End of cycle: Antonio Rizola leaves the Colombian women's volleyball team

Antonio Rizola, the coach who made women's volleyball grow in Colombia and qualified it for the first time in a World Cup, announced this Tuesday, on his social networks, that he is leaving his position after seven years.

Rizola, 65, sent a farewell message: “Farewell to a country that welcomed me with open arms, believed in me and provided me with working conditions, supporting a process proposed in early 2017. Since then, it has been years of work, dedication and the understanding that “together we go further.” Of course, like everything in life, we had to overcome obstacles, but we kept going,” she wrote on her Instagram account.

Under Rizzola's command, in addition to the historic qualification for the 2022 World Cup, Colombia won the silver medal in the Challenger Cup and at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. However, it could not meet the goal of qualifying for the Paris Olympics. 2024.

The Brazilian had arrived at the beginning of 2017, after a successful cycle with his country's national teams, which he led to win Olympic gold twice, in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.

“I believed in that when I started working in 1976 with volleyball. Players who worked with me in 2005 as youth players won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012. They didn't think they could win. It is the process that Colombia is in. I tell them that you have to fight for a medal, not for a qualification for the Olympics,” Rizola had said a few years ago. She planted the seed.

“We achieved unprecedented and significant sporting results in all categories and with that Colombian volleyball makes history. Today I feel proud to place Colombia and its athletes on a global level, being recognized as a high-performance volleyball player,” said Rizola in his farewell.

“I consider that an important point was the change in the style of play of Colombian women's volleyball and also in the mentality. We put Colombian women/athletes in their place, with respect and effort,” she added.

According to the Brazilian coach, his departure took place by mutual agreement with the directors of the Colombian Volleyball Federation. “We understand that my cycle in Colombia ends here. I will continue searching for my job in my passion, which is volleyball. Without a doubt, Colombia will remain in my heart for the love received and the great moments experienced,” he insisted.

Press reports claim that Rizola could arrive in Peru as the new women's national coach, in a country that also knows what it means to reach an Olympic podium, by winning the silver medal in Seoul 1988.

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