The ninth symphony of Padova Rugby.
After defeating Dragons Milano yesterday in the semi-finals, today Franco Tessari's boys maintained their unbeaten record and won, not without difficulty, the ninth championship in their history. A balanced match, which saw the Paduans ahead in the opening two quarters, only to suffer the return of the red and whites in the remaining two halves of the game.
Joy, happiness and a spirit of self-denial accompanied the most successful quartet in the history of Italian wheelchair rugby, capable of winning even with important absences such as Rahourai and Toscano. Vicenza's heart and strength were great and they managed to keep Padova Rugby at bay and worry them, fighting until the end. The final for third place was also a very tight match, won by just one goal by the Mastini Cangrandi Verona who suffered a significant comeback from the Dragons Milano at the end (36-37).
"This victory is something enormous because we have come from a month in which we haven't been able to train well - declared Massimo Girardello, Padova Rugby captain -, so we haven't had any tests and consequently also with the new additions. We had difficulties against Vicenza, but today we put everything in, we had inside, all our heart, all the desire to do the feat, this year too, and this year too we did it.
It's a responsibility, it gives us even more incentive. I have 40 years of experience, so maybe I can bring something to the young people. We dedicate it to the president who is not here because he is at home with our first fan, his son Lorenzo, who was just born, and we dedicate the victory to the president, to Giulia, to our staff and also to the new arrival in Padova Rugby, Lorenzino. Come on, come on, we did it!".
For Franco Tessari, coach of Padova Rugby: "Very difficult match. I told the boys that it would be a match that would have to be played point by point, with many difficulties. We probably only had one quartet that could keep the score. If they had changed, I probably would have made some changes too, but at this moment with the insertion of the very strong Austrian boy, Vicenza has taken another step forward. Last year they only made a mistake in the final, having done a better championship than ours, but in the final they went just fine. This time they played well and we played on missed opportunities on both sides. Amín's inexperience also came to the fore, as he has been playing for the first year and a half. Despite having great physicality, he has not yet acquired a whole series of mechanisms that are fundamental in this sport.
FINAL H81 Vicenza - Padova Rugby 41-43 (9-11, 11-13, 10-9, 11-10) H81 VICENZA: Vicentini, Cibini, Schloffer, Renso, Giuriolo, Segato, Ferro, Santacatterina PADOVA RUGBY: Zurlo, Pinton, Giozet, Battistella, Sacerdoti, Girardello, Kbadi, Moukhari, Bettella, Bellin THIRD PLACE FINAL Dragons Milan - Mastini Cangrandi Verona 36-37 (7-11, 9-12, 11-10, 9-4) DRAGONS MILAN: Barbarossa, Zaganelli, Caponio, Sessa, Medina, Bellandi, Colombo, Somaini, Loa MASTINI CANGRANDI VERONA: Soldera, Sandu, Dalla Vecchia, Testa, Danzi, Macaccaro, Bejam, Vicentelli SEMIFINALS SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER DRAGONS MILAN - PADOVA RUGBY 39-49 H81 VICENZA - MASTINI CANGRANDI VERONA 45-43
