Brazilian Marco Aurelio Motta
For the experienced Brazilian coach, who is in charge of the senior team for the Olympic Games’ tournament, the gold medal attained at the pre-junior event can be the starting point for greater things.
“I can see a very promising future for women’s volleyball in Turkey, after the gold medal in the European Pre-Juniors Championship and the FIVB Girl’s World Championship,” Motta asserted. “That’s the first time Turkey won a world championship in a team-sport competition. They have had world champions weightlifters and in other individual sports, but never in a team-sport event.”
Motta’s experience working with young teams in his native Brazil is one of the reasons he has to predict good days for Turkish women’s volleyball.
He actually coached the junior team of his country to a world championship title in 1987 in Seoul, Korea and later on was at the helm of the Italian Junior National Team from 1991 to 1996 and helped to graduate many players to the big ranks.
“I worked with the first generation of the Brazil team that finished third in the Olympic Games in Atlanta and Sydney and discovered many of those talented players,” Motta recalled.
From 1997 to 2001, Motta was in charge of the Viva-Volei program of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation to promote volleyball in underprivileged communities in all the country.
“Viva-Volei is not only a volleyball program but a social work developed by the Brazilian Confederation that has been ongoing for 15 years now with excellent results,” Motta says. “Many players have come out of this program but the main objective is to educate the kids and make them good citizens giving more opportunities.”
After coaching the Brazilian senior women’s team from 2001 to 2003, Motta received the call from the Turkish club Eczacibasi and worked there for three years before returning to mentor the National Team in 2011.
Under his leadership, Turkey finished third in this year’s FIVB World Grand Prix, the highest placement for a Turkish team in a senior event of FIVB.
“Many of my players also played for me at club level so I have a close relationship with them and I really expect to have a good performance in the Olympics,” the Brazilian Motta said.
