Aboubacar ‘Abouba’ Dramé is one of a few new faces in the Brazilian men’s national team roster for the Volleyball Nations League 2023, but for the 29-year-old opposite, the call-up feels more like a comeback than a first opportunity to show his talent.

Abouba started to earn his space with the South American team right after the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics, in 2021, but a ruptured Achilles forced him to sit out of the entire 2022 season. Fully recovered and motivated by a strong club season with Tours in France, he’s now excited to appear in his first international tournament.

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The opposite first appeared in the Brazilian national team in 2019, when he was part of the squad that took bronze at the Pan-American Games. Two years later, he was called up again and took part in the Brazilian victory in the South American Championship. The VNL will be his biggest tournament with the team so far, but that doesn’t scare the 2.04m-tall, left-handed opposite.

“I was very happy when I saw my name on the list,” he told Volleyball World. “Playing for the national team has always been my dream and I’m delighted to be back and help Brazil accomplish their goals in the season. I feel like I’m ready to compete in the VNL. I’ve played in Italy for two seasons and in France for another two, so I’ve faced most of the top players in the world already and I am used to competing at this level.”

Abouba’s 2022-2023 club season with Tours in France indeed indicates the opposite could be a force for Brazil in the VNL. Just a few months after his injury, he led the team to remarkable results, taking gold at both the French League and the French Cup and securing a top-ten finish in the CEV Champions League, the team’s best result since 2015-2016.

The Brazilian was a big part of the team’s success, earning the Most Valuable Player award in the French Cup, and he credits his success to the intense preparation he made while he recovered from his injury.

“I had excellent professionals by my side during my recovery and took good care of my body and my mind as I prepared to return,” he explained. “I think that preparing very well for the season, both physically and mentally, was instrumental for me to return to playing at a high level. I still feel like I can get better, but to return in the way I did, it makes me really happy.”

With just over one year until the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics, earning a starting spot in the lineup of one of the best national teams on the planet could be a difficult task, but as of now, it looks like the opposite spot with Brazil remains wide open.

No player has been able to make a strong claim for the spot since the international retirement of Rio 2016 Olympic champion Wallace de Souza, who even returned to the national team last year during the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship.

As with Abouba, several other players who were seen as potential candidates for the starting spot also had to deal with long-lasting injuries in the last two years, most notably 2019 FIVB World Cup MVP Alan de Souza and 26-year-old Felipe Roque.

“Wallace was one of the best ever and it’s always going to be difficult for someone to step in and produce at the same level he did,” the opposite reflected. “Even though all of us struggled with injuries recently, I believe that all the opposites that have been called up are capable of playing at a high level and having a big role with the team. I’m ready to fight for it and hopefully I can show what I’ve been doing during this last season in the French League and the Champions League.”

Abouba’s first opportunity to show what he’s capable of will be next week, when Brazil start their VNL campaign in Ottawa, Canada. The South Americans will face Germany, Argentina, Cuba and the United States in their first four matches.

Besides him, the other players to form the Brazilian roster in Ottawa will be setter Bruno Rezende and Fernando 'Cachopa' Kreling, opposite Alan de Souza, outside hitters Ricardo Lucarelli, Adriano Xavier, Henrique Honorato and Arthur Bento, middle blockers Flavio Gualberto, Thiery Nascimento, Judson Cunha and Otavio Pinto and liberos Thales Hoss and Maique Nascimento.

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