Many fans and media in Brazil were pretty much stunned by the decision of the country’s volleyball prospect Ana Cristina Souza to withdraw from the women’s volleyball national team before the 2022 FIVB World Championship.
The player which is surely projected to be one of the pillars of the Brazil National Team in the coming years, Ana Cristina, stunned the staff with the decision to request a dismissal at the beginning of the month. The Brazilian federation informed the public of the player’s decisio,n stating that she did so for personal reasons.
In a lengthy note, the 18-year-old outside hitter finally explained what these reasons were.
“I heard that we received a lot of criticism for my decision to ask for dismissal from the call-up for the World Championship, especially my parents and the people who work with me. But I’m calm with the choice I made because right now I need to prioritize my physical and mental health, and prepare myself better,“ Ana Cristina said and added she had been living at a very high intensity, competitions, training, expectations, and demands so because of that she believed it was best to take care of herself for future call-ups to the national team.
To all that, the ’Seleção’ head coach José Roberto Guimarães ’Zé Roberto’ reacted with the following words: “I was very sad about the dismissal request. I think she was in a process of evolution, of learning, in which she needs to be playing, fighting for her position, for her space, to be a versatile player. In versatility, you have great things that can happen. I’m still redoing this dismissal request.“
Zé Roberto stressed that Ana Cristina sent her attorney to ask for dismissal and he told him to send an email to the federation to tell them the reason for the request.
