Winning Never Gets Old

If Bruno Rezende were to present his resume to recruiters, it would take them a while to read through his impressive list of achievements. Be it with the Brazilian national team or with the clubs he has represented so far, the 34-year-old setter has won all of the major volleyball tournaments in reach at least once.

His winning cycle was completed – at least for now – at the end of 2019 when he captained Italy’s Cucine Lube Civitanova to victory at the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship, adding yet another jewel to his crown.

“It was special,” he said shortly after lifting the trophy. “I tried to approach the tournament as naturally as possible, but it was different, I knew it was the only title I was missing.”

The victory with the Italian powerhouse in Contagem highlighted a successful club career built over the last 17 years in Brazil and Italy. In his home country, where he starred for five different teams, Bruno collected six titles from the Superliga and one each from the Brazilian Cup, the Brazilian Super Cup, the Trofeu Volei Brasil and the South American Club Championship.

Currently playing for EMS Taubate Funvic, the setter also had three stints in Italy – two with Leo Shoes Modena and one with Lube. He returned home at the end of the 2019-2020 season with two victories in the Italian League, three in the Italian Cup, one in the Italian SuperCup and one in the CEV European Champions League.

“He’s one of the best volleyball players ever, a very good friend of mine and an amazing person,” said Serbian outside hitter Uros Kovacevic, who played with Bruno at Modena. “We had an amazing three years together in Modena and I learned a lot from him.”