Ignazio Degiorgio: “Italy must take the next step”

The EHF Beach Handball EURO 2025 on 8-13 July in Türkiye marks the 25-year anniversary of the championships. Back in 2000, Italy hosted the inaugural edition on the beach of Gaeta, some 130 kilometres southeast of Rome.

“It should be a source of pride for Italy to have organised the first European championships,” says Ignazio Degiorgio, now one of Italy’s leading players, but back then a one-year-old boy.

“From that team I know Simone Bargelli, the father of (current indoor international) Raul, who I faced many times as an indoor opponent.”

Italy not only hosted the event in 2000, but their men’s team finished fifth for what is still their best result at a EURO. However, those early days were a different era for beach handball, and only eight nations were at the start — less than at any other EURO since.

It would not take long until the young Ignazio picked up a handball. He was just three, four years old when he first got in touch with the sport.

“I went to watch my six-year-old brother practise and the coach little by little started to train me, too. From that moment on I have always and only played handball,” Degiorgio recalls.

And for someone born in Puglia, the next step towards beach handball was a small one.

“Every summer we organised an amateur tournament in Monopoli,” Degiorgio says. “The atmosphere, the cities, the beaches, the sea, handball... how can you not love this sport?”

Degiorgio has been combining indoor and beach handball ever since — with success.

He is a centre back with Pallamano Conversano, who are regular contenders in the EHF European Cup Men. On domestic soil, Conversano beat Black Devils from Merano twice in this season’s Serie A play-offs for their third Italian league title in the past five years, and eighth in total since 2003.

In the outdoor variant, Degiorgio was Italy’s second-best scorer with 35 points at the EURO two years ago, and he was again among the team’s leading shooters with 24 points at the EHF Championships last year.

“With the arrival of Pasquale Maione at the helm of the national team, the first call-ups arrived and now I can't wait for the ‘Azzurri’ call to arrive every time,” Degiorgio says.

Once a Conversano line player, Maione is a former Italian international who also combined an indoor with a beach handball career. He became the head coach of the national beach handball team three years ago.

According to Degiorgio, combing both sports is “never easy” as “sacrifices and a lot of training” are required for both.

“I can say that for 10 months I dedicate myself to indoor and for the other two to beach handball. It seems like a healthy compromise to me,” he says.

Handball in Italy is on the rise. The men’s indoor national team reached the main round of the 2025 IHF World Championship last January in only their second ever participation, and finished ahead of teams like Austria, Spain, or Poland.

And they have just qualified for the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 for only their second appearance, after taking part in 1998 as the host nation.

“This is very important for the whole development because all the children who approach this sport and start practising it dream of wearing the ‘Azzurri’ jersey and then participating in an event of this kind,” Degiorgio says.

“On the other hand, I think that beach handball is still viewed with scepticism by many clubs in Italy. For this reason, I think there is a lot of room for improvement.”

The outdoor variant might get a boost if Italy could do well at the EHF Beach Handball EURO 2025. Their women’s team are three-time EURO medallists, including a gold from 2009, but the men finished ninth in 2023 for only their second top-10 result from 11 participations.

Leading scorer Nicolas Dieguez, who contributed 53 points for Italy at the EURO two years ago, and team captain Christian Mitterrutzner — “the real driving force of the team,” Degiorgio says — are other key players in Maione’s squad.

“The guys who participated in the Youth Olympics (in 2018) have the most experience combined with an incredible technique,” Degiorgio says. “My role is the specialist, perhaps the role closest to indoor.”

Drawn into a preliminary round group with titleholders Hungary, 2019 runners-up Norway, and two-time bronze medallists Ukraine, Italy are up for a true challenge in their bid for a top-two finish in the group and a quarter-final spot in Alanya.

Two years ago, Italy also shared a group with Hungary and lost 2:0 to the eventual champions, though especially the first set was very close.

“⁠It is a very tough and motivating group, but in beach handball everything is possible and surprises are more frequent. Playing without the pressure of being the favourites could work in our favour,” Degiorgio says.

“We know that we will face teams with more training time than we have. In sport, the result is everything and we must take the next step.”

photos © MSV Photographers (main image); kolektiff