Eduardo Brito - Portugal hoping to make history at #EuroVolleyU22M

Team Portugal is due to contest the final round of this year’s #EuroVolleyU22M scheduled for July 9-14 in the Dutch cities of Groningen and Apeldoorn. In Pool II, Portugal will be playing their peers from Italy, France, and Czechia. This is a truly busy and exciting summer for the Portuguese Volleyball family with as many as four teams due to participate in the respective age group continental championships – U18 Men, U20 Women, U22 Women, and U22 Men. Moreover, the women’s ‘senior’ national team will be playing the first series of their EuroVolley 2026 qualifiers, where they hope to join the already qualified men’s national team. 

Team Portugal will be playing very challenging opponents in the Netherlands. The Italians were silver medal winners at the U21 Worlds in 2023 and are the reigning U20 European champions from 2022; the French finished fifth at the last U20 European Championship; and the Czechs claimed a tenth and eighth place in the last U21 World and U20 European Championship, respectively, where Portugal settled for the ninth spot in the final standing. Therefore, the young Portuguese players will need to bring out all their qualities and make the most of their talent if they wish to succeed further in the competition.

At just 21 years old and standing 200 cm tall, Eduardo Brito is slowly but surely making a name for himself, both at his club, the current national champions Benfica, and in the national teams, where he has been a regular feature since the age of 15. Earlier this year, Brito was called to work with the senior group as they were preparing for the 2024 edition of the European Golden League.

A self-confessed admirer of Cuba’s Robertlandy Simon, who is regarded as one of the best middle blockers in the world these days and plays for Italian elite club Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza, where Portuguese setter Bruno Dias performs as well, Eduardo has a dream: “Reaching the level Simon reached is not for everyone, but it is not impossible either! He is a source of inspiration for me, and I hope to follow in his footsteps and reach my full potential.” 

Taking into consideration the opponents you have already faced in the qualifying phase and in previous age groups, what do you think the national team will be able to do in the Netherlands, against their counterparts from Italy, France, and Czechia?

“I believe that our team will go to the Netherlands with the aim of making it through the group stage and making history by achieving something unprecedented in any age group: reaching the semi-finals of a European Championship final round. Now, we also know that our pool is quite complicated and balanced. We have already played with this generation in younger age groups, having even beaten Italy, the current European champion in the U20 category, in the U17 European Championship, and Czechia, in the last European Championship. Against France, despite many matchups, we have never managed to win this far, losing 2-3 in qualifying for this final stage, but the moment we are on the court, none of that will matter, we will go there to win, whatever it takes. We left the last championship with the feeling that we could have gone further, and in this one we are determined to do so, being aware that we will face very strong and well-prepared teams, and we are already anticipating very difficult matches!”

Do you believe that the qualifications of the U18, U20, U22, and senior teams for the final stages of the European Championships reflect the good work being done by the national team programme and by Portuguese clubs?

“Our generation alone managed to qualify for the final stages of three European Championships (U17, U20, and U22), and we did not have the opportunity to qualify for the U18 European Championship only because of COVID-19. Before my generation, Portugal had already participated in a U20 European Championship. At the senior level, we were present at the last European Championships [four consecutive, if we count 2026], which shows that we are affirming Portugal’s name on these big stages. This fact also indicates that there is a lot of work carried out by clubs so that Portuguese players can achieve these incredible feats, with youth teams playing a crucial role in developing any player’s individual skills!”

How do you define yourself as a player? What added value can you bring to a club or to a national team?

“As a player, I define myself as a middle blocker, and I hope to be useful in that regard by bringing some stability at the net. I recognise that I still have a long way to go, and I am working hard to be able to play regularly for a senior team and represent the national team in the best way.”