Hungry Alan ready to help Brazil in the VNL

After VNL 2021 MVP Wallace de Souza announced his international retirement following last year’s Tokyo Olympics, it just felt natural that Alan de Souza would inherit his spot and become the starting opposite for Brazil in the 2022 international season.

The 28-year-old Alan had been with the national team since 2018, and had also filled in for the Rio 2016 Olympic champion extremely well, producing an MVP performance to lead Brazil to gold at the 2019 FIVB World Cup.

An unexpected left foot injury, however, forced Alan to undergo surgery and miss most of the club season, which he started with Russia’s Kuzbass Kemerovo. It certainly pulled the brake on his season ahead of the Volleyball Nations League 2022.

· Watch all VNL 2022 matches live on Volleyball TV.

However, after recovering and training with the Brazilian team for a few weeks at the Federation's training facility in Saquarema, the opposite is ready to return in the opening week of the VNL 2022.

“I’ve been able to practise without any limitations for some time and I don’t feel any pain,” he told Volleyball World. “After such a long break, I obviously still lack a bit of match rhythm, but it’s great to be with the team for the opening week. The season didn’t go the way I planned, but we felt that going through surgery was the right thing to do. I missed being on the court and am hungry to play again.”

Alan’s absence during the club season, and the uncertainty concerning his availability for the VNL, pushed the Brazilian coaching staff to look for alternative solutions. Two were with the team last year, Felipe Roque and Aboubacar ‘Abouba’ Neto, but are currently injured.

“I feel like the starting spot is very much open,” said Alan. “Unfortunately, we had three players in the position injured during the season and new players were added to the team. We’re all benefiting from the high level of competition in training and I’m sure that regardless of who Renan chooses to be on the court, that player will be ready to deliver.”

The 2019 World Cup MVP, however, remains the apparent frontrunner for the starting spot. And he was the team’s scorer in two friendlies against Japan last weekend, tallying 13 points in the first match and 23 in the second.

One of Alan’s competitors is his younger brother, Darlan, who was also called up to the national team this year. After two solid seasons in the Brazilian Superliga with SESI and a solid appearance in last year’s Men’s U21 FIVB World Championship, where he was Brazil’s top scorer with 112 points, the 19-year-old Darlan has shown he is a viable option for the team and is challenging his brother for a spot in the starting lineup.

“My brother is just 19, so there’s a nine-year difference between us,” said Alan. “We always talked about how amazing it would be if at some point we were on the national team at the same time, but we knew it was a long shot and I honestly didn’t expect it to happen so fast. He’s been a starter for his club team in the last two seasons and that really accelerated his development. I knew the coaching staff had him on their radar and it’s really exciting to have him here with us. He’s my brother, but I’m not taking it easy on him.”

A fully-healthy Alan would be an important player for Brazil as the FIVB World Rankings leaders try to win their second consecutive VNL title. Despite some international retirements, most notably Wallace’s and outside hitters Douglas Souza and Mauricio Borges, and the absences of star outside hitters Ricardo Lucarelli and Yoandy Leal in the first week of the VNL, the opposite is confident the team can start their campaign with good results against Australia, Slovenia, USA and China in front of their fans in Brasilia.

“Brazil will always be looking to win gold,” said Alan. “Our team has been at the top for several years and we work hard every single day to make sure nothing changes. We know the VNL will be very competitive, but we’re very confident and looking forward to it.”

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