Two years after we first reported it, former Cuban player Yoandy Leal is OFFICIALLY part of the Brazilian team.
The 30 year old outside hitter appears on Brazil’s preliminary roster for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League which starts on May 31st. He will wear the #9 jersey which is the number is he has been wearing since he played for his former Brazilian club team Sada Cruzeiro and with his current club team Lube in Italy.
There’s no word yet when Leal will make his debut together with the reigning Olympic Champions but it’s finally happening.
Leal will be joined by a group of talented outside hitters who are also Olympic Champions like Douglas Souza, Ricardo Lucarelli and Mauricio Borges.
In case you didn’t know, Leal’s former teammate and one of the world’s best players, Wilfredo Leon, will be playing for Poland this year. He is allowed to play for reigning World Champions starting on July 24th so his Polish team debut will be at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in August.
Osmany Junatorena, another Cuban player who represented Italy at the 2016 Olympics, has called it a day and has no desire to play for the Italian squad.
Cuban middle blocker Robertlandy Simon was reportedly going to play for Bulgaria but the plan was axed by the Bulgarian Federation because of Simon’s age by the 2024 Olympics. He’d be 37 years old at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
