Volleyball player Miguel Maia announced his retirement as an athlete on Tuesday, leaving a 36-year legacy as a professional, highlighting the two fourth Olympic places, in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), with João Brenha on the beach.
In an emotional ceremony at the Centro Multimeios de Espinho, the biggest name in Portuguese volleyball and a unique example of longevity in high-level sport explained his decision to his family, sports partners, friends, the media and dozens of fans. .
“This is my farewell. At the age of 52 I close my career as a volleyball player. I have dedicated my life to this sport and I will continue to dedicate it, now with other functions. I can not say how I feel. it is a mixture of pride and nostalgia. I never imagined myself finishing off and I never wanted to during all this time, but the time has come,” said the player.
In its long history, in addition to its Olympic feats, the pavilion has 15 first division championships, 10 Portuguese Cups, six national Super Cups and the notable conquest of the extinct Top Teams Cup, a European competition that it won with Sporting de Espinho, in 2001/2002, among many other awards that are more than 80, between individuals and groups.
Despite the accolades and notoriety he has brought to Portuguese volleyball, Miguel Maia feels he still owes a debt to the sport, which he insists he continue to serve in the future, regardless of the role he plays.
“I am ending these days as a player, but this will not end. I will continue serving the modality that helped me so much. I can assure you that I will do it with the same passion. coach, coach or other role where you can be one more – it was worth it, “she said.
In this sense, the player who ended up at Académica de Espinho, where he also began his career, and who stood out especially at Sporting de Espinho and Sporting, having also recorded a brief stint at the Italian Reima Crema, in 2003/2004, made a important revelation, with the distributor assuming a future candidacy for the presidency of the Portuguese Volleyball Federation.
“I have already done it personally, I will do it again here publicly. Your Excellency Mr. President Professor Vicente Araújo, I hereby promise you that after having decided to leave the excellent work you have been doing for decades, and I hope to continue for much more, I, Miguel Barbosa Maia, am available to assume the candidacy for the presidency of the Portuguese Volleyball Federation”, he revealed.
Near the end of the speech, Miguel Maia took the opportunity to make a symbolic testimony, giving his son, Guilherme Maia, with whom he shared the locker room of Académica de Espinho for the last two seasons, the emblematic number 8 shirt, the number with which He became famous. .
Without a farewell “with pomp and circumstance”, as his legacy could predict, the player said he preferred to leave as he started, in a humble way, without prior plans.
“I walked out the door where I came in, with humility and many mixed dreams. He could have done it in many ways, even with a farewell match, in a victory, with a title, at a less tired age. But everything was flowing as it started: without too many plans. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine playing for so long, ”he concluded.
Source: TSF
