Volleyball, Rosamaria: from depression to the Italian dream with Busto

Brazilian sympathy that blends with Italian concreteness. Recently in possession of the double passport, Rosamaria Montibeller is making herself appreciated, year after year, by Italian volleyball lovers. Not only from the UYBA Busto Arsizio fans who are waiting for him to be a protagonist again at the E-Work Arena after three absences: “I had been suffering from an annoying plantar fasciitis for some time. In agreement with the club, we decided to fix this problem. We are fighting for a place in the playoffs, I want to experience the post season with my teammates. I hope to return as soon as possible”.

“In recent days there have been clear steps forward. I’d like to be on the pitch on Sunday. We’ll see: three weeks without championship matches, certainly, won’t be easy to absorb.”

Since she has been in Italy, she has always been a determining factor for her teams.

“Excluding the year in Novara, in which I didn’t play much. However it’s true: I was constantly among the top 3 scorers in the championship. This makes me proud even if I’ve always put group results first over personal ones” .

Perugia, Casalmaggiore, Novara, Busto Arsizio: have you already found your favorite place?

“My cousin’s family lives in Trento: when I go to visit him and see the mountains, I feel a feeling of peace and serenity. I love those landscapes. It’s something I’ve never been used to in Brazil”.

With the Brazilian national team he won a lot (silver at the last World Cup) and shared great international experiences.

“I will never forget the Olympics. I was at the highest level an athlete can aspire to. I met so many champions of all sports and took a picture with Novak Djokovic. Being present in events of this type means having done something important in the own career. It’s an insane confidence boost.”

Trust that he had lost in late 2017 when he had to battle depression.

“I was coming from a splendid year with the national team: I wasn’t able to handle the pressure of expectations around me. I was young. I was really sick: I was always tired, I had nightmares, I cried at training sessions and I didn’t want to talk to Nobody”.

“With the help of professionals in the sector. There is no shame in asking for support from other people: This journey has allowed me to express my insecurities and to understand where the discomfort came from. Even today I speak with a therapist who helps me manage emotions”.

How do you live with stress before a big match?

“I try to think with my head more than with my heart: I tell myself that it’s a volleyball match during which I have to repeat my usual technical and athletic gestures. And that’s actually how it is, because I never want to lose. be it a friendly match or a world final.”

Do you have any routines before a game?

“I try not to tie myself to objects or habits. I usually make the sign of the cross and say a prayer for myself and my companions. And then I always have a chain with my family photo with me”.

Speaking of jewelry, can you tell us about your activity as an entrepreneur?

“Today my world is volleyball but I also want to look ahead. This is how the first jewelry collection I show on the website www.byrosamaria.com.br was born: I’m lucky enough to have collaborators who allow me to make decisions with ideas very clear. And then I have the example of mother Adelir: she has always been an independent woman, capable of making responsible choices even at work”.

“I’m also preparing news in the world of cosmetics and beach wear. Will I be the model of the campaign? I really think so. Maybe not alone”.

With all these busy schedules, do you find time to relax?

“I enjoy painting, especially abstract figures. I don’t have a great talent, I admit it. I have family members who are better than me. But there is, somewhere in my DNA, this ability too”.

“Although coming from a territory of Brazil that had been colonized by the Italians, when I moved I learned to know, accept and appreciate what was different from my culture and my habits. Both in daily life and in managing volleyball with various clubs”.

In Italy she established herself as an opposite but in Brazil she also played as a spiker.

“I’m an atypical opposite: I play on technique, I’m not very very high. It was Ze Roberto who directed me towards “place 4″. He was my coach when I was 19: I have to thank him because learning a new role opened up my many roads. With the national team, above all”.

How many thanks and compliments do you receive on Instagram from your followers (one million three hundred thousand)?

“Many but, unfortunately, I can’t read them all. I like to make Rosamaria known “out of volley”. I try to show the best of me because I want to inspire young people. It’s a real gift for me to be able to be so close to the people.”

What gift would you like, instead, for your birthday, which is just around the corner?

“First of all, I’d like to beat Vero Volley Milano, since we’ll be on the pitch the night before, on April 8th. Then I’d ask for nothing more than a lunch in the open air, with lots of sun, teammates, Brazilian and Italian friends “.