Lorenzo Bernardi
Lorenzo Bernardi (born August 11, 1968) is a former Italian volleyball player and coach, double European Champion (1989, 1995) and double World Champion (1990, 1994), silver medalist of the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996, a five-time gold medalist of FIVB World League.
Lorenzo Bernardi | |||||||
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Personal information | |||||||
Nationality | |||||||
Born | Trento, Italy | August 11, 1968||||||
Height | 1.99 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | ||||||
Spike | 340 cm (130 in) | ||||||
Block | 331 cm (130 in) | ||||||
Coaching information | |||||||
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Volleyball information | |||||||
Position | Outside hitter | ||||||
Career | |||||||
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National team | |||||||
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He was elected best player of the 1994 World Championship and 1995 European Championship, and in 2001, the FIVB declared him to be the "Volleyball Player of the Century" with Karch Kiraly.[1]
Career
Born in Trento, Bernardi started his long career in the 1980s as setter, but later was switched to hitter and passer. From 1985 he played with the Panini Modena club. Bernardi won the Italian championship nine times with Modena and with Sisley Treviso, which he played for from 1990 to 2001.
His first cap with Italy national volleyball team was on 27 May 1987, he played for a total of 306 times in "Azzurri" colours, winning two European gold medals in (1989 and 1995), two World Championships (1990 and 1994), three Volleyball World Leagues and the Volleyball World Cup in 1995. His international tally also includes two more gold medals, five silver medals and one bronze. Lorenzo was named the most valuable player of the 1992 FIVB World League after the Italians won the event for the third time in a row. Lorenzo was named the Best Player of the 1994 FIVB World Championship after Italy captured the gold medal for the second consecutive time. During Bernardi's final Olympic Games appearance in 1996 in Atlanta, Italy won all five of its Pool B matches in straight sets. Italy continued its success with a four-set victory over Argentina in the quarterfinals, followed by a four-set semifinal victory over Serbia and Montenegro to reach its first-ever Olympic gold-medal match. However, Netherlands battled to a five-set victory leaving Italy with the silver medal. Lorenzo was named the Best Player of the 1994 FIVB World Championship after Italy captured the gold medal for the second consecutive time. In 2004, he played some competitions in Qatar and after a spell in Greece and Olympiacos, he has returned to play in Italy as of November 2005. In spite of his late age of 37, he was declared MVP of the first match in his new Italian club career. In his later career he played for a B1 series (Italy's third category) near his native Trento, finishing his playing career with Montichiari in 2007. Overall, Bernardi competed 306 times for Italy in international competition. Lorenzo was part of nine Italian League championship teams to cement his legendary status in his home country. During the 2010/2011 season, he took over the head coach position of the Polish club Jastrzębski Węgiel, and was able to reach the 4th spot in the CEV Champions League. Bernardi in 2014 was named new coach of the Halkbank Ankara. In November 2016, he replaced Slobodan Kovač as coach of Sir Safety Perugia.[2]
Style played
Lorenzo Bernardi’s versatility became a superior attribute to the sport that become a multi-talented hitter, outstanding passer and one of the ultimate all-around players of his generation.[3]
Sporting achievements
As a player
- CEV Champions League
1989/1990, with Pallavolo Modena 1994/1995, with Sisley Treviso 1998/1999, with Sisley Treviso 1999/2000, with Sisley Treviso
- CEV Cup
1985/1986, with Pallavolo Modena 1993/1994, with Sisley Treviso
- CEV Challenge Cup
1990/1991, with Sisley Treviso 1992/1993, with Sisley Treviso 1997/1998, with Sisley Treviso 2004/2005, with Lube Banca Macerata
- National championships
- 1985/1986
Italian Cup, with Pallavolo Modena - 1985/1986
Italian Championship, with Pallavolo Modena - 1986/1987
Italian Championship, with Pallavolo Modena - 1987/1988
Italian Cup, with Pallavolo Modena - 1987/1988
Italian Championship, with Pallavolo Modena - 1988/1989
Italian Cup, with Pallavolo Modena - 1988/1989
Italian Championship, with Pallavolo Modena - 1992/1993
Italian Cup, with Sisley Treviso - 1993/1994
Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso - 1995/1996
Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso - 1997/1998
Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso - 1998/1999
Italian SuperCup, with Sisley Treviso - 1999/2000
Italian SuperCup, with Sisley Treviso - 1999/2000
Italian Cup, with Sisley Treviso - 1999/2000
Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso - 2000/2001
Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso - 2001/2002
Italian SuperCup, with Sisley Treviso
- 1985/1986
- National team
- 1989
CEV European Championship - 1990
FIVB World League - 1990
FIVB World Championship - 1991
FIVB World League - 1991
CEV European Championship - 1992
FIVB World League - 1994
FIVB World League - 1994
FIVB World Championship - 1995
CEV European Championship - 1995
FIVB World Cup - 1996
Olympic Games - 2000
FIVB World League - 2001
CEV European Championship
- 1989
As a coach
- CEV Champions League
2013/2014, with Jastrzębski Węgiel 2016/2017, with Sir Safety Perugia 2017/2018, with Sir Safety Perugia
- National championships
- 2012/2013
Polish Championship, with Jastrzębski Węgiel - 2013/2014
Polish Championship, with Jastrzębski Węgiel - 2014/2015
Turkish SuperCup, with Halkbank Ankara - 2014/2015
Turkish Cup, with Halkbank Ankara - 2015/2016
Turkish SuperCup, with Halkbank Ankara - 2015/2016
Turkish Championship, with Halkbank Ankara - 2017/2018
Italian SuperCup, with Sir Safety Perugia - 2017/2018
Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Perugia - 2017/2018
Italian Championship, with Sir Safety Perugia - 2018/2019
Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2012/2013
- National teams
- 1999
Mediterranean Games, with Italy B
- 1999
Individual awards
- 1992 World League "Most Valuable Player"
- 1994 World Championships "Most Valuable Player"
- 1995 European Championships "Most Valuable Player"
- 1996 World League "Most Valuable Player"
- 1996 World League "Best Scorer"
2000 Order of Merit of the Italian Republic President of the Republic