Volleyball player Zelao says goodbye to Benfica after 13 seasons and seven championships. Zelao achieved incarnation in 2009/10 and has been champion seven times since 2012/13.

The 39-year-old Brazilian Zelao said goodbye to Benfica today after 13 seasons at Luz in which he helped build Benfica’s volleyball hegemony, winning seven league titles in the past decade.

Zelao joined the incarnates in 2009/10, and since 2012/13 he has won seven league titles, as well as seven Portuguese Cups and eight Super Cups, in a journey in which he played over 440 games and was the best player. in the Challenge Cup 2015.

“This is a difficult moment. I dreamed about it, that one day it would come, and it did. I’m leaving, these are great emotions, because of the love of the fans, the love with which I was received, ”commented the central in a statement to BTV.

The very touched player stressed that playing for Benfica “was a dream come true” when all children dream of defending a big club, which he recognized in the “mystique” in every game of “incarnations”.

“I thought I was ready for this. [a despedida]who was stronger, but no. (…) It was 13 years, many moments that I never thought about, I dreamed about, but to live like this, to feel it with my skin, to feel the pavilion screaming my name is a very big emotion, ”he added.

In the “farewell”, the volleyball player did not fail to remember fondly former sports manager Rui Mourinho and section member Evaristo Silva, now deceased, as well as the journey he went “side by side” with the former coach and current director. José Jardim.

“It’s been nine years [com José Jardim] many achievements, great work. These are the things that are marked (…). The cycle is ending, but the relationship has been going on for several years, there is no way to stop this contact,” the footballer said, not hiding his tears in farewell.

In an interview with BTV, the player also said that he was leaving with a sense of “done”, given the hegemony the club has won in the sport, first with José Jardim and now with Marcel Matz, the club’s “employee”. last three titles.

“This hegemony is becoming more and more undeniable in Portugal, and we are becoming more and more recognized abroad,” he said.