Ana Cristina Souza stunned the Brazilian Volleyball Federation (CBV) and the volleyball public in the country with a request to get dismissed from the women’s national team.
One of the biggest prospects in the world and Brazilian women’s volleyball, Ana Cristina, is out of the FIVB World Championship in September. That’s what the CBV published on its website – actually, they posted the player’s request for the dismissal from the ‘Seleção’. According to the statement, the 18-year-old outside hitter claimed personal reasons for being excused from training, which started yesterday in Saquarema after head coach José Roberto Guimarães ‘Zé Roberto’ called up 16 players on the preliminary list.
This news came as a surprise given that Ana Cristina was the youngest player in the Brazil Women silver medal campaign at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (17 years old back then). Last season, she had only a few opportunities at Fenerbahçe Opet from Turkey. Despite that, Ana Cristina was even tipped to be a starter at the beginning of this Olympic cycle. In the first matches of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League, she got that opportunity but it didn’t go well.
