Roberlandy Simon Aties is back in Cuba. He crossed the Atlantic from Italy to feel the warmth of his land. His monumental physique has dusted the memories of those who often boasted of his prowess on the taraflex of the Sports City Coliseum.
He had his pictures taken with anyone who wanted, through the entrance and paralyzed the line, people flooded the front door and when he walked to the mezzanine he was leaving a long row of speechless fans after his passage.
A little over a year Roberlandy decided to depart from the national volleyball team (2011), very short time to forget his ecumenical power. Still in the venerable Coliseum corners resonate the shots of this Guantánamo man, 2.06 m tall, yet the shadow of his presence in the lower walks simulating on the court the enigmatic orders by the former captain of Cuba, Cuban fans still, grieving and saddened by the events of the World League, shout themselves hoarse in praise for Simon.
And it is because he is a monster of volleyball. For years is if not the best, only the Russian central Muserski Dimitri can perch near-, one of the best center attackers on the planet. Once he left Cuba to become a professional volleyball player, life has not changed much in that regard.
In the Italian Piacenza Roberlandy still looks impressive, able to intimidate any rival through the swarm of squares aligned in the net, still mulling over the ball dancing on his index finger before travelling into enemy territory, he is immeasurable in blocking as a bulwark and effective as few in the attack.
That image regained form for fans who attended the first match between Cuba and Russia in the Coliseum. Roberlandy Simon all character, all charm reappeared before the faithful audience. Aties wore sneakers, shorts and pullover when he slid along a couple of friends in the parking lot of the facility.
Roberlandy’s presence in the stands of the sports played down, luckily, the beating of Russia to Cuba on September 3. The former captain of the national team did not have a quiet moment in the game, do not spend a second without anyone uneasy to be photographed or to take a simple autograph.
There was no such match between Cuba and Russia, no matter the presence in Havana of the Volleyball Olympic champions, there was so much suffering to the nth sparing action of ours in the World League, why lie, in fact there was almost nothing except Roberlandy Simon’s welcome home.
