Italy men's national water polo team

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Italy
FINA codeITA
Nickname(s)Il Settebello
AssociationItalian Swimming Federation
ConfederationLEN (Europe)
Head coachSandro Campagna
Asst coachAmedeo Pomilio
Goran Volarević
CaptainFrancesco Di Fulvio
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current8 (as of 9 August 2021)
Highest2 (2012, 2016)
Lowest9 (2008, 2009, 2010)
Olympic Games (team statistics)
Appearances20 (first in 1920)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1948, 1960, 1992)
World Championship
Appearances21 (first in 1973)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1978, 1994, 2011, 2019)
World Cup
Appearances12 (first in 1979)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1993)
World League
Appearances19 (first in 2002)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2022)
European Championship
Appearances33 (first in 1927)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1947, 1993, 1995)
Europa Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2018)
Best result3rd place, bronze medalist(s) (2018)
Mediterranean Games
Appearances17 (first in 1955)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1955, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1991, 1993)
Media
Websitefedernuoto.it
Last updated: 5 September 2021

The Italy national water polo team represents Italy in men's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Federnuoto (the Italian Aquatics Federation). The national men's team has the nickname of "Settebello", a reference to both the Italian card game scopa and a standard water polo team having seven players.

The Italian men's water polo team has won 8 Olympic medals, 7 World Championships, 5 World Cup, 11 European Championships medals and 3 World League medals, making them one of the most successful men's water polo teams in the world. They have won a combined twelve championships in those five competitions, with the World League, the last competition which Italy won in 2022.

History[edit]

The Italian water polo team, of the early 1950s

Water Polo became popular in Italy soon after 1899, when an exhibition match was played at the Bath of Diana in Milan, with the match being described in the press as: "like football but more tiring and difficult, requiring energy and strength beyond the ordinary".[1]

Although a domestic league was soon established, the Italy national water polo team did not first compete at the Olympic Games until the 1920 Olympics, in Antwerp, Belgium, where they were forced to forfeit their first round match, before losing 5–1 to Greece and being eliminated.

The national team first fulfilled their potential at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England, when they went undefeated for the whole tournament to claim their first gold medal in the discipline.

The Italian team reclaimed the title of Olympic champions in front of a home crowd at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. Italy won their third Olympic title at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, beating the hosts and tournament favourites Spain 9–8 after extra time in a thrilling final. Only Hungary (9), and Great Britain (4) have more Olympic titles.

The Italy national side have also won four World Championships, in 1978, 1994, 2011 and 2019, and the World Cup once in 1993. Italy also claimed their first European Championship in 1947.

Competitive record[edit]

Competition 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
Olympic Games 3 2 3 8
World Championship 4 4 1 9
World Cup 1 4 1 6
World League 1 3 1 5
European Championship 3 2 7 12
Europa Cup 0 0 1 1
Universiade 4 4 6 14
Mediterranean Games 6 6 2 14
Total 22 25 22 69

Results[edit]

Olympic Games[edit]

Year[2] Position Pld W D L
France 1900 Did not participate
United States 1904
United Kingdom 1908
Sweden 1912
Belgium 1920 10th 2 0 0 2
France 1924 11th 1 0 0 1
Netherlands 1928 Did not participate
United States 1932
Germany 1936
United Kingdom 1948 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 6 1 0
Finland 1952 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 6 0 2
Australia 1956 4th 6 3 0 3
Italy 1960 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 5 1 0
Japan 1964 4th 6 3 0 3
Mexico 1968 4th 9 6 1 2
West Germany 1972 6th 6 3 2 3
Canada 1976 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 4 3 1
Soviet Union 1980 8th 8 4 1 3
United States 1984 7th 7 4 2 1
South Korea 1988 7th 7 3 2 2
Spain 1992 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 5 2 0
United States 1996 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 7 0 1
Australia 2000 5th 8 6 0 2
Greece 2004 8th 7 4 0 3
China 2008 9th 8 4 0 4
United Kingdom 2012 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 5 1 2
Brazil 2016 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 5 0 3
Japan 2020 7th 8 4 2 2
France 2024 Qualified
Total 22/28 143 87 16 40

World Championship[edit]

Year Position Pld W D L
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1973 4th 8 5 0 3
Colombia 1975 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 4 2 2
West Germany 1978 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 5 3 0
Ecuador 1982 9th 7 5 0 2
Spain 1986 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 5 0 2
Australia 1991 6th 7 4 0 3
Italy 1994 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 7 0 0
Australia 1998 5th 8 5 1 2
Japan 2001 4th 8 4 1 3
Spain 2003 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 5 0 1
Canada 2005 8th 7 2 0 5
Australia 2007 5th 7 5 0 2
Italy 2009 11th 6 2 0 4
China 2011 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 6 0 0
Spain 2013 4th 7 5 0 2
Russia 2015 4th 7 3 1 3
Hungary 2017 6th 7 4 1 3
South Korea 2019 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 6 0 0
Hungary 2022 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 4 0 2
Japan 2023 5th 6 5 0 1
Qatar 2024 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 5 2 0
Total 21/21 147 96 11 40

FINA World Cup[edit]

FINA World League[edit]

  • 2002 – Semi-final round[2]
  • 20032nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 2004 – 4th place
  • 2005 – Semi-final round
  • 2006 – Preliminary round
  • 2007 – Preliminary round
  • 2008 – 7th place
  • 2009 – 5th place
  • 2010 – Preliminary round
  • 20112nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 20123rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal
  • 2013 – Preliminary round
  • 2014 – Preliminary round
  • 2015 – 7th place
  • 2016 – 4th place
  • 20172nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 2018Did not participate
  • 2019 – Preliminary round
  • 2020 – 4th place
  • 20221st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal

European Championship[edit]

Europa Cup[edit]

  • 20183rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal

Mediterranean Games[edit]

  • 1951 – Unknown
  • 19551st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 19592nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 19631st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 19672nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 19712nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 19751st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 19792nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 19833rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal
  • 19871st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 19911st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 19931st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 1997 – 4th place
  • 20012nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 20052nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 20093rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal
  • 2013 – 4th place
  • 2018 – 5th place
  • 2022 – 4th place

Current squad[edit]

Roster for the 2024 World Championships.[3]

Head coach: Sandro Campagna

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "FEDERAZIONE - Federazione Italiana Nuoto". Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2013. History of Italian Water Polo
  2. ^ a b c "HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics" (PDF). fina.org. FINA. September 2019. pp. 4, 14, 25, 40, 48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  3. ^ "21st World Aquatics World Championships Men's Water Polo Team Roster ITA" (PDF). Omega Timing. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.

External links[edit]