• Submitted by: manso
• Sports
• 08 / 22 / 2010

---

• Captain Robertlandy Simón dreams of becoming an Olympic champion

THE Cuban team is visiting Canada, where its members are to play several friendly games as part of preparations for the volleyball world championships at the end of September in Italy.

"The world championships are going to be a little harder. We can improve a little but not that much because time is short. It’s going to be difficult to win a medal, but we’re going to fight. If we managed to get that close during the League, we can do the same thing at the world championships," affirmed team captain Robertlandy Simón.

In an interview with the Cuban weekly Jit, Simón – who led the island’s team to its fourth place finish in the World League – explained that the world championship is the most demanding of all major competitions, "You play almost every day and it’s exhausting. Plus the games get harder as the tournament progresses."

The Cuban men’s volleyball team travel to Canada on August 23 for a 10-day stay during which, as well as undertaking training, they will play four friendly games against national teams.

In early September, they will travel to Serbia for several more friendlies and a national tournament in which both Russia and the host nation are set to play.

The final stages of the Cuban team’s preparations will be in Poland and then onto Italy, the host country for the world championships.

This international event begins on September 25 and Cuba is in Group B together with Brazil, Spain and Tunisia.

SIGHTS SET ON LONDON

"If we win a medal in Italy, then we can’t stop until we do the same thing at the 2012 Olympic Games," stated Simón in an interview with Jit. The 23-year-old Cuban center player, who is 2.06m tall, expressed his dissatisfaction over his team’s performance in the World League.

"There’s no doubt we had the opportunity to play for the gold. We had a good level of play but, at crucial moments, we lost our concentration too much and the opportunity slipped through our fingers," recalled Simón, talking about the final round in the League.

Speaking about himself, Simón explained that a knee injury held up his training, adding: "I wasn’t as fit as I’d like to have been. I didn’t achieve the physical level that I would have liked and lost resistance on the attack and strength."

The young captain commented on the team’s high and low points during games and commented: "This leads us to despair. I don’t know what happens after the initial segment that makes it so hard for us to move forward after the 20th point. We become a different team completely."

"We have to work on that, do our bit and we know that very well because we’re there, out on the court. Tactics have to be followed but we have to achieve a level of stability throughout the game," Simón added.

According to the star player, the Cuban men’s volleyball team has to be more aware of the level that they can achieve in order to obtain better results.

Brazil and Russia are their strongest opponents, stated Simón. The Brazilians "impress me a lot because they play very well in a tactical sense, they’ve got really good players, they defend with precision, serve well, block; technically they’re very strong and if you don’t maintain a rhythm, a stable game, then it’s very difficult to beat them."

Likewise, he described the Russian team as "solid".

Simón does not like to lose, "even in training," and for now, the world championship is his priority. However, in the long term, the 2012 Olympic Games are in the forefront of his mind because "you always have to have goals and fight hard to achieve them."

Simón predicted that in London, Cuba "could have a great team and that’s not just me, this is a team. One always has aspirations and I would love to be an Olympic champion, it’s my greatest dream and everyone else’s, because it is a tremendous merit. It’s something very difficult but not impossible."

"We are going to fight hard to win the Olympic medal that we’re dreaming of and if it’s gold, then all the better," he concluded.
 
Source: Granma