Wilfredo León Venero (born 31 July 1993) is a Cuban–Polish professional volleyball player. He was a member of the Cuba national team from 2007 to 2012, and is a current member of the Poland national team and Sir Safety Perugia. León was a silver medallist at the 2010 World Championship, and a two–time NORCECA Champion (2009, 2011).
| Wilfredo León | |||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Full name | Wilfredo León Venero | ||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Leo | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Cuban Polish | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 31 July 1993 Santiago de Cuba, Cuba | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 96 kg (212 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Spike | 380 cm (150 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Block | 346 cm (136 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Outside hitter | ||||||||||||||
| Current team | Sir Safety Perugia | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 9 | ||||||||||||||
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| National team | |||||||||||||||
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Honours | |||||||||||||||
Considered by many as one of a kind, he led Cuba to the silver medal at the 2010 World Championship held in Italy, alongside Yoandy Leal and Robertlandy Simon. He is considered one of the leaders of the "Generation of Miracle" of Cuban volleyball by many experts.[1] León is considered one of the best volleyball players worldwide.
Personal life edit
León was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba on July 31, 1993. He is the son of Wilfredo León Hechavarría and Alina Venero Boza (former volleyball player). He studied at Escuela Nacional del Voleibol Cubano. León lived in Poland for a while with his Polish girlfriend.[2] On June 24, 2016, he married Małgorzata (born Gronkowska). On May 13, 2017, their daughter Natalia was born.
Career edit
León started to play when he was seven. His first coach was his mother, Alina. León debuted in the Cuban national team on May 24, 2008, in Düsseldorf, aged 14 years and 10 months.[3] He won the title of Best Receiver at World League 2009. On July 31, 2009, he won a silver medal in the World U21 Championship (after losing the final against Brazil). In 2009, the Cuban national team, with Leon, won the title of NORCECA Champion (and three individual awards), and repeated this success in 2011. After losing the final against Brazil, Cuba won a silver medal at the 2010 World Championship. He was the youngest captain of the national team (he was 17). In 2012, he won the bronze medal at the World League.
In 2013, León left Cuba to play in a club outside of his homeland,[4] losing the possibility of playing for the Cuban national team.[5] He joined Russian club Zenit Kazan in 2014, where he won multiple CEV Champions League titles, national leagues, and cups. He also played part-time with Qatar club Al Rayyan in 2015 and 2016. In September 2018, León joined Italian team SIR Safety Perugia.
On July 14, 2015, León received Polish citizenship, and five years later he became fully eligible to play for the Polish national volleyball team.[6]
Honours edit
Club edit
- CEV Champions League
2014–15 – with Zenit Kazan- 2015–16 – with Zenit Kazan
- 2016–17 – with Zenit Kazan
- 2017–18 – with Zenit Kazan
- FIVB Club World Championship
Poland 2017 – with Zenit Kazan- Betim 2022 – with Sir Safety Perugia
- Bangalore 2023 – with Sir Safety Perugia
- Domestic
- 2008–09
Cuban Championship, with Capitalinos - 2009–10 Cuban Championship, with Capitalinos
- 2010–11 Cuban Championship, with Orientales de Santiago
- 2014–15
Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan - 2014–15 Russian Championship, with Zenit Kazan
- 2015–16 Russian SuperCup, with Zenit Kazan
- 2015–16 Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan
- 2015–16 Russian Championship, with Zenit Kazan
- 2016–17 Russian SuperCup, with Zenit Kazan
- 2016–17 Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan
- 2016–17 Russian Championship, with Zenit Kazan
- 2017–18 Russian SuperCup, with Zenit Kazan
- 2017–18 Russian Cup, with Zenit Kazan
- 2017–18 Russian Championship, with Zenit Kazan
- 2018–19 Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2019–20 Italian SuperCup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2020–21 Italian SuperCup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2021–22 Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2022–23 Italian SuperCup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2023–24 Italian SuperCup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2023–24 Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Perugia
- 2008–09
Individual awards edit
- 2009: FIVB World League – Best server
- 2009: NORCECA Championship – Best spiker
- 2009: NORCECA Championship – Most valuable player
- 2011: Pan American Games – Most valuable player
- 2011: NORCECA Championship – Best spiker
- 2011: NORCECA Championship – Best scorer
- 2015: CEV Champions League – Best outside spiker
- 2015: CEV Champions League – Most valuable player
- 2015: FIVB Club World Championship – Best outside spiker
- 2016: CEV Champions League – Best outside spiker
- 2016: CEV Champions League – Most valuable player
- 2016: FIVB Club World Championship – Best outside spiker
- 2017: CEV Champions League – Best outside spiker
- 2017: FIVB Club World Championship – Best outside spiker
- 2018: CEV Champions League – Best outside spiker
- 2019: CEV European Championship – Best outside spiker
- 2022: FIVB Club World Championship – Best outside spiker
- 2023: CEV European Championship – Most valuable player
Record edit
- 138 km/h serve speed[7]
References edit
- ^ Poggi, Alessandro (2020-04-18). "Wilfredo Leon exclusive! Cuba forged my character, in Poland I found love, Italy is my new challenge". Olympics.com. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ^ "POL M: Leon and Diaz in Rzeszów". World of Volley. 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
- ^ "Czternastolatek w kadrze Kuby na LŚ!" [Fourteen-year-old in Kuba's team at LŚ!] (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska Media. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
- ^ Futterman, Matthew (2021-08-02). "How a Cuban Émigré Became a Polish Volleyball God". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ "Cuba Expels Wilfredo Leon". Volleywood. 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
- ^ "Wilfredo Leon z polskim obywatelstwem" [Wilfredo Leon with Polish citizenship] (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska Media. 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2017-12-30.
- ^ "Wilfredo León bate récord de velocidad en el saque: 138 km / h". Cuba Si (in Spanish). 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
External links edit
- Player profile at the European Volleyball Confederation
- Player profile at LegaVolley.it (in Italian)
- Player profile at Olympics.com
- Player profile at Olympedia
- Player profile at Volleybox.net
