Lausanne, Switzerland, July 10, 2015 - For years, Wallace de Souza has been among the very best in the Brazilian volleyball team. The 28-year-old hitter now has his sights set on adding the FIVB Volleyball World League title to his Olympic silver medal from 2012 and his silver at the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship Poland 2014.
Come the final round in Rio de Janeiro, the host country's hopes will rest largely on Wallace’s substantial shoulders: his 105 points in the preliminary round made him one of Brazil’s top scorers, along with Ricardo Lucarelli. In the final round of the 2014 FIVB Volleyball World League, as at the 2013 Grand Champions Cup, de Souza was named Best Spiker, but had to settle for second place with Brazil.
Wallace with his parents, who have played an important role in his career.
Wallace recently told Brazilian newspaper O Tempo the story behind his career. It all began with a visit to the dentist in his native region of Sao Paulo, when little Wallace was just three years old and taking antibiotics for bronchitis. “Get your kid playing basketball, he is going to be tall,” was the medic’s advice.
It took almost 15 years for the prediction to come true. However, Wallace now stands at 1.98m and has become one of the world's top volleyball players. “I only started playing volleyball seriously when I was 17 to 18 years old,” said Wallace. Wallace played volleyball growing up, but on several occasions considered giving up the sport to work and help his father. “Before he liked volleyball, but had never seen it as a profession. He was dedicated, responsible, but sometimes wanted to give up. He missed many opportunities," said his mother.
Wallace used to ride his bike to practice, to save paying for a bus ticket. Later on, with the help of his parents, he was able to buy his first car. Since, he has gone on to become a star in Brazil and is one of his country’s top performers. He has also won the Brazilian Super League title three times with Sada de Cruzeiro.
Wallace knows he has his parents Gleci and Levi to thank for his success: “My parents always supported me, since I devoted myself to the maximum. It is not easy to get into the national team. I never imagined I would get to the Olympics, so anything is possible. It just depends on how much effort you put in,” he said.
The powerful man has had to overcome several hurdles on the way to becoming one of the best volleyball players in the world. The dark-skinned athlete was verbally abused and called a “monkey” during one game. In the next match, his team showed its support for him with a black shirt bearing Wallace’s name and the words “Future Volleyball Against Discrimination.”
“This insult did not give me extra motivation. Of course it should not have happened, but I learned to cope well with such offenses,” said Wallace.
He is now a recognised star in Brazil, whose private life is of interest to millions of volleyball fans. His marriage to Mariana Basilio in Maringa, Parana a few weeks ago was attended by a host of friends from his club and the national team, including Philip Isac, Eder, Lucão, Lucarelli, Lucas Loh and Mauricio Souza.
Soon after the big day, Wallace was focusing on volleyball again. He has learned a lot from national coach Bernardo Rezende: “Everything Bernardinho says, works. It is impossible not to trust him. He is sensational. But to be among the 12 best players in Brazil, you need always to stay focused and not drop the pace in training.”
Wallace and his teammates have one major goal: “The Olympics are the most important competition. And next year we will have them in Rio in our native Brazil.” The whole country has its sights set on gold – as does Wallace.