Cuba men's national volleyball team
The Cuba men's national volleyball team is the national team of Cuba.
Cuba in the 1976 Summer Olympics won the bronze medal. Other achievements of the team winning one World League, one World Grand Champions Cup and fifteen NORCECA Championships.
Cuba have attained two silver and two bronze World Championship medals and have won the NORCECA Championship 15 times.
Results
Olympic Games
- 1972 – 10th place
- 1976 – Bronze medal
- 1980 – 7th place
- 1992 – 4th place
- 1996 – 6th place
- 2000 – 7th place
- 2016 – 11th place
World Championship
- 1956 – 19th place
- 1966 – 17th place
- 1970 – 13th place
- 1974 – 8th place
- 1978 – Bronze medal
- 1982 – 10th place
- 1986 – 5th place
- 1990 – Silver medal
- 1994 – 4th place
- 1998 – Bronze medal
- 2002 – 19th place
- 2006 – 15th place
- 2010 – Silver medal
- 2014 – 11th place
- 2018 – 18th place
World Cup
- 1969 – 9th place
- 1977 – Bronze medal
- 1981 – Silver medal
- 1989 – Gold medal
- 1991 – Silver medal
- 1995 – 6th place
- 1999 – Silver medal
- 2011 – 5th place
World Grand Champions Cup
- 1993 – Bronze medal
- 1997 – Bronze medal
- 2001 – Gold medal
- 2009 – Silver medal
World League
- 1991 – Silver medal
- 1992 – Silver medal
- 1993 – 4th place
- 1994 – Silver medal
- 1995 – Bronze medal
- 1996 – 4th place
- 1997 – Silver medal
- 1998 – Gold medal
- 1999 – Silver medal
- 2000 – 8th place
- 2001 – 5th place
- 2002 – 13th place
- 2003 – 13th place
- 2004 – 7th place
- 2005 – Bronze medal
- 2006 – 7th place
- 2007 – 7th place
- 2008 – 10th place
- 2009 – 4th place
- 2010 – 4th place
- 2011 – 8th place
- 2012 – Bronze medal
- 2013 – 13th place
- 2014 – 21st place
- 2015 – 18th place
- 2016 – 22nd place
Challenger Cup
- 2018 – 4th place
- 2019 – Silver medal
Pan American Games
- 1959 – 7th place
- 1967 – Bronze medal
- 1971 – Gold medal
- 1975 – Gold medal
- 1979 – Gold medal
- 1983 – Silver medal
- 1987 – Silver medal
- 1991 – Gold medal
- 1995 – Bronze medal
- 1999 – Gold medal
- 2003 – Silver medal
- 2007 – Bronze medal
- 2011 – Silver medal
- 2015 – 5th place
- 2019 – Silver medal
NORCECA Championship
- 1969 – Gold medal
- 1971 – Gold medal
- 1973 – Silver medal
- 1975 – Gold medal
- 1977 – Gold medal
- 1979 – Gold medal
- 1981 – Gold medal
- 1983 – Bronze medal
- 1985 – Silver medal
- 1987 – Gold medal
- 1989 – Gold medal
- 1991 – Gold medal
- 1993 – Gold medal
- 1995 – Gold medal
- 1997 – Gold medal
- 1999 – Silver medal
- 2001 – Gold medal
- 2003 – Bronze medal
- 2005 – Silver medal
- 2007 – Bronze medal
- 2009 – Gold medal
- 2011 – Gold medal
- 2013 – Bronze medal
- 2015 – Silver medal
- 2017 – did not participate
- 2019 – Gold medal
Pan-American Cup
- 2006 – 5th place
- 2007 –
America's Cup
- 1998 – Bronze medal
- 1999 – 4th place
- 2000 – Gold medal
- 2001 – Silver medal
- 2005 – Bronze medal
- 2007 – Bronze medal
- 2008 – Gold medal
Central American and Caribbean Games
- 1930 – Silver medal
- 1935 – Bronze medal
- 1938 – Bronze medal
- 1946 – Gold medal
- 1950 – Silver medal
- 1954 – Bronze medal
- 1962 – 4th place
- 1966 – Gold medal
- 1970 – Gold medal
- 1974 – Gold medal
- 1978 – Gold medal
- 1982 – Gold medal
- 1986 – Gold medal
- 1990 – Gold medal
- 1993 – Gold medal
- 1998 – Gold medal
- 2014 – Bronze medal
Goodwill Games
- 1986 – did not participate
- 1990 – Bronze medal
Team
Current squad
The following is the Cuban roster in the 2020 Men's North American Olympic Qualification TournamentHead coach: Nicolas Vives
No. | Name | Date of birth | Height | Weight | 2019-20 Club | 2020-21 Club |
18 12 1997 | Bolivar Voley | Chaumont VB 52 | ||||
Julio Cardenas | 04 9 2000 | Obras San Juan | Tourcoing LM | |||
23 5 2001 | Chaumont VB 52 | Cucine Lube Civitanova | ||||
26 12 1997 | Obras San Juan | Indykpol AZS Olsztyn | ||||
01 5 1999 | Obras San Juan | GFC Ajaccio Volley-Ball | ||||
23 2 1993 | Ciudad Habana | |||||
5 02 1994 | Ciudad Volley | Cambrai-Volley | ||||
13 | 11 6 1987 | Cucine Lube Civitanova | Cucine Lube Civitanova | |||
11 | 4 10 1998 | Ciudad Habana | ||||
12 | 4 4 1995 | Bolivar Voley | Chaumont VB 52 | |||
26 6 1998 | Sancti Spiritus | Haliliye Belediye Spor | ||||
15 | 24 01 1995 | Bolivar Voley | VM Zalău | |||
24 07 1997 | Consar Ravenna | Chaumont VB 52 | ||||
18 | 25 03 1997 | UPCN San Juan Vóley | Sada Cruzeiro |
Dream Team Squad
After 2001, many players defected from Cuba seeking better life conditions. Some of them excelled during their pro career, being more often considered the best of their positions. The following list follow 15 men throughout that period of time, that one way or another make history and were called Dream team squad.Head coach: Gilberto Herrera
No. | Name | Date of birth | Height | Weight | Spike | Block | Club |
31 07 1993 | Sir Safety Perugia | ||||||
11 6 1987 | Cucine Lube Civitanova | ||||||
31 08 1988 | Cucine Lube Civitanova | ||||||
12 8 1985 | Cucine Lube Civitanova | ||||||
14 07 1987 | Ziraat Bankası | ||||||
9 | 5 6 1986 | KB Insurance Stars | |||||
11 09 1989 | Pallavolo Padova | ||||||
15 | 22 7 1986 | Zenit Saint Petersburg | |||||
25 9 1979 | Sporting Lisbon | ||||||
7 | 13 6 1977 | Sporting Lisbon | |||||
14 | 6 06 1972 | Retired |
2016 Finland rape incident
Eight members of the Cuban national men's volleyball team, including the team's captain, were held in Tampere, Finland on suspicion of aggravated gang rape of a 35-year-old Finnish woman, as of July 2016. Two of them were discarded of the claims later. The incident took place in the Hotel Ilves at Tampere where the Olympics-bound Cuban team were staying. The arrested players were scheduled to play in the Cuban team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.On 16 August, the six team members still remaining in custody were charged with aggravated rape at Pirkanmaa District Court and the proceedings started on 29 August. On 20 September, four of the men, Osmany Santiago Uriarte Mestre, Rolando Cepeda Abreu, Ricardo Norberto Calvo Manzano and Abraham Alfonso Gavilán were given five-year jail sentences while Luis Tomás Sosa Sierra is facing a prison term of three and a half years. All men appealed, and on 30 June 2017 the Turku court of appeal decreased the length of all sentences and lifted the sentence of Sosa Sierra.
According to the New York Times, the Cuban Volleyball Association stated early on that the athletes’ behavior was counter to the “discipline the sense of honor and respect that govern our sport and society.”
In June 2017, all players convicted for aggravated rape appealed, and sentences were reduced in the case of Osmany Uriarte, Abraham Alfonso, Ricardo Calvo and the ex-captain Rolando Cepeda Abreu. Sosa was released as he was found not guilty due to lack of evidence, and he received a compensation from the government of Finland for the quantity of 200,000 euros, due to damages against his person and in his sports career.
Kit providers
The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Cuba national volleyball team.Period | Kit provider |
2000– | Adidas Puma |