I’m even ashamed to ask, says Zé Roberto about seeking sponsorship at Barueri

José Roberto Guimarães, 67, lived an emotional night last October 12th.

On the day he completed five years of the project, Barueri, the volleyball team that the coach commands on and off the court in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, defeated favorite Sesi Bauru to win a place in the final of the São Paulo Championship.

The great result was followed by an outburst from the coach, three-time Olympic champion (1992, 2008 and 2012) and who less than three months ago led the Brazilian women’s team to the silver medal at the Tokyo Games.

“We need help and support for this beautiful project not to die,” he said while still on court, live on SporTV.

For the first time since its inception, the Barueri Volleyball Club enters a season without a sponsor willing to inject money into the project. It’s a race against time, as the team has already competed in the state tournament —was runner-up, defeated in the decision by Osasco— and is preparing to debut in the Superliga, this Friday (29).

For now, there are only contracts for the supply of uniforms, with Hummel, and health plans, with the sports arm of Prevent Senior.

In the first three seasons, the team had as its main partner the company Hinode, and in the two following ones, the São Paulo Futebol Clube —a relationship that was frustrated after the tricolor association failed to pay its due throughout the last year.

The team nicknamed by the fans as “Chiquititas” was champion in São Paulo in 2019 and became a hotbed of revelations, but it is difficult to keep its most promising youngsters in the squad. In the last two years, 10 athletes came out with superior financial proposals.

That’s why Zé Roberto and his family, especially his wife, Alcione, and daughter Anna Carolina run after companies. To survive longer, the project needs to be minimally sustainable, but currently the athletes’ salaries and other professional team accounts are paid by the coach himself.

If it has not yet resulted in the arrival of sponsors, the outburst moved the engaged volleyball community and generated a campaign on social networks with requests for support for the project.

Happy with the mobilization and also shy with the effort to keep his passion alive, Zé Roberto gave an interview to sheet this Wednesday (27), at his family’s training center, Sportville, in Barueri, a place that also serves as the club’s headquarters and home to base players.

In addition to the search for sponsorship and motivation to train new athletes, the coach commented on his contract renewal with the Brazilian team until the Paris-2024 Olympics.

Outburst about sponsorship

It came right away. I always talk about volleyball [nas entrevistas], because I get a little shy, I am often embarrassed to ask, to say “look, it’s not giving, we need help”. It’s not a very simple thing to talk about. It wasn’t in my head to do that. I even thank Glayce, who was giving an interview, talking about volleyball, and suddenly asked to speak back and spoke about the project.

I can not stand [tirar dinheiro do bolso] for a long time, because I’m not a soccer coach, I’m a volleyball coach. I started earning my first salary in volleyball when I was 17 years old. Always adding up, I was never one to spend, I was always a modicum guy, but it’s not that I have to… It’s difficult.

Mobilization of volleyball fans

We have to thank the people who like the sport, who mobilized to ask [apoio financeiro]. People I don’t know, but they were touched, made shirts, sent emails to companies, and some of them contacted us. I was impressed with the mobilization and didn’t really expect it. A lot of people are fans of other teams and feel that the project is important, not to let it die. Damn, so many people who care.

Search for companies

The Carol [sua filha] is taking care of that. from time to time i participate [das reuniões] to explain a little about the project, but she is the one who stays the longest, even because of the training. With what is happening today, in terms of post-pandemic life and the difficulties we are going through in Brazil, you will hardly have a master sponsor, but I see that it could be a pool of companies, with each company adopting a player. The important thing is to keep this project alive and it has several ways. If you have companies looking, let’s see the quotes that can help us. We accept any help.

In Italy, today, companies from cities gather and see that volleyball is an important tool for the projection of the city, which it exalts. Barueri could be one of the biggest volleyball school centers in Brazil and in the world, because he wants to do this, he likes it and understood that the way is there. We’ll win? I can’t tell any sponsor that we’re going to win. But that we are going to train people, I believe so.

DNA and losses

There are sponsors who, when they join, want to win the championship and hire national team players. I think we found our DNA, which is the formation. We have all categories of base, 17, 19, 21 years and adult. We are looking for players all over Brazil, not only who are talented and maybe make it to the national team, but for them to play volleyball, have chances. Social inclusion is important, giving these girls opportunities. This DNA of working with the youngest, giving chances, is what drives us. First, for the motivation in this training work. And then the fact that they can grow up, go out into the world.

There is no return [de direitos econômicos], it’s just the satisfaction of having passed through here. We know that we are going to take this risk, volleyball is not the same as football, which has passes. We take risks every year. There are clubs that make longer-term contracts and work with the certainty of continuity. This is the law of volleyball, it’s always been like that, and I can’t criticize it in any way. [os outros times].

We would like to spend a few years with this team. It’s just a matter of time to be able to fight the best in Brazil, but every year we lose four, five players. So it’s getting very difficult, every year you have to rebuild. We want to have greater security in this project, working with these girls and trying to provide opportunities. It’s a project that has substance.

Return of the volleyball community

They get worried. All of us, when a team breaks up, we worry. It’s one less important team. It doesn’t matter where he is placed in the championship, but that he is working towards the development of the sport. When there is a decrease in the contribution to a team, it is a concern, because we will lose players to Europe, Japan, Russia, Turkey. When there is a drop in the contribution or a team ends, there are a greater number of players [livres] in the market, and not all Superliga teams will be able to absorb it.

End of partnership with São Paulo

We know that partnerships with football teams are not easy. I thought I could do something closer to São Paulo, but, in the end, it ended up not happening anymore because of the club’s cash situation. I talked a lot with Julio [Casares] when he entered [na presidência, em janeiro deste ano]. He was generous, he said: “We’ll try to help you, but I have nowhere to take it, given what’s happening with the football team. In the future, maybe we’ll come back with the project, but right now I have no way help”. He was very clear, very correct in the way he behaved. There was [um acerto financeiro]. With a decrease in what was the contract, because of the pandemic, and we split it 20 times.

New cycle in the selection until Paris-2024

Three years, in terms of sport, fly. We can, yes, make a good team and fight, fight against any team in the world. You take China, who won the championship in 2016 and placed ninth in 2021 with all the Olympic champions there. It’s the mystery of the Olympics. So, the availability of the players, the energy they were [em Tóquio], it’s that moment when when it’s over you think: “I’m going to miss this group a lot”. We had problems, from injury, from possible doping [de Tandara], it is difficult to manage, but it was all worth it. When we fight for a title, my feeling is one of relief for delivering something good for my country, for the mission to have been accomplished.

WOMEN SUPERLIGA 2021/2022

Participating teams

Brasilia Volleyball-DF
Curitiba Volleyball-PR
Dentil/Praia Clube-MG
Pines-SP
Fluminense-RJ
Itambé Minas-MG
Osasco São Cristóvão Saúde-SP
Country Club Valinhos-SP
Unilife-Maringá-PR
Barueri Volleyball Club-SP
Sesc RJ Flamengo
Sesi Volleyball Bauru-SP

REGULATION

The 12 teams face off in turn and return, and the eight best placed go to the quarterfinals. The 1st faces the 8th, the 2nd duels with the 7th and so on, in series of best of three matches. The same happens in the semifinals and the final.

STREAMING

All games will be broadcast on SporTV channels or on the digital platform Canal Vôlei Brasil. In the latter, the fan will have to pay a single installment for the season of R$99.90 for a suit (male or female) or R$119.90 for both.

FIRST ROUND

Quinta (28)

Brasília Vôlei (DF) x Unilife Maringá (PR), at 5 pm – Canal Vôlei Brasil

Friday (29)

Dentil Praia Clube (MG) x Esporte Clube Pinheiros (SP), at 6 pm – Canal Vôlei Brasil

Itambé/Minas (MG) x Country Club Valinhos (SP), at 6:30 pm – SporTV 2

Sesi Vôlei Bauru (SP) x Sesc RJ Flamengo (RJ), at 9 pm – SporTV 2

Barueri Volleyball Club (SP) x Curitiba Volleyball (PR), at 9 pm – Canal Vôlei Brasil

Saturday (30)

Osasco São Cristóvão Saúde (SP) x Fluminense (RJ), at 9:30 pm – SporTV 2