Re Borbone Palermo, four signings for the assault on Serie A-3.

Last Updated: July 22, 2023

Re Borbone Palermo, quattro acquisti per l'assalto alla Serie A-3

#Palermo
The Re Borbone Palermo has been working for months to plan the next season, which will see the green and white team once again compete in the Serie B men’s volleyball championship. President Giorgio Locanto has already finalized the registration and reached an agreement with coach Nicola Ferro, who has been leading the Palermo team for over ten years. After finishing third in the last championship, just one step away from qualifying for the Serie A-3 playoffs, the goal is to assemble an even more competitive team with a higher level of experience. Supporting the club financially, once again, will be the Re Borbone restaurant chain, “which in a city often indifferent to sports events,” says President Locanto, “continues to embrace our project and support us with passion and enthusiasm.” Re Borbone will be the main sponsor, while waiting for other companies to get involved with a club that has represented high-level volleyball in the city and throughout central-western Sicily for over 40 years.

Here are the arrivals and departures:

For weeks, the Re Borbone Palermo has been busy in the transfer market, and there will be many new additions for the 2023-24 season. This management upheaval is aimed at enhancing the team’s experience and covering all areas of the field. This is all in anticipation of the implementation of Decree 36/21, which has not yet fully defined the new tax rules that could disrupt the established norms of past years. From the previous squad, some players have been confirmed for the upcoming season, including veteran “bomber” Fabian Gruessner and wingers Giuseppe Ferro, Marco Lombardo, and Andrea Simanella. However, the central player Gianluigi Simanella will only be available from February due to his studies abroad. Several players will not be part of the team anymore for various reasons, including winger Nicola Atria, former captain Giovanni Blanco, setter Renato Galia, and libero Marco Sutera.

Their places have been filled with the signings of libero Marco De Santis, who spent two seasons in A-3 in Palmi, setter Marco Pedrinelli, who comes from Cantù (Serie C) and was a European champion under 17 for the national team, as well as middle blockers Luca Testagrossa (who recently won the Serie B championship in Sarroch, Sardinia) and Giulio Raneli, a former player for Don Orione Palermo and previously in Partinico in Serie B. But there are more changes on the horizon to complete the squad and ensure that coach Nicola Ferro has a team capable of competing on equal terms with the strongest opponents.

The composition of the group, which is expected to consist of teams from Sicily and Calabria, has not yet been officially announced. The schedules will be released by August 10th, and the championship will start on the weekend of October 7-8.