Lorenzo Bernardi

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 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.
Career
Born in Trento, Bernardi started his long career in the 1980s as setter, but later was switched to hitter and passer. From 1985 he played with the Panini Modena club. Bernardi won the Italian championship nine times with Modena and with Sisley Treviso, which he played for from 1990 to 2001.
His first cap with Italy national volleyball team was on 27 May 1987, he played for a total of 306 times in "Azzurri" colours, winning two European gold medals in (1989 and 1995), two World Championships (1990 and 1994), three Volleyball World Leagues and the Volleyball World Cup in 1995. His international tally also includes two more gold medals, five silver medals and one bronze.
Lorenzo was named the most valuable player of the 1992 FIVB World League after the Italians won the event for the third time in a row.
Lorenzo was named the Best Player of the 1994 FIVB World Championship after Italy captured the gold medal for the second consecutive time. During Bernardi's final Olympic Games appearance in 1996 in Atlanta, Italy won all five of its Pool B matches in straight sets. Italy continued its success with a four-set victory over Argentina in the quarterfinals, followed by a four-set semifinal victory over Serbia and Montenegro to reach its first-ever Olympic gold-medal match. However, Netherlands battled to a five-set victory leaving Italy with the silver medal.
Lorenzo was named the Best Player of the 1994 FIVB World Championship after Italy captured the gold medal for the second consecutive time.
In 2004, he played some competitions in Qatar and after a spell in Greece and Olympiacos, he has returned to play in Italy as of November 2005. In spite of his late age of 37, he was declared MVP of the first match in his new Italian club career. In his later career he played for a B1 series (Italy's third category) near his native Trento, finishing his playing career with Montichiari in 2007. Overall, Bernardi competed 306 times for Italy in international competition.
Lorenzo was part of nine Italian League championship teams to cement his legendary status in his home country.
During the 2010/2011 season, he took over the head coach position of the Polish club Jastrzębski Węgiel, and was able to reach the 4th spot in the CEV Champions League.
Bernardi in 2014 was named new coach of the Halkbank Ankara. In November 2016, he replaced Slobodan Kovač as coach of Sir Safety Perugia.
Style played
Lorenzo Bernardi’s versatility became a superior attribute to the sport that become a multi-talented hitter, outstanding passer and one of the ultimate all-around players of his generation.
Honours
As a player
CEV European Champions Cup
1989/1990 – with Modena Volley
1994/1995 – with Sisley Treviso
1998/1999 – with Sisley Treviso
1999/2000 – with Sisley Treviso
CEV Cup
1985/1986 – with Modena Volley
1993/1994 – with Sisley Treviso
CEV Challenge Cup
1990/1991 – with Sisley Treviso
1992/1993 – with Sisley Treviso
1997/1998 – with Sisley Treviso
2004/2005 – with Lube Banca Macerata
National championships
1985/1986 Italian Cup, with Modena Volley
1985/1986 Italian Championship, with Modena Volley
1986/1987 Italian Championship, with Modena Volley
1987/1988 Italian Cup, with Modena Volley
1987/1988 Italian Championship, with Modena Volley
1988/1989 Italian Cup, with Modena Volley
1988/1989 Italian Championship, with Modena Volley
1992/1993 Italian Cup, with Sisley Treviso
1993/1994 Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso
1995/1996 Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso
1997/1998 Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso
1998/1999 Italian SuperCup, with Sisley Treviso
1999/2000 Italian SuperCup, with Sisley Treviso
1999/2000 Italian Cup, with Sisley Treviso
1999/2000 Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso
2000/2001 Italian Championship, with Sisley Treviso
2001/2002 Italian SuperCup, with Sisley Treviso
As a coach
National championships
2014/2015 Turkish SuperCup, with Halkbank Ankara
2014/2015 Turkish Cup, with Halkbank Ankara
2015/2016 Turkish SuperCup, with Halkbank Ankara
2015/2016 Turkish Championship, with Halkbank Ankara
2017/2018 Italian SuperCup, with Sir Safety Perugia
2017/2018 Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Perugia
2017/2018 Italian Championship, with Sir Safety Perugia
2018/2019 Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Perugia
Individual awards
1992: FIVB World League – Most Valuable Player
1992: FIVB Club World Championship – Most Valuable Player
1994: FIVB World Championship – Most Valuable Player
1996: FIVB World League – Most Valuable Player
1996: FIVB World League – Best Scorer
State awards
2000: Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
References
External links
Coach profile at LegaVolley.it
Coach/Player profile at Volleybox.net
1968 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Trento
Italian men's volleyball players
Italian volleyball coaches
Olympic volleyball players for Italy
Olympic medalists in volleyball
Olympic silver medalists for Italy
Volleyball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Volleyball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Volleyball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Modena Volley players
Trentino Volley players
Volley Lube players
Olympiacos SFP (men's volleyball) players
Blu Volley Verona players
Jastrzębski Węgiel coaches
Expatriate volleyball players in Greece
Expatriate volleyball players in Qatar
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Italian expatriate volleyball players
Outside hitters
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Poland
Italian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate sports coaches