In the eighth edition of the Italian Men’s Super Cup, two Sardinian teams met for the first time in the competition’s history. Marcozzi Cagliari triumphed over Tennistavolo Sassari in a dramatic 36–45, 45–44, 45–38 victory and received the trophy from FITeT Deputy Vice President Carlo BORELLA and Councillor Raffaele CURCIO.
This marks the sixth major title in Marcozzi’s history, following four Italian Championships (1990, 1992, 2000, 2001) and last year’s Italian Cup.
As in the women’s event, the Super Cup used the relay format, with pairs of players alternating every five points and each set played to 45. Marcozzi led by Rares SIPOS (ROU), Jeet CHANDRA (IND), and Carlo ROSSI and Federico VALLINO COSTASSA (ITA), mounted multiple comebacks to overcome Sassari’s lineup of Santiago LORENZO, John OYEBODE, Andrea PUPPO, and Marco CAPPUCCIO.
Coach Massimo FERRERO described the match as an emotional ride:
“It was like a roller coaster. We lost the first game, but recovered in the final points and gained confidence. In the second, we started behind again but came back and took the lead for the first time. We prevailed at ‘sudden death’ and everything reopened. At that point we believed even more.
We fought hard in the third game too, again coming from behind. The guys all played well at key moments and took control. Even in the toughest moments we stayed in the match. In the end, team spirit won out.”
FERRERO then analysed the individual performances:
“VALLINO COSTASSA replaced CHANDRA in the first game and fought hard. In the second, he made way for ROSSI, who was excellent against PUPPO, and in the third he secured the decisive lead against OYEBODE.
SIPOS pushed a comeback in the first game, then clearly beat PUPPO again in the second and gave us momentum against LORENZO.
CHANDRA closed both the second and third games. His game is risky — he makes mistakes, but to stay aggressive he needs to be ahead. We know him well; he performs best under pressure. We knew this would be his match, and it was.”
FERRERO emphasised the importance of the achievement:
“We are happy to bring the second Super Cup to Cagliari, after the women’s title recently won by Quattro Mori. We really care about this trophy it is the sixth in our club’s history. After the four league titles won with my father Fabio on the bench, this is my second as coach, following last year’s Italian Cup. And I’m only 35, there’s time.”
Tennistavolo Sassari – Marcozzi Cagliari 36–45, 44–45, 38–45
First Game
- PUPPO – ROSSI 5–1
- OYEBODE – SIPOS 5–5 (10–6)
- LORENZO – CHANDRA 5–2 (15–8)
- OYEBODE – ROSSI 5–5 (20–13)
- PUPPO – VALLINO COSTASSA 5–4 (25–17)
- LORENZO – SIPOS 5–3 (30–20)
- OYEBODE – VALLINO COSTASSA 5–3 (35–23)
- LORENZO – ROSSI 5–4 (40–27)
- PUPPO – SIPOS 5–9 (45–36)
Second Game
- OYEBODE – SIPOS 5–4
- PUPPO – CHANDRA 5–3 (10–7)
- LORENZO – VALLINO COSTASSA 5–1 (15–8)
- PUPPO – SIPOS 5–9 (20–17)
- OYEBODE – ROSSI 5–5 (25–22)
- LORENZO – CHANDRA 5–3 (30–25)
- PUPPO – ROSSI 5–8 (35–33)
- LORENZO – SIPOS 3–7 (38–40)
- OYEBODE – CHANDRA 6–5 (44–45)
Third Game
- OYEBODE – CHANDRA 5–2
- PUPPO – SIPOS 5–4 (10–6)
- LORENZO – ROSSI 5–6 (15–12)
- OYEBODE – SIPOS 5–7 (20–19)
- LORENZO – CHANDRA 5–4 (25–23)
- PUPPO – ROSSI 4–5 (29–30)
- LORENZO – SIPOS 4–5 (33–35)
- OYEBODE – ROSSI 0–5 (33–40)
- PUPPO – CHANDRA 5–5 (38–45)
