Jesus Herrera

Havana, May 24 (RHC) - The Italian Volleyball League, the best in the world, is intensifying its interest in Cuban volleyball players in the current transfer market, as a result of their growth in France, Argentina and other nations.

Although we are still in the middle of negotiations, several Italian media consider the arrival of some players from the island to Italian volleyball as a certainty.

The latest media to echo the arrival of Cuban volleyball players to Italy was Corriere Umbro, which confirmed the arrival to the famous Perugia club of opposite player Jesús Herrera, coming from the French Chaumont, and attacker Julio César Cárdenas, from Tourcoing, also from France.

Both players have shined in France's top league and if their signings are completed, as all indications suggest, they would join Polish nationalized star Wilfredo Leon, who will be in his fifth season at the laureate club, focused on building a squad capable of dethroning Lube Civitanova.

A few days ago, several media of the Italian peninsula officially announced the signing of Osniel Mergarejo with Milan, based on his excellent results in France with Chaumont.

"The sensations are the best I can have," the attacker told the Italian press and acknowledged that Italy's is the best championship in the world. "Every volleyball player wants to be there, to make what is a unique experience in a sports career. Getting there is a goal that every player sets for himself. I already played in Argentina and France, with a lot of success, a great experience. Now my expectations for my first year in Italy and for the championship are the best," said Mergarejo, 24 years old and 1.97 m and native of the province of Sancti Spíritus (center).

The growth of Cuban players has been remarkable in recent years, hence the marked interest of Italian clubs in acquiring their services.

In the season that has just ended, three Cubans were crowned champions with the famous Lube Civitanova, Robertlandy Simón, the young Marlon Yant, and the Italian nationalized Osmany Juantorena.

Throughout history, dozens of Cubans have made it to the Italian League, some of them in a personal capacity. Three of them, Juantorena, Simón and Osvaldo Hernández, stand out among the league's most prominent figures in its history.

A total of eight - Simón, Juantorena, Osvaldo, Yant, Ihosvany Hernández, Angel Denis, Leonel Marshal jr, and Yoandy Leal - have been crowned champions with their respective clubs, according to an article by journalist Aliet Arzola, who recreates the history of Cuban champions in Italian volleyball. In Juantorena's case, he has been crowned no less than six times.