Carol trusting the process with new players as Brazil seek Olympic spot

After claiming silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Ana Carolina Da Silva is not looking too far ahead of winning Brazil’s third Olympic gold medal, but instead looks at working to build a fighting team before they could become a winning team.

“We need to build our team and we need to build one that wants to improve. We want to be there and fight for everything in every match. After that we can work on our consistency in our game and then think about how we can win and qualify,” Carol said.

“We are trying to see how our team will go and play strong as most players are young and playing for their first time. We need to see how they react in the game, with the team.”

The 2022 World Championship Best Middle Blocker is focusing on the journey rather than the destination, acknowledging the large group of fresh faces in the team this season as a welcome situation and sees it as a work in progress to greatness.

“This is a great moment that is special because we came in with a new team. We are building a team and we are all dreaming of being in the Olympics and getting a medal. Of course, we want gold, but we don’t know if we could make it there or play in the finals,” the 32-year-old veteran said.

“This mindset on how we have to work and have confidence in oneself and in others works for me to keep believing and working.”

• Watch Carol’s CLOSER TO PARIS full interview on VBTV.

Brazil are in Group B of the Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which will take place in Nagoya, Japan from September 16-24. The two-time Olympic champions will have thrilling and intense matchups with hosts Japan and Türkiye, along with Belgium, Bulgaria, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Peru.

“Japan are an amazing team. When we have the chance to, we love having friendly matches with them because they have a perfect system in defense, blocking and serving. It’s nice and interesting for us to play against them because we learn a lot from them. It would be hard (to play against them) like always, but we are confident,” she said.

“It’s the same with Türkiye. (Melissa) Vargas is an amazing player. She has started to get connection with her team, but we are confident to face them.”

Carol believes in the excellent work ethic of her younger teammates and the meticulous way of Ze Roberto Guimaraes’ coaching that allows the veterans to learn how to lead and see the sport at a different level.

“The new girls are always asking for playing tips and looking at every detail to improve. They like to work and like to receive feedback. That makes it easy for me and Macris and the other girls to work with. This is what we want – we learn from them, and they learn from us,” she mentioned.

“Our coach knows a lot about volleyball and observes every detail of our game that for us is not so important, but for him it is what makes the difference. We learn from these details, become strong-minded and see volleyball differently.”

Carol has an Olympic silver medal, a World Championship silver and bronze, three VNL silver medals and multiple gold medals from the World Grand Prix and continental championships, in addition to a myriad of individual awards collected throughout her career. She knows, to achieve these things, there are steps to take and a path forward.

“We have to believe in the process. We must work hard and build this mindset of a working team by keeping the faith, believing in each other, and doing our best,” said the Belo Horizonte native.

“I’m a person that believes in people around me, a person with good intentions inside. I’m that type. I want to work, and I respect people who are by my side. This is the nice thing about being part of the team because you learn from each other. You can be yourself but also understand others. We grow like this together.”

VBTV Originals presents CLOSER TO PARIS, featuring Carol Da Silva as the third in the slate of exclusive features of the world’s best stars sharing their thoughts and dreams on the road to qualification for the Paris Olympics.

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