CEBU CITY – Unknown to many, Italian coaches Alessandro Lodi and Ettore Guidetti have known each other for nearly three decades.
But in all those 28 years, they never found themselves on opposite sides of the court.
Until now — halfway across the world in Cebu — where they will finally face off on Sunday in the 2025 PVL On Tour, as Lodi’s Farm Fresh battles Guidetti’s Nxled in a high-stakes clash with the final outright ticket to the quarterfinals in Pool A on the line.
“Ettore [Guidetti] is not just another Italian,” said Lodi, when asked about facing a fellow Italian tactician.
“We come from the same city. We’ve known each other for 28 years. We worked together. The first year that Ettore was head coach at the professional level, I was his assistant — that was the 2001–2002 season. We go way back,” he added.
“We not only speak Italian, but we speak our regional dialect and we pretty much have the same background. We share a lot of the same methods, philosophies and history behind us.”
Both Lodi and Guidetti actually hail from the province of Modena in Italy.
In fact, the Foxies’ head coach served as Guidetti’s assistant during his first major coaching stint with Forme Cucine Veca Carpi in Italy.
The two never crossed paths again — at least professionally — until fate brought them back together in the Premier Volleyball League. But through the years, Lodi and Guidetti stayed in contact, keeping their friendship alive despite taking different coaching paths across Europe and beyond.
Guidetti was the first to arrive in the Philippines, having already spent one full conference with the Chameleons before Lodi joined Farm Fresh eight months later.
“Nice surprise, of course, we’ve always been in touch. He got here to the Philippines, seven, eight months before me, so he knows a lot more than I specifically, and I’m trying to learn so, first time ever that we’ll play against each other,” said Lodi.
While Lodi downplayed the significance of his upcoming reunion with a longtime friend, he acknowledged that the moment will still carry a special kind of weight — one rooted in history, familiarity, and shared beginnings.
“But again, it’s just one game of many. There is no special [thing]. Once the game begins, it’s all just a team against a team, and maybe every now and then, there’s gonna be a little eye contact and a smile between the two coaches, but that’s pretty much it,” said Lodi.
“But pleasure to have him here and to be close to each other, from the same city and here in the other side of the world,” he added.
For Lodi, Sunday’s match won’t be about nostalgia but execution.
Still, beneath the Xs and Os, there will be a quiet appreciation for how two paths that started side by side in Italy will finally intersect again — this time, under the bright lights of Cebu.
#WATCH: “HE IS NOT JUST ANOTHER ITALIAN” 🇮🇹
Alessandro Lodi looks forward to reuniting with good friend Ettore Guidetti in the #PVLonTour! 🤝🏐
📹 @jonashdcd /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/l64KT11XSf
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) July 26, 2025
