He's been involved in all four world titles won by the Italian men’s national volleyball team. The current Head Coach of Italvolley, Ferdinando De Giorgi, was part of a true golden era as a player, becoming a World Champion three times in 1990, 1994 and 1998. 24 years later, he led the Azzurri to glory from the bench.

'Fefè' is a major figure in the volleyball world and, during the latest edition of the Golden Bench (Panchina d’oro), he was one of the speakers at the professional training course, addressing coaches from the world of football. That day, he received a Special Golden Bench award, becoming the first coach of another sport to receive such an accolade from the FIGC Technical Sector.

An extraordinary professional skilled at enrapturing his audience with his stories and explanations, De Giorgi held an exclusive interview with the Technical Sector, during which he talked about the links that exist between the seemingly very different disciplines of football and volleyball, his time abroad and his ability to always find new sources of motivation. To listen to the podcast containing the interview, click here.

The interview with De Giorgi is the second of four podcast episodes dedicated to major figures from the most recent edition of the Golden Bench. On Thursday 9 March, an interview with Juventus Women’s coach, Joe Montemurro, will be published on the Technical Sector website, after which the thoughts of Fabio Pecchia and Silvio Baldini (the winners of the Silver Bench and Serie C Golden Bench, respectively) will bring the series to an end on Monday 13 March.

Click here to listen to the podcast featuring an interview with Argentina’s World Cup-winning Head Coach, Lionel Scaloni.