Julio Velasco is an Argentine-Italian volleyball coach who leads Italy’s women’s national team in the 2026 cycle. Born in La Plata in 1952, Velasco built his international reputation in men’s volleyball, first through a successful club period with Modena and then as head coach of Italy’s men. His Italian men’s teams won the 1990 and 1994 FIVB World Championships and helped define the generation commonly associated with Italy’s rise to the top of international volleyball in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Velasco’s later career crossed men’s and women’s programs, clubs, national teams and technical leadership roles before he returned to the Italy women’s bench in 2024. That return produced immediate results: Italy won the 2024 Volleyball Nations League and the Paris Olympic gold medal, the first Olympic volleyball title for the Italian women. The team then remained at the top level through the following cycle, while Velasco continued as technical commissioner in 2026. His influence is difficult to reduce to one tactical system because his career has spanned different eras and player profiles. More durable is his emphasis on role clarity, training quality and adapting team organization to the available athletes. More than four decades after beginning to coach in Italy, he remains an active national-team head coach rather than only a historical figure from the country’s men’s golden generation.
Coach Information
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Julio Velasco |
| Date of Birth | 9 February 1952 |
| Born | La Plata, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentine-Italian |
| Current Role | Head Coach / Technical Commissioner |
| Current National Team | Italy Women’s National Team |
| Career Status | Active coach |
| Former National Team | Italy Men’s National Team |
| Selected Coaching Achievements | World Championship gold with Italy men (1990, 1994); Olympic gold with Italy women (2024) |