Cledenilson and Oppenkoski, from Sada Cruzeiro, are part of the New Team

With Bernardinho’s return to command the men’s team, the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) also announced the return of the Seleção de Novos project, which targets the next Olympic cycles.

The idea of ​​this group is to call up young athletes, with the potential to defend the main team in the future, and provide opportunities to train and experience international preparation at a high level.

The first call-ups included the names of two Sada Cruzeiro stars: Oppenkoski, 24 years old opposite, and Cledenilson, 25-year-old central defender. The first received the Revelation Player award in the 22/23 Superliga, while his teammates have already worn the green shirt and yellow on other occasions.

Oppenkoski increasingly in evidence on the national scene

The report of TEMPO Sports he spoke with the two Cruzeiro residents about the recognition and heard their expectations for the start of work in Saquarema (RJ). For the opposite Oppenkoski, an athlete from Sada’s youth categories, the call-up and return to the Youth Selection project came as a surprise, but he says he will take advantage of the chance to learn and evolve.

“I see it as an opportunity for maturation, growth and evolution, since I’m still young and don’t have enough international experience. So, it’s an opportunity for growth, to get some tips, some references that I have and be able to observe from Being close to the main team, even more so in this year’s Olympics”, commented the young man opposite, a standout on the celestial squad.

“People will be much more motivated to train, to play, because they have this important competition ahead of them. I’ll also be able to meet some players who we played once or twice and separated from each other. I see it as this opportunity to gain experience, to gain maturity and growth for the course of my career, which still has a few more years to go”, he said.

Cledenilson had his best season in 23/24

Dealing with an injury to a squad is never easy, and last season, Sada Cruzeiro had to manage situations like this on a few occasions. One of them was that of central Lucão, who broke a finger and was out for just over a month. The man who took his place was Cledenilson, 25 years old, who took on the role very well and had, as he also believes, his best season as a professional.

Grateful for the recognition and the opportunity to return to the Brazilian team, he spoke about training and, above all, the dreams he has ahead of him.

“I’m very happy to represent the Brazilian team again. I will always dedicate myself to the maximum to be able to be in the team. I had a very productive season for my career, I believe I managed to evolve really well and that added a lot to this call-up” , commented the 2.12m giant.

Who will lead the New Team is coach Giuliano Ribas, known as Juba, member of the technical committee that won the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. He and Bernardinho will work side by side with present and future athletes.

“I’m happy with Bernardinho’s return too. He’s a coach I’ve always dreamed of coaching. I’ll try to absorb as much as I can from their instructions so I can evolve more and more. And I’ll always dream. With Paris, with the other championships that will come, like VNL, but I’m very happy to be able to be in the Brazilian team again”, he concluded.

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