Italy men's national water polo team

"Settebello" redirects here. For the train, see Settebello (train). For the racehorse, see Sette Bello.

Italy
FINA codeITA
Nickname(s)Il Settebello
AssociationItalian Swimming Federation
ConfederationLEN (Europe)
Head coachMaurizio Mirarchi
Asst coachChristian Presciutti
CaptainMarco Del Lungo
FINA ranking (since 2008)
Current8 (as of 9 August 2021)
Highest2 (2012, 2016)
Lowest9 (2008, 2009, 2010)
Olympic Games (team statistics)
Appearances22 (first in 1920)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1948, 1960, 1992)
World Championship
Appearances22 (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
Appearances35 (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
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1948 London Team
Gold medal – first place 1960 Rome Team
Gold medal – first place 1992 Barcelona Team
Silver medal – second place 1976 Montreal Team
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Team
Bronze medal – third place 1952 Helsinki Team
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Atlanta Team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1978 West Berlin Team
Gold medal – first place 1994 Rome Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shanghai Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Gwangju Team
Silver medal – second place 1986 Madrid Team
Silver medal – second place 2003 Barcelona Team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Budapest Team
Silver medal – second place 2024 Doha Team
Bronze medal – third place 1975 Cali Team
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1993 Athens
Silver medal – second place 1989 West Berlin
Silver medal – second place 1995 Atlanta
Silver medal – second place 1999 Sydney
Silver medal – second place 2023 Los Angeles
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Malibu
World League
Gold medal – first place 2022 Strasbourg
Silver medal – second place 2003 New York
Silver medal – second place 2011 Florence
Silver medal – second place 2017 Ruza
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Almaty
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 1947 Monte Carlo
Gold medal – first place 1993 Sheffield
Gold medal – first place 1995 Vienna
Silver medal – second place 2001 Budapest
Silver medal – second place 2010 Zagreb
Bronze medal – third place 1954 Turin
Bronze medal – third place 1977 Jönköping
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Strasbourg
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Bonn
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Florence
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Budapest
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Eindhoven
Europa Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Rijeka
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 1955 Barcelona Team
Gold medal – first place 1963 Naples Team
Gold medal – first place 1975 Algiers Team
Gold medal – first place 1987 Latakia Team
Gold medal – first place 1991 Athens Team
Gold medal – first place 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon Team
Silver medal – second place 1959 Beirut Team
Silver medal – second place 1967 Tunis Team
Silver medal – second place 1971 İzmir Team
Silver medal – second place 1979 Split Team
Silver medal – second place 2001 Tunis Team
Silver medal – second place 2005 Almería Team
Bronze medal – third place 1983 Casablanca Team
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Pescara Team

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" (lit. 'Nice Seven'), the term for the seven of diamonds in the Italian card game scopa and a pun on 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

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

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

Olympic Games

Main article: Italy men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
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 8 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 7th 8 4 2 2
Total 22/28 151 91 18 42

World Championship

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 2
South Korea 2019 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 6 0 0
Hungary 2022 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 4 1 1
Japan 2023 5th 6 5 0 1
Qatar 2024 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 5 2 0
Singapore 2025 7th 6 3 1 2
Total 22/22 153 99 13 41

FINA World Cup

FINA World League

  • 2002 – Semi-final round[2]
  • 2003 – 2nd 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
  • 2011 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 2012 – 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal
  • 2013 – Preliminary round
  • 2014 – Preliminary round
  • 2015 – 7th place
  • 2016 – 4th place
  • 2017 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 2018 – Did not participate
  • 2019 – Preliminary round
  • 2020 – 4th place
  • 2022 – 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal

European Championship

Europa Cup

  • 2018 – 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal

Mediterranean Games

  • 1951 – Did not participate
  • 1955 – 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 1959 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 1963 – 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 1967 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 1971 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 1975 – 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 1979 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 1983 – 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal
  • 1987 – 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 1991 – 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 1993 – 1st place, gold medalist(s) Gold medal
  • 1997 – 4th place
  • 2001 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 2005 – 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal
  • 2009 – 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze medal
  • 2013 – 4th place
  • 2018 – 5th place
  • 2022 – 4th place

Current squad

Roster for the 2026 Men's European Water Polo Championship.[3]

Head coach: Sandro Campagna

Name Date of birth Pos. Club
Marco Del Lungo (C) (1990-03-01) 1 March 1990 (age 36) GK Italy RN Savona
Francesco Cassia (2002-03-29) 29 March 2002 (age 23) W Italy Pro Recco
Jacopo Alesiani (1996-06-18) 18 June 1996 (age 29) W Italy AN Brescia
Mario Del Basso (1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 27) CF Italy AN Brescia
Filippo Ferrero (2002-07-31) 31 July 2002 (age 23) W Italy AN Brescia
Edoardo Di Somma (1996-08-30) 30 August 1996 (age 29) DF Hungary FTC-Telekom
Vincenzo Dolce (1995-05-11) 11 May 1995 (age 30) CF Italy AN Brescia
Tommaso Gianazza (2002-07-21) 21 July 2002 (age 23) CF Italy AN Brescia
Matteo Iocchi Gratta (2002-09-01) 1 September 2002 (age 23) CF Italy Pro Recco
Lorenzo Bruni (1994-04-08) 8 April 1994 (age 31) CF Italy RN Savona
Francesco Condemi (2003-12-23) 23 December 2003 (age 22) W Italy Pro Recco
Alessandro Carnesecchi (2002-01-18) 18 January 2002 (age 24) W Italy CC Ortigia
Francesco De Michelis (1999-09-03) 3 September 1999 (age 26) GK Italy Training Academy Olympic Roma
Alessandro Balzarini (2003-11-28) 28 November 2003 (age 22) CF Italy AN Brescia
Mattia Antonucci (2000-11-02) 2 November 2000 (age 25) DF Italy Roma Vis Nova

See also

References

  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. ^ "Team Roster: Italy" (PDF). ea.microplustimingservices.com. 9 January 2026. p. 8.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy_men%27s_water_polo_national_team