 Squad 2015 2nd round 5th 14 7 7 26 31 Squad 2016 Semifinals 4th 13 7 6 25 20 Squad 2017 1st round 12th 9 2 7 13 23 Squad Total 8 titles 28/28 425 287 138 1000 631 -
1990 Osaka — Gold medal Gardini, Margutti, De Giorgi, Tofoli, Masciarelli, Anastasi, Bracci, Bernardi, Cantagalli, Zorzi, Lucchetta, Giazzoli, Pasinato, Petrelli, Martinelli, Loro, Gallia. Head coach: Velasco 1991 Milan — Gold medal Gardini, Martinelli, Margutti, De Giorgi, Tofoli, Masciarelli, Anastasi, Bracci, Bernardi, Cantagalli, Zorzi, Lucchetta, Giazzoli, Pasinato, Petrelli, Lombardi, Gallia, Galli, Gravina. Head coach: Velasco 1992 Genoa — Gold medal Gardini, Martinelli, Margutti, De Giorgi, Tofoli, Masciarelli, Galli, Bracci, Bernardi, Cantagalli, Zorzi, Lucchetta, Giani, Giazzoli, Pasinato. Head coach: Velasco 1994 Milan — Gold medal Gardini, Martinelli, Gravina, De Giorgi, Tofoli, Papi, Sartoretti, Bracci, Bernardi, Cantagalli, Margutti, Pippi, Giani, Bellini, Pasinato, Rinaldi, Fangareggi, Giretto. Head coach: Velasco 1995 Rio de Janeiro — Gold medal Fangareggi, Rosalba, Gravina, De Giorgi, Botti, Papi, Sartoretti, Verniaghi, Giazzoli, Bonati, Radicioni, Pippi, Giani, Bellini, Pasinato, Bovolenta, Meoni, Giretto. Head coach: Velasco 1997 Moscow — Gold medal Gardini, Meoni, Gravina, Bendani, Fangareggi, Papi, Giombini, Sartoretti, Casoli, Rosalba, Zlatanov, Pippi, Giani, Bovolenta, Bonati, Patriarca, Bellini. Head coach: de Freitas 1999 Mar del Plata — Gold medal Vermiglio, Meoni, Mastrangelo, Fei, Papi, Sartoretti, Casoli, Rosalba, Zlatanov, Corsano, Bellini, Bovolenta, Giombini, Molteni. Head coach: Anastasi 2000 Rotterdam — Gold medal Gardini, Meoni, Gravina, Mastrangelo, Tofoli, Papi, Sartoretti, Bracci, Bernardi, Rosalba, Molteni, Corsano, Giani, Fei, Castellano, Bovolenta, Giombini, Vermiglio. Head coach: Anastasi
Nations League Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place Nations League recordYearRoundPositionSquad 2018 Preliminary round 8th 15 8 7 30 28 Squad 2019 Preliminary round 8th 15 8 7 31 25 Squad 2020Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Preliminary round 10th 15 7 8 28 33 Squad 2022 Semifinals 4th 15 11 4 35 16 Squad 2023 Semifinals 4th 15 10 5 33 21 2024 Quarterfinals 5th 13 9 4 31 17 2025 Final 2nd 15 12 3 39 19 2026 Quarterfinals 5th 13 8 5 30 21 Total 0 titles 8/8 –
European Championship Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
European Championship recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1948 Round robin Third place 5 3 2 11 6 Squad 1950 Did not qualify 1951 1st round 8th 5 2 3 8 9 Squad 1955 1st round 9th 7 5 2 15 8 Squad 1958 1st round 10th 11 8 3 26 19 Squad 1963 1st round 10th 11 8 3 24 15 Squad 1967 Final Round 8th 10 3 7 11 25 Squad 1971 1st round 8th 8 6 2 21 10 Squad 1975 1st round 10th 7 2 5 8 17 Squad 1977 1st round 8th 7 3 4 12 16 Squad 1979 Final Round 5th 7 3 4 13 14 Squad 1981 1st round 7th 7 5 2 15 9 Squad 1983 Final Round Fourth place 7 4 3 16 16 Squad 1985 Final Round 6th 7 1 6 10 18 Squad 1987 1st round 9th 7 3 4 14 14 Squad 1989 Final Champions 7 6 1 20 7 Squad 1991 Final Runners-up 7 6 1 18 7 Squad 1993 Final Champions 7 7 0 21 5 Squad 1995 Final Champions 7 6 1 19 6 Squad 1997 Semifinals Third place 7 5 2 15 8 Squad 1999 Final Champions 5 4 1 13 5 Squad 2001 Final Runners-up 7 4 3 14 10 Squad 2003 Final Champions 7 7 0 21 4 Squad 2005 Final Champions 7 6 1 19 8 Squad 2007 2nd round 6th 6 4 2 14 11 Squad 2009 2nd round 10th 6 2 4 8 12 Squad 2011 Final Runners-up 6 4 2 15 8 Squad 2013 Final Runners-up 6 4 2 15 9 Squad 2015 Semifinals Third place 7 5 2 18 7 Squad 2017 Quarterfinals 5th 5 3 2 11 6 Squad 2019 Quarterfinals 6th 7 5 2 16 9 Squad 2021 Final Champions 9 9 0 27 5 Squad 2023 Final Runners-up 9 8 1 24 7 Squad 2026 Quarterfinals 5th 7 6 1 20 7 Squad 2028To be determinedTotal 7 titles 31/33 228 151 77 430 330 -
1989 — Gold medal Anastasi, Bernardi, Bracci, Cantagalli, De Giorgi, Gardini, Lucchetta, Margutti, Masciarelli, Passani, Tofoli, Zorzi. Head Coach: Velasco 1993 — Gold medal Bellini, Bracci, Cantagalli, Galli, Gardini, Giani, Gravina, Martinelli, Pasinato, Pippi, Tofoli, Zorzi. Head Coach: Velasco 1995 — Gold medal Bernardi, Bovolenta, Bracci, Cantagalli, Gardini, Giani, Gravina, Meoni, Papi, Pasinato, Tofoli, Andrea Zorzi. Head Coach: Velasco 1999 — Gold medal Bracci, Corsano, Gardini, Giani, Giombini, Gravina, Meoni, Mastrangelo, Papi, Rosalba, Sartoretti, Tofoli. Head Coach: Anastasi 2003 — Gold medal Biribanti, Černič, Cozzi, Fei, Giani, Mastrangelo, Meoni, Papi, Pippi, Sartoretti, Savani, Vermiglio. Head Coach: Montali 2005 — Gold medal Černič, Cisolla, Corsano, Cozzi, Fei, Łasko, Mastrangelo, Paparoni, Savani, Sintini, Tencati, Vermiglio. Head Coach: Montali 2021 — Gold medal Anzani, Balaso, Bottolo, Cortesia, Galassi, Giannelli, Lavia, Michieletto, Piccinelli, Pinali, Ricci, Recine, Romanò, Sbertoli. Head Coach: De Giorgi
European Games Champions Runners up Third place Fourth place
European Games recordYearRoundPositionSquad 2015 Baku1st round11th505415 Squad 2019 Minskvolleyball tournament not held 2023 Kraków 2027 IstanbulTBDTotal 0 titles 1/1505415-
Mediterranean Games 1959 — gold medal 1963 — silver medal 1975 — silver medal 1979 — Fourth place 1983 — gold medal 1987 — bronze medal 1991 — gold medal 1997 — Fourth place 2001 — gold medal 2005 — Fifth place 2009 — gold medal 2013 — gold medal 2018 — gold medal 2022 — bronze medal 2026 — bronze medal 2030 — Future event
Goodwill Games