VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS from Italy

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Italian Volleyball Players of all time. This list of famous Italian Volleyball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Italian Volleyball Players.

1. Andrea Anastasi (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 47.45, Andrea Anastasi is the most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Andrea Anastasi (born 8 October 1960) is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player. He was a member of the Italy national team from 1981 to 1991, and during his career won the 1990 World Champion title. Since the 2023–24 season, he has been serving as head coach for Gas Sales Piacenza.

2. Ivan Zaytsev (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 41.21, Ivan Zaytsev is the 2nd most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Ivan Vyacheslavovich Zaytsev (Italian: [ˈiːvan ˈdzaittsef, -ev]; Russian: Иван Вячеславович Зайцев, IPA: [ɪˈvan vʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪdʑ ˈzajtsɨf]; born 2 October 1988), nicknamed lo Zar ('the Tsar'), is an Italian professional volleyball player of Russian origin, former captain of Italy men's national volleyball team, a bronze medalist of the Olympic Games London 2012, silver medalist of the European Championship (2011, 2013), bronze medalist of the World League (2013, 2014), Italian Champion (2014) and silver medalist of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

3. Lorenzo Bernardi (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 40.47, Lorenzo Bernardi is the 3rd most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Lorenzo Bernardi (born 11 August 1968) is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player, a silver medallist at the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996, two–time World Champion (1990, 1994), and a two–time European Champion (1989, 1995). Bernardi was elected the best player of the 1994 World Championship and 1995 European Championship, and in 2001, the FIVB declared him to be the "Volleyball Player of the Century" with Karch Kiraly.

4. Andrea Gardini (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 39.84, Andrea Gardini is the 4th most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Andrea Gardini (born 1 October 1965) is an Italian professional volleyball coach and former player, a silver (Atlanta 1996) and bronze (Sydney 2000) Olympic Games medallist, three–time World Champion (1990, 1994, 1998), and four–time European Champion (1989, 1993, 1995, 1999). Gardini was the captain of the Italian team at the 2000 Olympics. He was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2007. Since the 2024–25 season, he has served as head coach for Olympiacos.

5. Andrea Zorzi (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 37.51, Andrea Zorzi is the 5th most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Andrea Zorzi (born 29 July 1965) is an Italian former volleyball player, won two World Championships with the Italy men's national volleyball team (1990 and 1994). A 201 cm athlete, Zorzi was an effective spiker who played as an opposite hitter. He was popularly known as "Zorro". In 1991, he was declared World's Best Player by the FIVB. In 2024, Zorzi was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

6. Francesca Piccinini (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 37.07, Francesca Piccinini is the 6th most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Francesca Piccinini (born 10 January 1979 in Massa) is an Italian volleyball player who has represented Italy four times (2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012) at the Summer Olympics. She was a member of the Women's National Team that won the gold medal at the 2002 World Championship in Germany. She made her debut for Italy on 10 June 1995 against the United States. She was inspired to become a professional volleyball player by the Japanese anime Attack No. 1, shown in Italy in the 1980s under the title Mimì e la nazionale della pallavolo. In 2004, she appeared nude in a calendar published by the Italian magazine Men's Health and modeled for Liu·Jo. Playing professionally with the Italian club Volley Bergamo, she won the "Most Valuable Player" award when her team won the 2009–10 CEV Indesit Champions League title. Piccinini played with her national team at the 2014 World Championship. There her team ended up in fourth place after losing the bronze medal match 2–3 to Brazil. In 2016, she again became "Most Valuable Player" when her team, Pomì Casalmaggiore, claimed the 2015–16 CEV DenizBank Champions League title 3–0 over the Turkish VakıfBank Istanbul.

7. Samuele Papi (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 34.37, Samuele Papi is the 7th most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Samuele Papi (born 20 May 1973) is an Italian former volleyball player, a member of Italy men's national volleyball team in 1993–2012, silver and bronze medalist of the Olympic Games, multiple winner of the European Championship and World Championship, silver medalist of the World Cup 2003, three-time CEV Champions League winner, double CEV Cup winner, four-time Challenge Cup winner, six-time Italian Champion.

8. Luigi Mastrangelo (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 33.70, Luigi Mastrangelo is the 8th most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Luigi Mastrangelo (born 17 August 1975 in Mottola, Italy) is an Italian men's volleyball player, a member of Italy men's national volleyball team 1999-2012. Mastrangelo with national team winner silver and bronze medalist of the Olympic Games, multiple winner of the European Championship and World League. He was the star of the Italian team in their course.

9. Emanuele Birarelli (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 33.05, Emanuele Birarelli is the 9th most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Emanuele Birarelli (born 8 February 1981) is an Italian volleyball player, a member of Italy men's national volleyball team and Italian club Sir Safety Perugia, silver medalist of 2016 Summer Olympics, bronze medalist of 2012 Summer Olympics and participant of the Olympic Games 2008 Summer Olympics, World League (2013, 2014) and silver medalist of European Championship (2011, 2013).

10. Simone Giannelli (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 32.61, Simone Giannelli is the 10th most famous Italian Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Simone Giannelli (born 9 August 1996) is an Italian volleyball player, a member of the Italy men's national volleyball team and Italian club Sir Safety Perugia, silver medalist of the 2015 World Cup, bronze medalist of the 2015 European Championship, and gold medalist of the 2021 Men's European Volleyball Championship and the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship.