Reigning FIVB Volleyball Nations League winners Brazil will likely field a lineup with plenty of new faces in this year’s edition of the tournament, which starts on June 7, according to head coach Renan Dal Zotto.
VNL 2022
Renan hints at new faces for Brazil's VNL roster
Published 12:00, 08 Apr 2022
Renan will be ahead of Brazil's renovation process after a fourth-place finish in Tokyo
The 61-year-old coach, who is expected to start working with the national team players in mid-April, revealed that the squad is likely to include several younger players who stood out in the 2021-2022 club season.
Some of these additions will replace players who put an end to their international careers after the Toyko Olympics. Other players will come in to further strengthen and expand the national team’s player pool.
“Some really interesting names are coming up in the Brazilian Superliga and even in some European Leagues. We want to watch them closely to make the best possible decisions before selecting our final squad," Renan told Webvolei. It’s easy to tell how good they are from a technical standpoint, but understanding how emotionally strong they are is important too. The goal is to call up as many as possible during our training period, so we are in a better position when we make our final selection for the season.”
Renan says he will be looking at several players for the role of opposite. Rio 2016 Olympic champion and 2021 VNL Most Valuable Player Wallace de Souza was one of the players who retired from the national team after Tokyo and two players who have replaced him since - 2019 FIVB World Cup MVP Alan de Souza and Felipe Roque - both suffered injuries that kept them away from the club season.
During the interview, Renan put forward a few names as possible options, including those of 32-year-old Franco Paese, Alan’s younger brother Darlan, 2017 FIVB Grand Champions Cup winner Renan Buiatti and London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Leandro Vissotto.
“With Wallace deciding to step away from the national team, it’s a position we’ll need new faces at for sure,” the coach reflected. “Especially because Alan and Felipe Roque, who would be the next in line, are both recovering after surgery and didn’t get to play this club season. We’re looking at the Superliga for options and the idea is that we call up about four of five players for the position to expand our options.”
There could also be new faces at the outside hitter position after Olympic champions Mauricio Borges and Douglas Souza also announced the end of their international careers. Players like Henrique Honorato, Adriano Xavier and Gabriel Vaccari could have an opportunity to compete.
Popular players like team captain and setter Bruno Rezende, middle blocker Lucas Saatkamp and outside hitters Ricardo Lucarelli and Yoandy Leal should continue to form the team’s spine.
Brazil start their VNL campaign on June 8, in Brasilia, against Australia. The South Americans will also face Slovenia, the United States and a fourth team to be confirmed in the first week of the event.
“The VNL has been important over the years also for us to give these younger players some opportunities to be on the court,” Renan added. “Over the last few years, some of the players who are now really important for us such like (Fernando) Cachopa, Flavio (Gualberto) and Maique (Nascimento) have earned some important experience in the VNL and that helped them develop tremendously. And this year, with the World Championship, it’s even more important that we get to make decisions in our roster and also prepare the team for the competition.”
