Twenty years of Pallanuoto Trieste. Officially announced the first teams for the 2023/2024 season
September 1, 2003 - September 1, 2023: twenty years of Pallanuoto Trieste. The 2023/2024 season of the Samer & Co. Shipping-sponsored club began with the official presentation of the men's and women's Serie A1 teams, held in the welcoming setting of the Tergeste Hall at the Savoia Excelsior Palace. It was a truly exciting and special day for the Alabardati association, which opens an exhilarating year marked by commitments in the league, the Italian Cup, and European cups: the men's Euro Cup and the women's Champions League.
In front of an audience filled with institutional and sports personalities, it was the president of Pallanuoto Trieste, Enrico Samer, who had the honor of hosting the event. He said, "In twenty years, we have come a long way; we started from scratch and gradually achieved all the goals we set for ourselves. Looking back at the past, there are many milestones that have brought us to the top. It was exactly on September 1, 2003, when this club was born with the first board meeting, resulting from the merger of the water polo sections of two centenary clubs, Edera and Triestina Nuoto. The turning point came with the two promotions to A1, in 2015 for the men and in 2019 for the women. Now we have become a reference point for Italian water polo; Trieste has the largest audience by far, and in the previous season, while playing the men's Euro Cup, we demonstrated that Pallanuoto Trieste also has an international vocation. Achieving the women's Champions League is perhaps the best culmination of these twenty years. The foundation of all this, however, is represented by the work we are doing with the youth sector thanks to the San Giovanni Pool, a facility that is essential for us. We look to the future with confidence."
Following the president, Lidia Samer, a council member of Pallanuoto Trieste, and then the coaches and captains who have marked two decades of fervent activity took the stage.
Franco Del Campo, the director of the "Bruno Bianchi" Federal Center, opened the remarks of the authorities, emphasizing how "it is an honor to support the journey of such a splendid entity as Pallanuoto Trieste, which was born from a rare and intelligent example of a merger between two clubs and now plays at the highest national levels."
Marcella Skabar reiterated her "admiration for the Samer family, which has always been close to local sports and is now taking the name of our city across Europe with Pallanuoto Trieste."
It was then the turn of the culture and sports councillor of the Municipality of Trieste, Giorgio Rossi, who said, "Pallanuoto Trieste is a beacon that illuminates Trieste's sports scene. Credit goes to President Samer, who has managed to reconcile patronage and corporate mentality. Now we stand by his side in the realization of Trieste Campus, a project that will provide additional space for the activities of many disciplines."
Finally, Fabio Scoccimarro, the environmental and energy councillor of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, spoke: "I started following the epic of Pallanuoto Trieste a long time ago when I was the president of the Province. The added value that has allowed today's results is indeed the commitment and sacrifice of the athletes, but also the constant support of a strong entrepreneurial group like the Samer family."
The sports director of Pallanuoto Trieste, Andrea Brazzatti, tried to outline the path to follow in the 2023/2024 season: "We have strengthened both our teams, which were already coming off a decidedly positive year. The goal is to be protagonists in all competitions. We are growing, we still have a lot of work to do, but the prerequisites to do well are there. Moreover, participating in the European cups, the men's Euro Cup and the historic first appearance in the Champions League for the women, gives us additional motivation. We will try to go far."
The presentation then continued with the individual introduction of the Alabardati athletes, starting with the women's Serie A1 team and continuing with the men's Serie A1 team, leaving room at the end for captains Lucrezia Cergol and Ray Petronio and coaches Paolo Zizza and Daniele Bettini.
And in two weeks, it's time to get serious. Between September 15 and 17, the men's Italian Cup will be played, between September 22 and 24, there will be a double continental appointment with the first round of the men's Euro Cup and the preliminary round of the women's Champions League, and on October 1, the debut in the "Bruno Bianchi" in the Serie A1 men's and women's championships, with the respective opponents being Distretti Ecologici and Como Nuoto.
