The Brazilian Volleyball Confederation (CBV) has announced Giuliano Ribas, also known as Juba, as coach of the men's national team for the Pan American Games in Santiago, which begin on 20 October. Juba will replace former coach Renan Dal Zotto, who resigned last Sunday (8) after winning the Olympic berth for next year's Games in Paris. Dal Zotto claimed medical and family reasons for stepping down.
Juba was part of former coach Dal Zotto's staff as an assistant coach. With a degree in Physical Education, he has 30 years' experience in volleyball. He has also worked as an assistant coach, performance analyst and supervisor.
"I'm very honoured to have been invited by the CBV to represent Brazil with this team at the Pan American Games. We're taking a team that mixes young and experienced players. Some of them have already been in the squad for other competitions this season and we also have standouts from the youth teams. The men's team will do their best to help Brazil perform well in this very important competition," said Juba.
In 2004, Juba was part of the coaching team of the beach volleyball duo formed by Ricardo and Emanuel, who won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics. Six years later, he returned to court volleyball. At Rio 2016, he took part in Bernardinho's team as an assistant coach and was also Olympic champion.
"They were two very significant Olympic Games. In 2004, it was my first Olympic experience and we had the team we had. In 2016, we had a difficult journey, playing at home, but that helped us achieve our goal. But in both cases the process was the same. Arriving and feeling that you deserve to be there, that you're well-prepared, that you've worked hard and given your best over the years of preparation. That makes you feel safe, because of the skills you've acquired. It makes you capable of always fighting," concluded the interim coach.
