Andrea Giani

Andrea Giani (; born 22 April 1970) is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player who serves as head coach for the France national team and the Polish PlusLiga team, ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle.

Giani achieved numerous successes in the 1990s, including three World Championships with his national team. He was an all-rounder able to play both as an outside hitter and as a middle blocker, but he played several times as an opposite spiker too.

In 2008, Giani was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

Career Giani's father, Dario, was a rower who took part in the 1964 Summer Olympics for Italy. After having trained with his father, now a rowing coach, Andrea tried for a brief period as a football player. In 1985, the 14-year-old Giani began his career as a volleyball player for the local team of Sabaudia, in the Southern Latium, where he lived. Soon, news about his qualities spread and attracted attention from the two main volleyball clubs of Italy of the period: Panini Modena and Santal/Maxicono Parma.

Giani was chosen to play for the latter, initially with the junior team under Gian Paolo Montali as coach. Giani's first final for scudetto in the Parma major team was in 1987. Parma was defeated, as well as in the following seasons.

Giani won his first scudetto in 1990, which was to be followed by four more. In the meantime, in 1988, Giani had scored against Finland his first cap for Italy. His career with the Azzurri colours ended in 2005 after a total of 474 caps (record), making him one of the most renowned players in Italy and the world for his excellent technical and jumping capabilities. With Italy Giani won three World Championship titles in a row (1990, 1994 and 1998) and four European Championship titles (1993, 1995, 1999, 2003), and many others. He is a five-time Olympian who won three medals at the Olympic Games, but his team never won the gold medal, even though Italy was generally considered one of the favourites. He won silver medals at the 1996 and 2004 Summer Olympics, and a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. A few months later, he led Slovenia to victory in the European Volleyball League, which secured them a spot at the 2016 FIVB Volleyball World League. In October, Slovenia unexpectedly won their first medal in a major volleyball tournament after reaching the final of the 2015 European Championship, where they were defeated by France. In 2017, Giani replaced Vital Heynen as head coach of the Germany men's national volleyball team.

Honours As a player CEV European Champions Cup

FIVB Club World Championship

CEV Cup

CEV Challenge Cup

Domestic

As a coach CEV Cup

CEV Challenge Cup

Individual awards 1994: FIVB World League – Most valuable player 1995: FIVB World Cup – Most valuable player 1998: FIVB World League – Best blocker

State awards