Yesterday, in Belo Horizonte, the legendary Brazilian female volleyball player Sheilla Castro had her ‘last dance’.
One of the world’s best players ever, Sheilla, took the court for the last time as a professional athlete this Friday. A beautiful volleyball party was organized in the Arena Minas Tênis Clube in Belo Horizonte in honor of the multi-champion career of more than 20 years. More than 3,000 spectators in the stands could see stars from past and present Brazilian volleyball. Those summoned to enrich Sheilla’s farewell were José Roberto Guimarães ‘Zé Roberto’, Sheilla’s teammates from Itambé Minas, such as Macris, Carol Gattaz, and Gabi, historical names in Brazilian volleyball, such as Fofão and Fabiana, and also men’s multi-champions, such as setters Maurício and William, and libero Serginho. On the court, 36 Olympic medals in total were ‘present’.
It was a three-set friendly up to 25 points. The teams were named Team Beijing and Team London, in reference to the two cities where Sheilla won the Olympic gold medal for the Brazil National Team. The result was 2-1 for Team Beijing (25-21, 22-25, 26-24), with Sheilla playing the first set for Team Beijing, second with Team London, and third for Team Beijing again. Before the match, a lot of celebration was set for the retiree. There were several tributes, such as the delivery of special plaques, a framed Minas jersey, and a lot of affection from friends and family.
The 39-year-old opposite hitter started her career at Minas in 2000. She spent four seasons in her first spell. In 2002, she won the Superliga title at the age of 17. After that, Sheilla’s career took off and she accumulated titles in Italy and for the national team. Defending the colors of ‘Seleção’ at the Olympics, she took two titles: Beijing (2008) and London (2012), with a prominent role. Sheilla also passed through São Caetano, Sesc, Osasco, and VakıfBank (Turkey) before returning to Minas in 2019. In addition to the Olympic titles, Sheilla has in her curriculum: FIVB World Grand Prix (seven titles), Pan American Games (one), Pan American Cup (three), South American Championship (five), CEV Cup (one), CEV Challenge Cup (one), Italian Championship (one), Italian Super Cup (one), FIVB Club World Championship (one), South American Club Championship (one), Brazilian Cup (one), Turkish Championship (one), Turkish Super Cup (one), among other achievements.
Individually, Sheilla’s biggest awards were MVP of the FIVB World Grand Prix (two), FIVB World Grand Champions Cup (one), South American Championship (one), Pan-American Cup (one)…
