Superstar Lucarelli shares insights into life in Trento - on and off the court
Feature
Brazilian Volleyball superstar Ricardo Lucarelli is currently spending his very first season abroad, more specifically with TRENTINO Volley, thus enjoying the privilege of playing in the highly competitive Italian national league as well in the elite CEV Champions League Volley. Lucarelli recently spent some time with former Volleyball stars Andrea Zorzi and Andrea Brogioni, who host the weekly ‘After hours’ show where they review the most important facts emerging from the latest round of the SuperLega.
Together with TRENTINO Volley, Lucarelli has been on a truly impressive winning streak, encompassing now as many as 14 matches in a row. “There are no particular secrets behind this positive streak. We started our journey with great difficulties: I remember very well the first home loss of the season against Verona, a very bad 0-3, followed by other problems due to player contracting coronavirus,” Lucarelli said. “We did not expect such a tough start, but this pushed us to show even more dedication and care into the daily work in the gym, all together, and we managed to rise again. Our confidence has been growing ever since. Now we feel great on a mental level: we play, win and smile and everything is simpler.”
Lucarelli did never play outside of Brazil before the current season. “In July 2020, before coming to Italy, I started studying Italian by myself, downloading an application for iPad and studying every day alone. Two months ago I started talking more often with my teammates and this has helped me a lot to improve because you need to practice the language. That is why I understand everything now,” he admits.
"Now we feel great on a mental level: we play, win and smile and everything is simpler.”
The Italian league is probably the most competitive national championship across the globe. “Even before coming to Italy, I considered the SuperLega to be the most beautiful and difficult championship in the world and now that I have been playing it for a few months I can only confirm it. You can never let your guard down with any opponent. Unlike what happens for example in the Brazilian domestic competitions, here all the teams are very competitive; if you play badly, you can lose against any opponent and all of this is amazing and very stimulating because it forces you to always work and perform at the highest level.”
For someone coming from the southern hemisphere, spending this winter in Europe must be somehow special. “These last few weeks I saw snow for the first time. I had been to Italy several times in the past but never in the winter months. Therefore, I spent the first snowfall of my life making videos and sending them to my mom to show her this phenomenon that we know little about in Brazil. After two days of magic, however, I admit that I realised that I would have to deal with the less pleasant aspects of a heavy snowfall: cold temperatures and struggles in driving my car,” Lucarelli reveals.
“In recent years I received many offers to come and play in Italy but I always refused them until I felt really ready to face this challenge. Trentino Volley has always been a club that I liked, that I already knew well from having seen it win so much internationally in the past. Matey Kaziyski and Osmany Juantorena were role models for me when I approached Volleyball, I saw them playing with the Trentino jersey and I was inspired by them. When the executives made me a proposal, I gladly accepted,” he continues.
Playing in Trento means the privilege of working with an elite setter such as Simone Giannelli and coach as Angelo Lorenzetti. “Simone has a very similar mentality and approach to Bruno’s. He always gives his best in training and expects a lot of himself; he is young but he knows exactly what to do. He is having a great season and finding a connection with him was very easy. In addition to that, he fixes many receptions that could end up in the opponent’s half of the court, because he takes the ball a metre above the net. Lorenzetti is a great person who cares a lot about the well-being of his players, both on and off the court, and I really like that. I know I can offer him an even more important contribution to the team, especially in defence. It is a fundamental that I really like but where I still have to grow a lot.”
Trentino Volley has a perfect record in the CEV Champions League Volley so far, resulting from two wins in the first round, another two in the second and three in the first half of the League Round, with competition now set to resume in early February in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
