Coach Bernardo Rezende resigned from the French men’s volleyball team this Tuesday (22). In note, the country’s Volleyball Federation stated that the coach, a two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion for Brazil, attributed the decision to leave the team to personal problems and stressed that “his family remains a priority”. It was the Brazilian’s first experience in charge of a foreign team.
I Communiqué I
La Fédération Française de Volley accepts the démission of Bernardo Rocha de Rezende, sélectionneur of l’Equipe de France masculine after 2021.
Information ➡️ https://t.co/gzugbc2KaD pic.twitter.com/PXyLr8e3YL— FFvolley (@FFvolley) March 22, 2022
“It is one of the most difficult and painful decisions of my entire career. I’m very sad because I love this France team, the group, the players, the team we’ve built. I am very grateful for the trust the federation has given me throughout the year. Thanks again to the President for his support and understanding. I received an incredible reception from all French volleyball and I have a lot of pain and frustration for not reaching the end of the project we started to put into practice. But I have to make that choice, there are no other choices possible for my family, which remains a priority. I told the President that I will always be available to help the federation, the players or my successor. I wish the greatest success to this group and to French volleyball”, said the Brazilian.
Bernardinho, 62, signed a contract in April last year with the French Federation, but only took charge of the team after the Tokyo Olympics. During his brief spell, the Les Blues team played in the European Championship in September, but stopped in the round of 16 after losing to the Czech Republic. Also in the statement, Eric Tanguy, president of the French Volleyball Federation, lamented the early departure of Bernardinho from selection command.
“We had the best coach to fulfill our goals until the Paris-2024 Games and I can only regret this situation. But obviously I understand the reasons that led Bernardinho to make this difficult decision and I thank him for having remained available to prepare his replacement. .
The coach will continue ahead of the women’s team Sesc-Flamengo, in Rio de Janeiro, which has a decisive game on Friday (25), against Osasco, in the first game of the quarterfinals of the Women’s Superliga, at 9 pm ( Brasília time), in São Paulo.
