LEON VENERO Wilfredo

General
FROM CUBA TO POLAND
Born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, he initially represented his country of birth and won silver with Cuba at the 2010 World Championship in Italy. He moved to Poland in 2013, gained citizenship there in 2015, and played his first match for the Polish national team in July 2019 in a friendly against the Netherlands. "I met my future wife and I knew that I wanted to be with her in Poland. When I decided to leave Cuba, Poland was a natural destination for me and I bought an apartment there. My wife played a huge role in my decision and I love everything about my new country, the people and the food. I am and I feel Polish. On top of that, I needed to play abroad to improve my level. It was a good decision and I would never change it." (wp.pl, 24 Jul 2019; onet.pl, 28 May 2019; przegladsportowy.pl, 27 Jul 2019; olympicchannel.com, 18 Apr 2020)

TEAM OWNER
He is co-owner of Anioly UMK Torun, a volleyball team that will join the Polish league system for the 2021/22 season. His wife Malgorzata is vice president of the club. "My wife is from Torun. There has always been high-level sports there, except men's volleyball. My dream is to build a high-level team similar to ZAKSA Kedzierzyn-Kozle. Along with the professional team, the club will also have youth divisions called the Wilfredo Leon Academy." (sport.tvp.pl, 04 May 2021, 05 May 2021)

EARLY DEBUT
He made his senior international debut for Cuba at age 14 during the 2008 World League. "We were losing 0-2 and I could not just watch from the bench. I told the coach I was ready to play. He said, 'Okay young man, show me what you can do'. I stepped onto the court and scored nine points in one set, and five more in the next. We eventually lost 1-3, but it was an amazing experience for me. Everyone was saying that it was a very good start for a kid so young. It was my first experience with the senior team and I ended up becoming a regular which was quite an achievement. That experience allowed me to develop and grow mentally really quickly. When I was 13 or 14, some of my teammates were 29 years old. It made my character stronger, it gave me discipline." (onet.pl, 26 Jul 2019; olympicchannel.com, 18 Apr 2020)