Team Italy was not expected to even move out of the Pool stage of the World Baseball Classic. After a huge win for Italy over Puerto Rico, they are a win over Venezuela away from the WBC Championship Game.
Now, Team Italy manager Francisco Cervelli is revealing how his team is staying humble, despite their 5-0 record and multiple huge wins, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
“Well, I think the key was the victory against USA. Those guys beat one of the best teams in the world, best players in the world. Now they're going to believe. I believe. We beat Mexico and now Puerto Rico and now we don't know who we're going to face, but it doesn't matter,” Cervelli said. “But the level of confidence, it's growing and growing. We've got to stay humble, concentrate and do what we know.”
Italy knocked off Team USA and Mexico in Pool play, and then took an 8-6 victory over Puerto Rico on Saturday afternoon to secure a date with Venezuela. Cervelli is managing Italy for the first time, replacing Mike Piazza as the manager.
“Imagine doing this for the first time and arrive to the semifinal. It's amazing. This is great. This is one of the best chapters of my life. It's incredible. This group is phenomenal,” the manager continued.
Many of the players do have Italian heritage, but were born in the United States, or at least outside of Italy, but the player on the team realizes that could change with this run, as noted by Vinnie Pasquantino.
“And, yeah, Italy doesn't have the greatest development in baseball, and that's what we're trying to do right now. And if we continue to be successful with this — I mean, there was baseball being played at bistros and cafes in Italy tonight over there. That doesn't happen. Without the group that we have, it just doesn't happen,” Pasquantino said.
Italy will play against Venezuela, who took out Japan, on Monday night. With a win, they will face the winner of the United States and the Dominican Republic.
