The Volleyball DNA: Guilherme Maia
Editorial
Being the son of arguably the most accomplished volleyball player in your country and deciding to follow in his footsteps can be a double-edged sword. The downsides are certainly the never-ending comparisons and sky-high expectations, but if you get to make the most of the positives and have a little bit of luck along the way, as Portuguese Miguel Maia and his son Guilherme have, then it’s all worth it.
Still active at the age of 50, Miguel is the most recognizable name of Portuguese volleyball. He was a stellar beach player, having represented his country in three Olympics, finishing fourth twice and being Portugal’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony in Sydney 2000. He’s also the winningest Portuguese volleyball player ever, having secured 16 national titles during his long career.
With such an impressive background, it wasn’t surprising that his son, Guilherme, now 19, has decided to pursue a career in the sport as well. He also plays the indoor game, and has helped his team Academica Espinho return to the country’s elite this season, but is really passionate about beach volleyball, having represented Portugal in Age Group European Championships in each of the last four years.
Guilherme Maia“My father has never pushed me to volleyball, he actually always encouraged me to experiment everything, from music and dancing to every kind of sport. I don’t like comparing myself to my father considering all he has accomplished but I love playing beach volleyball and I hope to succeed in the sport as he did.”
Portuguese Player
Earlier this year, the two were part of a special moment in their careers and personal lives as Miguel’s Sporting and Guilherme’s Academica Espinho played each other in the Portuguese Cup. It was the first time father and son, who are both setters, played each other in a match.
The match ended with Sporting eliminating Espinho but the memory that stuck in everyone’s minds was when Miguel was subbed off near the end but before leaving the court went across the net to hug Guilherme and enjoy the situation for a little bit longer.
Miguel Maia“It was an unbelievable and really emotional moment. I truly never thought it could happen until a couple of years ago, when he made it to the senior team. I’ve been fortunate to accomplish a lot in my career but nothing beats this. To me, it was like the icing in the cake.”
Portuguese Player
What the two didn’t know at the time was that the best was actually yet to come. At the end of the season, when his contract with Sporting expired, Miguel moved to Espinho, fulfilling the dream of playing with son in the 2021-2021 season and rejoining the club where he first started playing.
Miguel Maia“I couldn’t be any happier with the opportunity of playing with my son and my nephew in the club where my father also played. But we play at the same position and I won’t make it any easier for him to be the starter. I would be giving a bad example if I did it any differently.”
Portuguese Player
Volleyball is a true family sport. Not only because of the friendly environment found in indoor and beach tournaments around the world, but also due to the simplicity of the game, which allows people of all ages and physical abilities to play it. It’s also a captivating sport and because of that it happens often that several generations of a same family fall in love with it. Every once in a while, we can see those family connections at the professional level and that’s exactly what we’re going to show in our series ‘The Volleyball DNA’.