New teams formed ahead of Brazilian national season

There will be a lot of new teams in action when the 2021-2022 Brazilian beach volleyball season starts on September 24, as three of the four duos that represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics have split, with some of the players involved already finding new partners.

Rio 2016 Olympic champion Alison Cerutti is among the players who have already selected a new partner. He will join forces with 28-year-old defender Gustavo ‘Guto’ Carvalhaes. The new teammates are already in Vila Velha, where they will prepare for the season-opening tournament under the guidance of veteran coach Leandro Brachola.

“Guto is a very talented and technical player, he’s one of the best defenders in the world,” Alison said. “He’s also very consistent and brings a lot of volume to the game. He’s had a lot of success in age group tournaments and is now earning his space in the World Tour as well. It will take some patience and hard work for us to build our team’s identity, but I’m confident we can do great things together.”

Alison’s former partner, 30-year-old Alvaro Filho also has a new partner. After finishing fifth at the Tokyo Olympics with the ‘Mammoth’, the left-handed defender will now share the courts with 31-year-old Evandro Goncalves, a 2017 world champion and two-time Olympian. The team will be based in Rio de Janeiro and work with coach Ednilson ‘Ed’ Costa.

“Alvaro is a very talented player and I couldn’t be more excited to be on his side in this new journey,” Evandro, who finished ninth at both the Rio 2016 and the Tokyo 2020 Games, commented. “I’m very confident we’ll match well as partners, especially because our experience should help a lot with that. We have big goals, we want to contend in Brazil and on the World Tour and, down the road, qualify for the Paris Olympics.”

Evandro’s former partner, Rio 2016 Olympic champion Bruno Schmidt hasn’t announced his new partner yet. He’s one of the most coveted free agents in the country, alongside Guto’s former teammate, 24-year-old Arthur Mariano.

On the women’s side, Brazil’s top team of Rio 2016 Olympic silver medallist Agatha Bednarczuk and 2018 and 2019 FIVB World Tour Most Outstanding Player Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa will remain together at least until the 2021 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals in Sardinia, Italy, from October 6-10.

The other Brazilian team that competed in Tokyo, Rebecca Cavalcanti and Ana Patricia Ramos, however, have ended their partnership. Rebecca has just announced 39-year-old and three-time Olympian Talita Antunes as her new partner. The team has started training in Fortaleza with legendary head coach Reis Castro.

“These last few years were extremely intense and challenging, but at the same time really amazing,” the 28-year-old Rebecca reflected. “I feel like I’ve matured and developed a lot. And now I expect that Talita and I can give our best and form a strong team. She’s a tremendous player, with tons of experience and a winning career and we get along pretty well.”

While Ana Patricia is yet to announce the next step in her career, Talita’s former partner and London 2012 Olympian Maria Elisa Antonelli has joined forces with 36-year-old blocker Fernanda Berti, who’s returning to the sand after giving birth to twins.

Quick links:
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour
Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
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