Andrea Lucchetta

The most famous Italian volleyball player since 1980 and the most beloved and likeable public figure among contemporary sports personalities, even before the social media era of fleeting and concise content. For over 10 years, he has maintained a cross-generational presence in the media.

From his very first steps in volleyball at the Salesians of Astori in Mogliano Veneto, he has always shown care for others and his teammates in building that team spirit which has become his strength, including through the captaincy roles he earned on the court.
From 1988 at the Seoul Olympics, where he was selected as a non-playing captain due to a cast on his left foot, through to 1989, the year of victory at the European Championships, and his crowning glory in 1990 – the year of the first World Championship victory, which saw him awarded the title of best player – he has never compromised his approach to life, a philosophy also reflected in his ‘Trasversale’ hairstyle.

His ethos, centred on the values of fair play and the importance of practising as many sports as possible to enhance one’s technical skills—all within the firm belief that the individual is shaped by the group—led him to conceive and produce the animated series *Spike Team* in co-production with Rai Fiction for Rai RagazziGulp: ‘In fact, by igniting team spirit through the iconic image of the gift of the flame from the goddess Olympia, we train young people to seek the true sporting spirit, which is perpetuated over time through the symbolism of the Torch-Cauldron–Temple of Sport, leading to victory only when this triad and the sporting spirit permeate each of the protagonists.’
In the role of Lucky (in the three animated series comprising 78 episodes of 26 minutes each) becomes the vehicle for educating children and young people, helping them understand the true importance of the sporting journey, where imagination blends with technique, challenging deviant models of magic and aesthetics, and the tendency to be simplistic and stereotypical, whilst including Paralympic sports and stories on the fringes of history and mythology, seasoned with healthy imagination and fun.

Both Lucky and Andrea Lucchetta adopt a family-friendly style of language and storytelling to connect with children, parents and grandparents; this has long been reflected in the selection of his appearances on television programmes and productions that are entirely in line with his approach and the world he has built around his desire for inclusion, in the way he presents himself and smiles, which he has successfully channelled through his company into animated and television productions aimed at children, young people and parents.

Among the most significant accolades received for the “Spike Team” project (broadcast in 24 countries during this latest global tournament) are two prestigious awards presented by MOIGE – the Italian Parents’ Movement – as part of “Un anno di Zapping”, presented at the Chamber of Deputies: one for the animated film “Il Sogno di Brent”, dedicated to inclusion and the power of Paralympic sport, and one for the third series of Spike Team, recognised for its ethical and value-based content. This past season also saw the series filmed in 10 historic Italian locations during the Youth Olympic and Paralympic Games, which began with the opening ceremony in Rome featuring the Olympic parade and the lighting of the cauldron at the CONI Stadio dei Marmi.

He played volleyball for 22 years, appearing in 800 matches in the top Italian volleyball league. He captained the Italian national team, for whom he played a total of 350 international matches.

His club honours include 4 league titles, 4 Italian Cups, 4 European Cups, 1 Champions League, 2 Cup Winners’ Cups and 2 Club World Championships; with the Italian national team, he took part in 3 Olympic Games (Los Angeles ’84, Seoul ’88 and Barcelona ’92), 2 World Championships (Paris 86, Rio de Janeiro 90 – first place), 5 European Championships (Berlin 83, Amsterdam 85, Belgium 87, Sweden 89, Berlin 91), and 3 Universiades (Edmonton, Canada; Kobe, Japan; Zagreb, Yugoslavia).

Major achievements with the national team:
1 World Championship (1990)
1 European Championship (1989)
4 World Leagues
Bronze medal at the 1984 Olympics
2 golds at the Mediterranean Games
1 silver at the European Championships
1 gold at the Goodwill Games
1 silver at the Top Four in Tokyo
3 golds at the Universiades

In 1990, he was named the best player of the World Championship, and in the same year the International Federation honoured the Italian national team as the “Team of the Century”.

The figures

5,550 points
2,550 blocks
250,000 jumps in matches
1,250,000 jumps in training
250,000 children involved in sporting activities
950,000 passes made with children
26,000 events with school classes
180 Italian cities visited with events in town squares and sports halls

For ten years, he also ran a play centre in Modena, involving over 350,000 children.

As a television personality, he has appeared in over 90 programmes on Rai and Mediaset, including: the Sanremo Festival, Lo Zecchino d’Oro, La Talpa, Buona Domenica, the Maurizio Costanzo Show, Re per una notte and Partita del Cuore.

He has presented television programmes on the Disney Channel (“Live Zone Sport”) and La7 (“Robot Wars”), as well as working on Radio 105 alongside Marco Galli on the programme “Go Lucky Go”. In the music world, he has released three singles, including “Go Lucky Go”, a song dedicated to volleyball which sold over 200,000 copies in 1992 and was followed by the album Schiacciamo l’Aids.

In recent years, he has been the face of major advertising campaigns for eBay, Kia and Jysk Italia.

As a consultant for FIPAV, he devised the school project “Volley S3” and “Spikeball”, an initiative designed to make volleyball more accessible, dynamic, inclusive and fun for young people.

For years, he has been the face and voice of Rai Sport as a commentator for the Italian men’s and women’s volleyball championships, as well as major international competitions, including the Olympics and Paralympics.

It has produced numerous audiovisual works and educational projects, including: an animated film, *Brent’s Dream*, in which a disability caused by a road accident does not prevent the boy from realising his dream of getting back on track… Sponsored by MIT, MIUR, the State Police, CIP and the Ministry of Sport and Entertainment, it was broadcast through the European Icaro 2014-15 project in as many as 5,000 secondary schools. He produced a docu-reality series on volleyball broadcast on Rai Sport 1; for the ANSF Railway Police, the animated advert for the social campaign presented by Minister Del Rio at the Ministry of Public Transport
“Respect the Rules, it Saves Your Life”, appearing at the end as a spokesperson to deliver the message.

He participated alongside other athletes selected by CONI in promoting the Rome 2024 bid; he served as a CONI Ambassador at the 2016 Rio Olympics and was awarded the title of “European Person of the Year 2015” by the European Centre for Tourism, Sport and Entertainment.

Always committed to social causes, he has collaborated as a spokesperson with numerous non-profit organisations and charities, including: SOS Children’s Villages Italy, which supports children in need; Un Cuore un Mondo; Telethon; Rock no War; and Action Aid – from the 2014 World Cup to the 2016 Olympics, three years for the most challenging fight against hunger and poverty.