Yoandy Leal Hidalgo (born 31 August 1988) is a volleyball player who plays as a wing-spiker for Italian club Gas Sales Piacenza. Born in Cuba, he is a former member of the Cuba men's national team (2007–2010) and currently represents

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(since 2019) after gained the Brazilian citizenship in June 2015. Leal played four years with the

Cuban national team Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

, debuting at the

2007 FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship The 2007 FIVB Volleyball Men's U21 World Championship, FIVB Volleyball Men's Junior World Championship was held from 7 to 15 July 2007 in Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco. It was the last tournament to feature 12 teams. Competing nations Drawing of ...

. In the 2008 World Olympic Qualification Tournament in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

that would give a spot at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. Cuba did not qualify, finishing second to hosts

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, but Leal was chosen Best Spiker and Server of the championship. His last tournament with Cuba was the

2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship The 2010 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship was held in Italy from 25 September to 10 October 2010. The tournament featured 24 teams to determine the world champions in men's volleyball. In addition to 2006 champion Brazil and host nation I ...

, where Leal won the silver medal. Still pursuing his dream of playing in the Olympics, Leal left Cuba in 2010, establishing himself in volleyball potency

in the city of

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

. After two years of not playing, Leal signed with local team Sada Cruzeiro. Soon he was a vital part of the team, winning two editions each of the Brazilian Superligas,

South American Championships South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

, and

FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship The FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship is an international men's club volleyball competition organised by the '' Fédération Internationale de Volleyball'' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested ...

. Leal started his

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

process in 2013, and in 2015 he was given Brazilian nationality. Afterward, he contacted the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball to see how soon he could play for Brazil's national team, as team coach

Bernardo Rezende Bernardo Rocha de Rezende (born 25 August 1959), known as Bernardo Rezende and nicknamed Bernardinho, is a Brazilian volleyball coach and former player. He is the current coach of the female volleyball team Rio de Janeiro Vôlei Clube. Rezende i ...

already expressed interest in having Leal in the squad for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

Sporting achievements

Clubs

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tot ...

2018/2019 – with Cucine Lube Civitanova * FIVB Club World Championship ** Gold medal world centered-2

Betim 2013 – with

Sada Cruzeiro Sada may refer to: People Given name *Sada Abe (1905–after 1971), Japanese convicted murderer, prostitute and actress *Sada Jacobson (born 1983), American Olympic fencer *Sada Thompson (1927–2011), American actress *Sada Vidoo (born 1977), Dani ...

Betim 2015 – with

Betim 2016 – with

Poland 2018 – with Cucine Lube Civitanova ** Gold medal world centered-2

Betim 2019 – with Cucine Lube Civitanova * CSV South American Club Championship ** Gold medal southamerica

Belo Horizonte 2014 – with

Taubate 2016 – with

Montes Claros 2017 – with

* National championships ** 2013/2014 Gold medal with cup

Brazilian Championship, with

** 2013/2014 Simple gold cup

Brazilian Cup, with

** 2014/2015 Gold medal with cup

Brazilian Championship, with

** 2015/2016 Gold medal with cup

Brazilian Championship, with

** 2015/2016 Simple gold cup

Brazilian Cup, with

** 2016/2017 Gold medal with cup

Brazilian Championship, with

** 2018/2019 Gold medal with cup

Italian Championship, with Cucine Lube Civitanova

Individual awards

* 2010:

FIVB World League The FIVB Volleyball World League was an annual international men's volleyball competition. Created in 1990, it was the longest and richest of all the international events organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The wom ...

– Best Server * 2013: FIVB Club World Championship – Best Spiker * 2014: CSV South American Club Championship – Best Spiker * 2015: CSV South American Club Championship – Best Spiker * 2015: FIVB Club World Championship – Most Valuable Player * 2016: CSV South American Club Championship – Most Valuable Player * 2016: FIVB Club World Championship – Best Spiker * 2017: CSV South American Club Championship – Best Spiker * 2017: CSV South American Club Championship – Most Valuable Player * 2017: FIVB Club World Championship – Best Outside Spiker * 2019:

Memorial of Hubert Jerzy Wagner The Memorial of Hubert Jerzy Wagner is a volleyball friendly competition for the national teams, currently held every year and organized by the Hubert Wagner Foundation. The first Memorial was held in 2003. The competition has been held every ...

– Most Valuable Player * 2019: CSV South American Championship – Best Outside Spiker * 2021: FIVB Nations League – Best Outside Spiker * 2022: FIVB World Championship – Best Outside Spiker * 2023:

Italian Cup Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

– Most Valuable Player

References

External links

Player profile
at ''CEV.eu''
Player profile
at ''LegaVolley.it''
Player profile
at ''Volleybox.net''

at ''WorldofVolley.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Leal, Yoandry 1988 births Living people Brazilian men's volleyball players Cuban men's volleyball players Naturalized citizens of Brazil Sportspeople from Havana Expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Pan American Games medalists in volleyball Pan American Games bronze medalists for Cuba Volleyball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic volleyball players of Brazil Outside hitters