🛒 Shop the best Water Polo Gear now! →
🤑 10% off on selected briefs & merch 🤑
Support the Total Waterpolo mission!
TW-Brandmark-Whitex2
  • News
  • Results

    National

    • Montenegro
      • Montenegrin League 2024/25
      • Montenegrin Cup 24/25
      • Montenegrin League 23/24
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 24/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 23/24
      • Qualifications
    • Slovenia
      • Slovenian League 24/25
      • Slovenian League 23/24
    • Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Women
      • Hong Kong 24/25 – Men
    • Austria
      • Austrian League 2025 – Men
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Women
      • Austrian League 23/24 – Men
    • Lithuania
      • Lithuanian League ’24
    • Latvia
      • Latvian Championship 2024
    • France
      • French League 23/24 – Men
    • Spain
      • Spanish League 23/24 – Men
    • Hungary
      • Hungarian League 23/24 – Men
    • Italy
      • Italian League 23/24 – Men

    International

    • LEN Champions League
      • Men 24/25
      • Men 23/24
    • World Cup 2025
      • Men
    • AWL
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
      • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
    • Nordic League
      • Nordic League Men 2024/25
      • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
      • Nordic League Women 2024/25
      • Nordic League 2023/24
      • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
    • NCAA
      • Men’s Finals 2024
      • Men’s Finals 2023
    • Oympic Games
      • Tokyo 2020
        • Women
        • Men
      • Paris 2024
        • Olympic Tournament – Men
        • Olympic Tournament – Women
    • World Championships
      • Doha 2024
        • Women
        • Men
      • Fukuoka 2023
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2022
        • Women
        • Men
    • European Championships
      • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
      • Zagreb / Dubrovnik 2024 – Men
      • Split 2022
        • Women
        • Men
      • Budapest 2020

    Amateur & Junior Divisions

    • VAL League 2024/25
    • Nordic League U16 2024/25
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
    • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12

    Total Waterpolo Arena livescoring app: Stay in the game with real-time updates and stats for your next tournament.

    Contact Us
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop

    WearWaterpolo™ Webshop

    • Webshop
    • Men’s Briefs
    • Women’s Suits
    • Apparel
    • Game Balls
    • About

    Partner up with Total Waterpolo, the leading international water polo network worldwide and take your team gear to the next level. Our products are made to endure the harshest conditions from pro leagues around the world to your local squad rivalries. We can't wait to join your team!

    Get Total Waterpolo for your Team
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017
CHL 24/25
Support Us

Capanna: “Where we are now is still not enough for our big dreams”

January 3, 2023

Marco Capanna during a Champions League match in Mulhouse. Photo: WP inside

Roma have the ‘special one’.

No, not Jose Mourinho, Marco Capanna. 

It was Mercedes Steiber, the current BVSC head coach, who gave SIS Roma’s forty-one year old women’s head coach that nickname while the two became acquainted during her five years playing under Capanna at Imperia.  

The nickname has stuck.

While Marco Capanna is certainly far less contentious and far more reserved than his Portuguese counterpart, the two coaches certainly share an unrelenting hunger for success. 

“This nickname makes me smile.” commented Capanna. 

“We all called her ‘Roberto Baggio’ for her immense quality, and she started calling me the special one. Mourinho has definitely brought incredible enthusiasm and imagination to the fans in Rome.”

And at the turn of the year, Capanna has much to smile about heading into the second half of the season. His team sits at the summit of the Italian A1, winning all seven league games, including an impressive 11-7 victory over title rivals, Plebiscito Padova. 

“It was definitely a very good start to the season, but I’m not impressed because we worked for it. I believe, and the girls are aware of this, that we still have a lot of room for improvement, and that what we are doing now is still not enough for our big dreams.”

Dreaming big is certainly on the menu for the Italians in their quest to win their first Italian Championship in their history, but for Capanna, a linear view of success is not helpful. 

“In the utmost sincerity, I can say that we are ambitious, determined in every single training session. We are dreamers, but we do not talk about what we must win. We certainly go into the tank to always try to win with everyone. If you succeed, and if I have not miscalculated, you could win some titles.”

SIS Roma during their 10-5 victory against Bogliasco earlier this season. Photo (Giorgio Scarfì)

Roma are not only on a hot streak domestically. They have carried their rich vein of form into the Champions League, where they finished top of their Champions League group ahead of title holders and Greek giants, Olympiacos. According to Roma boss, the Italian Cup winners of last season were not phased by the calibre of any of the opponents they could face this season:

“We had an extremely difficult draw on paper, but we prepared it with the idea of finishing first. Vouliagmeni had staffing problems for COVID but showed great organisation and spirit. De Zaan put Olympiacos in great difficulty and expressed quality and intensity, and Olympiacos themselves should always be respected and faced fearlessly with great care. The girls were good and knew that if they always worked with curiosity to take what ‘we lack’ they could go down in the tank with awareness regardless of the opponent.  Now the quarterfinal draw puts us in front of Sabadell , another super team and club, but we will be ready for these fascinating quarter-finals.”

Drawing Sabadell in the quarter-finals will no doubt be a tough task, but January provides some other stern tests for the side from the capital, including a vital league clash against reigning Italian champions, Ekipe Orizzonte:

“They are important challenges, but they don’t have all our attention today. There are other games; on the 7th we are going to Bologna, and every day has great value. We will definitely prepare a game plan, with care for the characteristics of the opponents, but above all, we will focus on ourselves and the management of the game. There will be moments of difficulty with these teams, and we will have to be prepared to face those moments.”

Photo: WP Inside

The ‘Giallorossi’, or the ‘Yellow-reds’ are no doubt benefiting from the improvement in results for the Setterosa. Six of Roma’s players are mainstays in Carlo Silipo’s national team, but the Roma coach can’t speak highly enough of his players:

“We have a very young team with good individual quality. The work they do on the national team is quality; the attempt, as always, is to put the athletes in the best conditions to grow individually in every aspect. They have extraordinary consciousness and commitment and are maturing quickly. All the athletes in this 18 group that we have brought in this season are important.”

But three of Capanna’s players in particular are catching the eye at the moment, each in their own way.

Their captain, Domitilla Picozzi, has massively stepped up her game this campaign:

“(Picozzi) is the captain and an example for the young women of our club. She’s serious, a perfectionist, ductile, and imaginative in the water. A true master of reading the game.”

Domitilla Picozzi, Roma’s captain, has been in excellent form over the last few months. Photo: WP Inside

Roma’s Chiara Tabani is the league’s leading scorer, but in her coaches eyes, it’s her versatility as a player that makes her such a valuable asset. Capanna explains, “In modern water polo, it is essential to have players who can double as an arc player and a centre player.”

“In that respect, Tabani is a tactical joker” he adds. 

As referenced in our recent feature, a third player, nineteen year old Sofia Giustini, is also emerging as a rising star in Italy. 

“Although she is still young, Sofia knows how to interpret the game in all its forms. She’s good on the passing line, an excellent swimmer, and has quality in directing and finishing.”

A player himself for a quarter of a century, Capanna made his name as a player and a coach at Imperia. As the women’s head coach, he went on to win the Italian Championship in 2014, two LEN Trophies in 2012 and 2015, and the LEN Supercup in 2014.

Capanna is now very much at home though, 600 km north of Imperia in the Italian capital. With the Yellow-Reds, he has already won two Italian Cups (2019 and 2022) and hopes many more are on the way. 

Capanna has won two Coppa Italia’s with Roma (2019 and 2022)

But as the cliche goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

For the former Imperia and Cosenza player, any success Roma may enjoy boils down to  creating the right environment for his players:

“I consider myself lucky. I do the job I love, and I’ve found a place that allows me to do it in the most serious, ambitious way possible. We are in a historic moment that gives double value to the seriousness of my club. I would like to create a young, mentally-minded, winning Roma who has a stamp of character and plays at all levels, with a nursery that works to get to the first team and has the girls who are now tracing the ground as their idols.

I like being hungry every day that we show up for training, with the respect that a group must have internally. This staff has the value to build all this together. I have no doubts, and this will help.”

There is no denying that Roma has been in fantastic form this season, and they have a real shot at winning their first Italian championship and possibly more.

Capanna has a long-term contract until 2026; but could this be the year his new Roman empire experiences its first major triumph?

Read more about Italian Water polo

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

 

TW Press
TW Press

Related posts

Vasilije Radovic (Jadran) Photo: PVK Jadran m:tel

May 13, 2025

Jadran HN emerges victorious from new shootout drama


Read more

Alessandro Bovo (Brescia) Photo by Laszlo Balogh

May 6, 2025

Brescia is one win away from Italian title


Read more

Uros Vucurovic Photo: PVK Jadran m:tel Herceg Novi

May 6, 2025

[CONFIRMED] Uros Vucurovic to Telimar


Read more

SUPPORT US ON PATREON

If you share our passion for water polo worldwide, consider becoming a cherished contributor to our cause, with as little as 5$/month.

SUPPORT US


Custom Team Gear

LEARN MORE

Shop Now

Looking for something?

✕
  • Novi Beograd returns atop Group A, Marseille to face Ferencvaros in semis
    May 14, 2025
  • Jadran HN emerges victorious from new shootout drama
    May 13, 2025
  • Countdown to CHL Final Four: Semi-final pairings to be determined tomorrow
    May 13, 2025
  • Home
  • Water Polo News
  • WearWaterpolo Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Project Superstar – TW Camp
  • BIWPA
  • Custom Team Equipment
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
© 2021 Total Waterpolo. All Rights Reserved.
✕
CroMasters '24
Support Us
  • News
  • Results
    • Champions League
      • Season 24/25
      • Season 23/24
      • Season 22/23
    • International
      • World Cup 2025 Men
      • European Championships
        • Eindhoven 2024 – Women
        • Croatia 2024 – Men
        • Split 2022
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2020
        • Barcelona 2018
      • World Championships
        • Doha 2024
          • Women
          • Men
        • Fukuoka 2023
          • Women
          • Men
        • Budapest 2022
          • Women
          • Men
      • Olympics
        • Tokyo 2020
          • Women
          • Men
        • Paris 2024
          • Women
          • Men
      • NCAA
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2024
        • NCAA Men’s Finals 2023
      • Pacific Cup 2024
    • National
      • Montenegro
        • Montenegrin League 2024/25
        • Montenegrin Cup 2024/25
      • Austria
        • Austrian League 2025 – Men
        • Austrian League 2024 – Women
        • Austrian League 2024 – Men
      • Nordic League
        • Nordic League Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League Women 2024/25
        • Nordic League U16 2024/25
        • Nordic Trophy Men 2024/25
        • Nordic League 2023/24
        • Nordic Trophy 2023/24
      • Hong Kong
        • Hong Kong Women’s League 24/25
        • Hong Kong Men’s League 24/25
      • AWL
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2024/25
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2023/24
        • Alpe Waterpolo League 2022/23
      • Slovenia
      • Lithuania
      • Latvia
      • Hungarian League 2023 – Men
      • French League 2023 – Men
      • Spanish League 2023 – Men
      • Italian League 2023 – Men
    • Masters
      • VAL League 2024/25
      • Sabac Masters 2024
      • Masters Cup 2024
      • Budva Masters 2024
    • Junior
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U12
      • HaBaWaBa Spain 2025 – U10
      • HaBaWaBa Spain Plus 2025
      • Next Generation 2024 – Men
      • Next Generation 2024 -Women
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U10)
      • HaBaWaBa Easter 2024 (U12)
      • HabaWaba Spain Plus 2024
      • Plejade
      • Dobri Dupin
  • Transfers
  • Shop
  • Total Player
    • Total Player 2024
    • Total Player 2023
    • Total Player 2022
    • Total Player 2021
    • Total Player 2020
    • Total Player 2019
    • Total Player 2018
    • Total Player 2017

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalized content. By clicking "Accept All Cookies" or continuing to browse this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT