Rome, August 17. (LaPresse) – "The word 'Olympics' was never mentioned this summer. Only on Monday, a year after the gold in Paris, I said: we must focus only on the World Championship, without forgetting that a year ago we won Olympic gold. End of story," says Julio Velasco, the head coach of the Italian women’s volleyball team, in a long interview with Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of the World Championship starting on August 22. The Olympic gold in Paris, according to Velasco, is both "an advantage" and "a disadvantage." "It’s an advantage because there’s awareness; the girls know they’re strong. What worried me last year was that everything went perfectly, we left very little to our opponents. This year, we’ve faced some difficulties, we’ve won matches even when we didn’t play well, and this is very important for the World Championship. Because the girls now know their weaknesses, and they know how to overcome them." However, "the pressure to win is the heaviest burden an athlete can carry. In all sports. We, as a staff, try not to add extra expectations. The girls don’t need us to tell them they must win this World Championship. We don’t even talk about it. Our philosophy is 'ball by ball, set by set, match by match.' That’s where the mantra 'here and now' comes from. Don’t think about what’s already happened or worry about what hasn’t happened yet. It’s the oldest law in the world, I didn’t invent it. I just made it clear," concludes the Argentine coach.
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