After an eventful last few weeks, which saw it firing its head coach, and having its president leaving one of its games midway “heartbroken”, Vibo Valentia made the news again when it announced a Brazilian, Marcelo Fronckowiak, as its new head coach in its official website. A very experienced coach, and one of the few people who have won the Brazilian Superliga both as a player and a coach, Marcelo is currently Renan Dal Zotto’s primary assistant at the Brazilian national team.
Marcelo’s curriculum includes many years in Europe as a head coach, most notably in France with Lille and Russia with Dynamo Krasnodar. However, he is best remembered for leading a Rio De Janeiro RJX team that had as its players Bruninho, Lucas Saatkamp, and Dante Amaral to the the 2012-13 Superliga title, which was the last time a team not named Sada/Cruzeiro won the tournament.
Here is what Marcelo had to say of his new challenge:
“To coach at the Italian championship, the SuperLega, is a dream for all coaches. It is the most competitive championship in the world. For me, who am almost fifty, it is really important to arrive in Italy after the experiences I had in Brazil, France and Russia. I’m really happy to be here, I was happily impressed by the way of thinking of Antonio Valentini, a very well prepared person. I really believe that we, together with the staff and the players, can do well in a team that is important for Italian volleyball. In the present moment there are problems, but our imperative must be that of working to set things right.
As a player, I have always been a defensive-minded athlete who wanted to learn how to coach. After playing together with great players, I had the opportunity to start training and to immediately win the Brazilian championship. My idea of volleyball is that this is the most supportive, most collective game of all sports. Volleyball is a group game, we don’t need individuality if we work well as a team. We have to show the public a very strong will to not want to lose any ball. For opponents it must be difficult to put the ball on the ground. I want a team with character, an alive team.”
Marcelo started out his tenure at Vibo on the right foot, as he won his debut match against Grotte in a very tight 3-2 war. Benjamin Patch led the way for the team with 21 points on 61% hitting. However, this win aside, Marcelo will have big challenges in his new club, as Vibo Valentia is currently in A1’s relegation zone in the standings, in 12th place, with a 4-14 record.
Social Media Round Up
#SuperLega Brasiliano, classe 1968. Un curriculum di tutto rispetto! Ecco il nuovo coach! Tutti i dettagli… https://t.co/OtDinqIBh9
— Volley Tonno Callipo (@VolleyTonnoCall) January 11, 2018
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