Julio Velasco

Julio Velasco (born 9 February 1952) is an Argentine-Italian volleyball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Italy women's national volleyball team, which he led to victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 World Championship.

During his career, Velasco has coached several national teams to podium finishes. He has won two Olympic medals (one gold and one silver), three World Championships (becoming the first – and so far only – coach to win both the men's and the women's titles), three European Championships, two Asian Championships, three Mediterranean Games medals (two gold and one silver), and a gold medal at the Pan American Games. He has also claimed eleven additional international titles.

In club competitions, Velasco has won four Argentine championships, four Italian championships, three Italian Cups, one Italian Super Cup, and one CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

Career Player Velasco began playing volleyball at the age of 15 for the National University of La Plata Club.

Coach Velasco became an assistant coach of the Argentina men's national volleyball team from 1981 to 1983. In 1983, he was invited to coach Tre Valli Jesi in Italy, where he remained until 1985. He then coached Panini Modena from 1985 to 1989, leading them to four consecutive Italian national championships from 1986 to 1989. In 1989, he was appointed head coach of the Italy men's national volleyball team, leading them to unprecedented success. His first trophy with the Italian side came at the 1989 Men's European Volleyball Championship in Sweden, where they topped their preliminary group with only one loss, advanced through the knockout stage, and defeated the host nation Sweden 3–1 in the final to win their first official international title.

It was in 1990 that Velasco helped Italy reach the pinnacle of world volleyball, guiding them to victory at the 1990 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship in Brazil. In the knockout stage, Italy defeated Argentina 3–0 in the quarter-finals, hosts Brazil 3–2 in the semi-finals, and Cuba 3–1 in the final to claim their first world title. During his tenure as Italy’s coach, Velasco won two additional European Championships, another World Championship, and five FIVB Volleyball World League titles. He also secured several other honours, including the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup, Mediterranean Games, FIVB World Cup, and the World Super Challenge. Under his leadership, the Italian men's team also won their first Olympic silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, a historic moment for the Italian Volleyball Federation (FIPAV).

After the 1996 Olympics, Velasco transitioned to coaching the Italy women's national volleyball team from 1996 to 1997, leading them to a gold medal at the 1997 Mediterranean Games. He coached the Czech Republic men's national volleyball team in 2001 and returned to Italy to coach Copra Piacenza in 2002. In 2008, he became head coach of the Spain men's national volleyball team, which he led to two finals in the European Volleyball League and to a final at the Mediterranean Games. In 2011, Velasco was appointed head coach of the Iran men's national volleyball team. He left before his contract expired on 1 March 2014, after winning two Asian Championships, following a request from then-President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, to return home. His contract termination was approved by the Iranian Volleyball Federation.

Velasco subsequently led the Argentina men's team to a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. After the experience with the national team of his home country, Velasco was appointed head coach of Modena Volley for the 2018–2019 season. In 2024, he was formally appointed head coach of the Italy women's national volleyball team. Since his arrival, the Italian national team has won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the 2025 World Championship, and two Nations League titles.

Administrator During the 1998–99 season, Velasco was General Director of UEFA Cup Winner's Cup winner S.S. Lazio, and in 2000, he moved to Massimo Moratti's Inter Milan.

Honours Ferro Primera División: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982

Modena Serie A1: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 Coppa Italia: 1986, 1988, 1989 Italian Super Cup: 2018 CEV Cup Winners's Cup: 1986

Italy men's national team Olympic Silver Medal: 1996 FIVB World Championship: 1990, 1994 European Volleyball Championship: 1989, 1993, 1995 runner-up: 1991 FIVB World League: 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995 runner-up: 1996 3rd place: 1993 FIVB World Cup: 1995 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup: 1993 World Top Four FIVB: 1994 World Super Six FIVB: 1996 Mediterranean Games Gold Medal: 1991

Italy women's national team Olympic Gold Medal: 2024 FIVB World Championship: 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League: 2024, 2025 Mediterranean Games Gold Medal: 1997

Spain men's national team Mediterranean Games Silver Medal: 2009 Men's European Volleyball League runner-up: 2009, 2010

Iran men's national team Asian Men's Volleyball Championship: 2011, 2013

Argentina men's national team Pan American Games Gold Medal: 2015

Individual awards 1990 FIVB World Championship – Best Coach 1991 Medal of Merit Sport Organization Italy 1993 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup – Best Coach 1995 FIVB World Cup – Best Coach 2000 Konex Award – Technical Director 2012 Società Italiana Medici Manager – Technical Award 2014 Coach of the Year in Iran 2022 CEV – Lifetime Achievement Award

Orders

About him Velasco was a philosophy student and a Maoist militant during his university days, which led to his expulsion by the board of the National University of La Plata in 1974. After the 1976 Argentine coup d'état, he was forced to live in semi-clandestinity due to his previous political involvement — a situation that compelled him to move to Buenos Aires, where he secured his first volleyball coaching job. He discussed coaching with football mastermind Pep Guardiola on multiple occasions. While Velasco was living in Italy, Guardiola once travelled hundreds of kilometres to meet the Argentine volleyball coach in person, simply because he had seen him in a television interview and wanted to learn from him.