He is the son of a former Olympic rower
Born on April 22, 1970, Andrea Giani did not have a volleyball as a blanket, but rather an oar.
Indeed, if his father was also a top athlete, it was not in a gym but on a body of water.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Dario Giani finished 6th in the men's eight final.
It was only natural that, at first, Andrea Giani therefore adjusted his step to that of his father by practicing rowing, before branching off into football and then only volleyball, a discipline for which he will have a lightning within the small club of Sabaudia.
Mutual love at first sight since the young teenager is not long in being noticed, by joining the much more upscale formation of Parma at only 15 years old.
He won everything as a player except Olympic gold
In twenty years of career on the pitch, Andrea Giani has built up an exceptional track record, both in clubs – where he only played in Parma (from 1985 to 1996) then Modena (1996 to 2007) – and in the Italian selection.
Thus, he won all possible European competitions, including two Champions Leagues with Modena (1997, 1998), as well as five Italian champion titles (1990, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2002), the reference championship in the 1990s. But the most impressive remains his three consecutive titles of world champion from 1990 to 1998, accompanied by four European crowns and seven World Leagues.
The only shadow on the board, the Olympic gold medal will have escaped him twice, with two finals lost in 1996 and 2004. A title that he can now aspire to as a
He is one of the 100 greatest athletes in Italian sport
On May 7, 2015, the "Walk of Fame" - in reference to that of cinema in Hollywood - of Italian sport was inaugurated in the Olympic park of the Foro Italico in Rome.
Among the 100 transalpine athletes chosen for this honor is Andrea Giani.
Logical given his record, but also his longevity in selection, he of which he is the record holder with 474 caps.
Having played in three different positions – central, pointed and receiver-attacker -, a versatility almost unique in the history of world volleyball at such a level.
He trains Earvin Ngapeth in a club
Since retiring from playing to become a coach, Andrea Giani hasn't quite enjoyed the same success.
Admittedly, he gleaned two CEV Cups in clubs and helped to allow Slovenia (2nd in 2015 after a defeat against… France in the final), then Germany (2nd in 2017), to climb on the podium of the Euro when he was its coach.
But he still lacks a very big title to establish his reputation as a coach.
An opportunity that the France team will offer him, led by a certain Earvin Ngapeth, whom he precisely manages in Modena.
According to various sources, the French volleyball star will have used all his weight so that the Italian is chosen to replace the Brazilian Bernardinho, who resigned after a few months due to family problems.
He left Germany for France
To train France, Andrea Giani therefore had to let go of the German selection, with whom he had however extended his contract for one season last January.
He was therefore not in a situation of failure at the head of the Mannschaft, despite the elimination of the latter in the quarter-finals of the last Euro.
Simply, the opportunity to take the direction of a training Olympic champion in title, and of the host country of the next Games, proved to be stronger and the German Federation did not seek to retain it at all costs, leaving him the freedom to join the Blues for services rendered since 2017. For Giani, before Paris 2024, certain stages will mark his journey.
Starting this year with the League of Nations (June 6 - July 24) and the World Championships (August 26 - September 11).