Paolo Nicolai
Encyclopedia
Paolo Nicolai is an Italian beach volleyball player.
Paolo Nicolai won the gold medal in the 2007 and 2008 FIVB Youth Beach Volleyball World Championships together with Francesco Giontella. They are the first team in the history of the game that succeeded two times in a row in the YWC. After an outstanding performance in the 2008 World Championships in Brighton, in 2008, Paolo has been awarded as MVP and Best Blocker of the event. In January 2009 the adventure with Francesco came to an end and Matteo Varnier, the greatest Italian beacher at the time, was chosen by the FIPAV to pursue with Paolo the olympic qualification. With his new teammate, Paolo reached a 5th place in the Rome Grand Slam in 2009 and the tile of Italian Champion 2009. Unfortunately, due to repeated injuries occurred to Varnier's right shoulder, Paolo was forced to play with several different teammates in 2010. Despite the difficulties, he managed to reach the final of the Italian Championship and to obtain some satisfactory placements in the Swatch FIVB World Tour
. Paolo's Olympic dream was then pursued with Matteo Martino
, former indoor Serie A1 player. At their second appearance in the 2011 season, in the Swatch FIVB World Championships 2011 in Rome
, they obtained a surprising 9th place. However, Michael Dodd, former silver-medalist in Atlanta 1996, after taking over Dionisio Lequaglie as coach of the Italian National Team, assigned a new teammate to Paolo, Daniele Lupo, after a couple of unsatisfactory performances of the couple Martino-Nicolai . The new team showed immediately a great feeling, putting Paolo and Daniele steadily among the top 10 pairs of the World Tour in 2011. The new Italian pair reached its peak result with the 5th place in the FIVB World Tour in The Hague. They keep struggling for the Olympic Qualification.
Paolo Nicolai won the gold medal in the 2007 and 2008 FIVB Youth Beach Volleyball World Championships together with Francesco Giontella. They are the first team in the history of the game that succeeded two times in a row in the YWC. After an outstanding performance in the 2008 World Championships in Brighton, in 2008, Paolo has been awarded as MVP and Best Blocker of the event. In January 2009 the adventure with Francesco came to an end and Matteo Varnier, the greatest Italian beacher at the time, was chosen by the FIPAV to pursue with Paolo the olympic qualification. With his new teammate, Paolo reached a 5th place in the Rome Grand Slam in 2009 and the tile of Italian Champion 2009. Unfortunately, due to repeated injuries occurred to Varnier's right shoulder, Paolo was forced to play with several different teammates in 2010. Despite the difficulties, he managed to reach the final of the Italian Championship and to obtain some satisfactory placements in the Swatch FIVB World Tour
Swatch FIVB World Tour
The Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour is an intercontinental beach volleyball tour....
. Paolo's Olympic dream was then pursued with Matteo Martino
Matteo Martino
Matteo Martino is an Italian volleyball player. He finished 4th with his team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.- References :* at sports-reference.com...
, former indoor Serie A1 player. At their second appearance in the 2011 season, in the Swatch FIVB World Championships 2011 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, they obtained a surprising 9th place. However, Michael Dodd, former silver-medalist in Atlanta 1996, after taking over Dionisio Lequaglie as coach of the Italian National Team, assigned a new teammate to Paolo, Daniele Lupo, after a couple of unsatisfactory performances of the couple Martino-Nicolai . The new team showed immediately a great feeling, putting Paolo and Daniele steadily among the top 10 pairs of the World Tour in 2011. The new Italian pair reached its peak result with the 5th place in the FIVB World Tour in The Hague. They keep struggling for the Olympic Qualification.
Honours and awards
- 2006: Silver Medal in FIVB u-19 World Championships
- 2007: Bronze Medal in the CEVCEVCEV may stand for:*Certified Video Engineer, a professional title regulated by the Society of Broadcast Engineers*Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans, a Swiss railway company*Contemporary English Version, a translation of the Bible into English...
Youth European Championships - 2007: Gold Medal in the FIVB Youth World Championships
- 2008: Gold Medal in th FIVB Youth World Championships
- Best Blocker of the 2008 YWC
- MVP of the 2008 YWC
- 2009: Italian Champion
- 2009: 5th place SWT FIVB Rome
- 2011: 9th place World Championships Rome
- 2011: 5th place FIVB World Tour The Hague