The Italy men's national ball hockey team Nazionale italiana di ball hockey, nicknamed the Gli Azzurri, represents Italy in international ball hockey competition. The team is organized by the Italian National Ball Hockey Federation (INBHF) and competes as a full member of the International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF).
Italy made its debut at the 2003 Ball Hockey World Championship and has since participated in ten editions of the tournament. The team achieved its best finish in 2005, capturing the bronze medal in Pittsburgh, United States. Known for their competitive style and consistent presence on the international stage, the Azzurri have become one of the established European sides in the sport of ball hockey.
History The Italy men's national ball hockey team made its international debut at the 2003 Ball Hockey World Championship in Sierre, Switzerland, finishing in fourth place. Two years later, the team captured its first and only medal to date, earning the bronze at the 2005 Ball Hockey World Championship in Pittsburgh, United States.
Throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s, Italy remained a consistent presence at the ISBHF World Championships, highlighted by a 7th-place finish in 2009 (Plzeň, Czech Republic) and a 12th-place finish in 2013 (St. John's, Canada).
In more recent years, Italy has maintained a steady performance among the top ten nations. At the 2017 in Pardubice, Czech Republic, the team placed 10th, followed by a strong 5th place showing at the 2019 in Košice, Slovakia. Italy remained competitive with a 6th-place result in the 2022 in Laval, Canada, and most recently finished 8th at the 2024 tournament in Visp and Raron, Switzerland.
World Championships Italy made its world championship debut in 2003, were finished fourth place. In 2005 world championship the Italy won the bronze medal, defeating Portugal 6–1 in the bronze medal final game.
Tournament results Below is a summary of Italy's results in the ISBHF World Ball Hockey Championships:
Year Location Final position 2003 , Sierre 4th place 2005 , Pittsburgh Bronze (3rd) 2007 , Ratingen 4th place 2009 , Plzeň 7th place 2013 , St. John's 12th place 2015 , Zug 10th place 2017 , Pardubice 10th place 2019 , Košice 5th place 2022 , Laval 6th place 2024 , Visp / Raron 8th place
ISBHF World Ball Hockey Championships Rosters, Statistics & Results
Roster The following players were named to the Italy men's national ball hockey team for the 2019 ISBHF World Championships.
# Position Name Birth date Age at tournament Stick 96 F Adam Bevilacqua January 15, 1988 31 R 66 F Daniel Ponce May 29, 1990 29 R 61 D Massimo Principe March 11, 1975 44 L 99 F Daniel Setacci November 21, 1990 28 L 32 F Daniel Vernace July 11, 1991 27 R 29 G Anthony Flores August 26, 1985 33 — 30 G Markus Rocci March 7, 2002 17 L 14 D Stefano Alonzi June 18, 1995 23 L 44 D Peter Angiolella September 5, 1991 27 L 49 D Michael Antonali February 13, 1989 30 R 21 D Matthew De Persiis March 5, 1994 25 L 16 D Marc Falzoi February 3, 1988 31 L 5 D Adriano Fiacconi June 16, 1979 39 L 6 D Stefan Pittiglio August 5, 1998 20 L 90 F Massimo D’Ettore April 3, 1996 23 L 39 F Samuel Gagnon October 13, 1995 23 L 89 F Frank Giustini October 6, 1988 30 R 92 F Christopher Chirola April 21, 1988 31 L 12 F Tyler Laframboise December 19, 1991 27 L 13 F Anthony Novielli July 20, 1991 27 L 19 F Jonathan Pulicicchio (C) November 2, 1987 31 R 91 F Andrew Sisi November 14, 1989 29 L 67 F Daniel Tedesco December 10, 1993 25 L 17 F Francesco Zuccaro October 17, 1990 28 L
Player statistics Rank # Player GP G A P PPG SHG ENG PM 1 89 Frank Giustini 7 7 5 12 7 0 0 2 2 99 Daniel Setacci 7 3 8 11 3 0 0 8 3 66 Daniel Ponce 7 4 3 7 4 0 0 2 4 90 Massimo D’Ettore 7 2 4 6 2 0 0 2 5 19 Jonathan Pulicicchio 7 1 4 5 1 0 0 2 6 96 Adam Bevilacqua 7 0 4 4 0 0 0 2 7 32 Daniel Vernace 7 3 0 3 3 0 0 2 8 91 Andrew Sisi 7 2 1 3 2 0 0 10 9 67 Daniel Tedesco 7 1 2 3 1 0 0 14 10 61 Massimo Principe 7 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 11 17 Francesco Zuccaro 7 1 1 2 1 0 0 4 12 14 Stefano Alonzi 7 0 2 2 0 0 0 6 13 44 Peter Angiolella 7 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 14 92 Christopher Chirola 6 0 1 1 0 0 0 6 15 12 Tyler Laframboise 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 21 Matthew De Persiis 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17 16 Marc Falzoi 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 39 Samuel Gagnon 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 19 49 Michael Antonali 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 20 6 Stefan Pittiglio 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 21 5 Adriano Fiacconi 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 22 13 Anthony Novielli 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
Goaltender statistics Rank # Name GP Min Shots Saves GA Avg Svs% SO A PM 1 30 Markus Rocci 4 181 0 93 7 2.32 93.00 0 0 0 2 29 Anthony Flores 4 137 0 78 13 5.70 85.71 0 0 0
Match results Date Opponent Result Score June 14, 2019 Loss 4–6 June 16, 2019 Win 3–2 June 17, 2019 Loss 2–4 June 18, 2019 Win 8–1 June 20, 2019 (Quarterfinals) Loss 2–3 June 21, 2019 (Placement) Win (OT) 5–4 June 22, 2019 (5th place game) Win (OT) 2–1
References
External links inbhf.com