The International Volleyball Hall of Fame inducts its 2022 class on Saturday. We are profiling all six inductees, including this feature on Bernardinho. You can watch the ceremonies in Holyoke, Massachusetts, live at 7 p.m. Eastern. Get all the information at www.VolleyHall.org.
In the world of volleyball, a landscape shaped by Brazilian greats, there is one name that stands at the top of the mountain. Bernardinho. A player, a coach, a legend.
Born Bernardo Rocha de Rezende in Rio de Janeiro in 1959, Bernardinho rose through the ranks of Brazilian volleyball as a player, representing his home country on the court for many years in international competitions. With a nickname that means “little Bernardo”, the quality and impact of his game rose above his size in a sport dominated by giants. He competed in two Olympics as a player, earning silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Those accomplishments alone are more than most volleyball players will ever earn. But it was when he switched from the court to the bench where he made his mark.
Rezende, who owns a degree in economics, used the rigors of that background to bring strategy and discipline to the volleyball world.
He represented his home country as the technical coordinator in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and then went overseas to take the helm of the women’s team Perugia and then the men’s team Modena in Italy, before returning home to take over the Brazilian Women’s National Team in 1990. In his first year with the squad, the team took second at the FIVB World Championships and won the FIVB World Grand Prix, which featured fellow 2022 International Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee Fernanda Venturini at setter.
Rezende didn’t just have an impact on his own country, but the countries and individuals his teams competed against as well.
“Bernardinho is one of the greatest volleyball coaches of all time,” said former USA Women’s coach Terry Liskevych. “He coached the Brazillian women to world prominence and his record with the men is unsurpassed.”
One event that stood out for Liskevych was the 1995 World Grand Prix in China where the two countries met after a grueling and lengthy tournament where the final four teams met for a round-robin. USA and Brazil both entered the finals at 2-0 after beating Cuba and China. The USA ended up beating Brazil 3-2, 17-15 in the fifth set, to win its first World Grand Prix title.
“That was a…
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