Cuba’s León excels in European volleyball finals

Cuban volleyball player Wilfredo León was outstanding last night (March 29) in Berlin when his Russian team, Zenit-Kazan, won the Champions League crown, defeating the Polish team Resovia-Rzeszow, 3-0, at Max Schmeling Hall.

Third and fourth place went to the German team Berlin and the Polish team Skra-Belchatow, respectively.

The 6-foot-7-inch León (his teammates call him Leo) was the man of the hour, scoring 18 points and being named the Final Four’s Most Valuable Player. In the first of the final four games he scored 26 points.

Zenit-Kazan, which has won the Champions League tournament twice before, now goes to the International Federation’s World Championships set for October in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Asked through an interpreter about his reaction to being named MVP, León said that “Yes, I was incredibly surprised. I could say that my dream had been realized. The announcement was made when I was on the podium [with my teammates] and took me by surprise. I was really nervous.”

As reported last year in Progreso Weekly, the Santiago-born Wilfredo León Venero first played with the Cuban Volleyball Team in 2008, at the age of 14. His versatility and talent on the court made him at once one of the team’s key players.

In the 2009 World League tournament, León won the title of Best Receiver. In 2010, he was one of the pillars of the team, guiding Cuba to a silver medal in the World Championship. The following year, he was named captain of the national team, becoming, at the age of 17, the youngest captain in the history of Cuban volleyball.

In 2012, he won third place in the World League. In 2013, while traveling in Europe, he sought a job with a Polish team, a move that led the Cuban volleyball federation to bar him from national play. León stayed in Poland and now lives in Rzeszow, home to the team that Zenit defeated yesterday.

In May 2014, León signed a two-year contract with the Russian club Zenit, in Kazan, turning down offers from Dynamo-Moscow and Lokomotiv-Novosibirsk. His current position is striker.

Reportedly, León plans to seek Polish citizenship and play for Poland’s national team. He will be 22 next July 31.