Volleyball: José Roberto Guimarães does not think about retirement – 07/08/2023 – Sport

José Roberto Guimarães is excited. At 68 years of age, the three-time Olympic volleyball champion coach for Brazil —once with the men’s team (1992) and twice with the women’s team (2008 and 2012)—should compete in the next Games, in Paris, France, and does not rule out the following. Completing 20 years in charge of women, he tells the Sheet don’t think about retirement.

Accompanying the national team in the League of Nations dispute, Zé Roberto, as he is known, only has eyes for the Olympic qualifying. The tournament, scheduled for September, is the most important of the year.

The São Paulo native from Quintana joined the women’s national team on July 27, 2003. He accepted a thorny task. The weather was bad. Controversial decisions by the previous commander, Marco Aurélio Motta, had removed established athletes.

Shortly after being announced, Zé Roberto debuted with two titles: the South American and the return of stars. Merging consecrated experience and promising youth, the team gained strength and walked a victorious path. In addition to being on Olympus twice, he won ten editions of the Grand Prix, predecessor of the League of Nations. They only lacked one achievement: the World Cup.

The multi-champion coach is now trying to repeat the formula for success. Brazil is no longer the bogeyman of yesteryear, but the rise of newcomers and the return of veterans, such as two-time Olympic champion Thaísa Daher, 36, leaves the always placid man hopeful.

In addition to the national team, Zé Roberto will head THY, from Turkey, next season. It will be his third adventure in Europe. In the last one, between 2010 and 2012, he was champion of the Champions League and the world for the also Turkish Fenerbahçe.

It’s almost 20 years ahead of the women’s team. What, after so many years, still moves you?

I think it’s the passion and love for what I do, I love what I do. It is a source of great satisfaction to work, train, be on a volleyball court. It’s the love and passion for what I chose to do with my life.

Is the José Roberto Guimarães of 2003 very different from the current one?

I changed a lot. In all senses. Today, I listen, talk and ponder more, I am calmer about the difficulties we are going through. I think pressure is part of the profession. I see pressure as a privilege that is part of our lives.

We have to know how to separate things and always learn. I learn from each player and member of the coaching staff. The big challenge is always building a team. And building a team takes time, patience and resilience.

What was the most memorable match in all these years?

There were so many outstanding games, so many difficulties that we went through. The game against Russia in the quarterfinals in London is very emblematic. It’s an epic match, which marked a turning point in a great difficulty we were in. We came out of an extremely adverse situation.

Does one more Olympic cycle fit or could this be your last in charge of the national team?

I haven’t thought about it anymore. I let life take me, thinking and planning what I will do with the team and the national team. I think about the challenges and everything that involves being on a Brazilian team, and that moves me a lot. So, let things happen, let’s give it time.

Next club season you will be in Türkiye. What do you expect from the experience?

I’m going to one of the biggest volleyball centers in Europe for learning and experience. I will be close to some of the best players in the world, who will be our opponents at the Paris Games. First, we have to qualify, of course, but I have to plan for the future.

Another factor is facing some of the best managers in the world. This experience and this experience can be interesting as learning, as knowledge, and that’s what I’m looking for. It’s what I’m looking for.

Is the technical level of Brazilian volleyball today much lower than that of Europe?

In Brazil, today, there is a lack of investment. We have a quality Super League, with good Brazilian and foreign players. We compete with very big markets like Italy, Turkey, Japan and Russia. The Superliga is and will always be the parameter of a good championship. If we improve investments and have more sponsorships, without a doubt, we will improve and evolve.

With three months to go before the start of the pre-Olympics, what has been the biggest difficulty for the Brazilian team?

The big problem this year is the lack of preparation time. Of all the cycles we had, this was the one with the shortest training time. The players had no time to rest. They had to play with just one week of training. This is very bad. I hope the International Volleyball Federation has learned that this cannot happen.

We have to preserve our players, not only Brazil but the whole world. It is necessary to reduce the number of competitions for the players to be able to rest and carry out an adequate training period. We have to preserve the players for them to have long careers.

Wear and tear can lead to injuries. avoid them will be a priority of the technical committee in this period?

It’s something that keeps me up at night, and we’re very worried. We know the level of demand of the competitions, but the tight schedule doesn’t help. We are more careful, especially with rest time. Some accidents will happen and they are unavoidable.

Is this one of the most promising generations you’ve ever had your hands on?

We have a team with room for evolution, with players who need to have international experience, play against the best teams. They will win, they will lose, but that is part of building a team. It is a talented generation, with many virtues, with a very large margin for growth. It is a very interesting group for the future of Brazilian volleyball.

About the future, basis of Brazilian volleyball has accumulated bad results. Is there an alert connected to the future of national volleyball?

Our youth teams are again playing friendly games against the main teams in the world. This exchange is very important for the formation of new generations. These new talents need to compete, compete in international competitions. This planning that the base is having will help to place us among the best in the world.

There are 20 years of many players managed, but one has passed through several generations: Thaísa. How has the two-time Olympic champion returned to the group after five years?

She is a very important player and is a parameter mainly for the younger ones. She is an example for the national team itself, for her charisma and the way she represents Brazil, how she came back to defend her country. She has a different feeling wearing the national team shirt, and that’s very important. Thaísa has a very large representativeness. I was very happy with her return, for what she adds and for the story she built with this shirt.

José Roberto Guimarães became unanimity?

No. I learned a phrase that I say a lot: there are people who will love you for who you are and there are people who will hate you for the same reason. I make mistakes and successes, and that is part of a context. I would like to leave a legacy in my life, a legacy of having collaborated with my country’s national team, my great passion, my great fight and my reason for living, as well as my family.