Cuban Legend, Leonel Marshall, makes his way to Portugal

Leonel Marshall, the outside hitter from Cuba who could touch over 12.5 feet in an attack approach is the star of many YouTube videos that highlight his outstanding vertical leap. At 38 years old, he is not quite as explosive as he was when he played for Cuba in the 2000 Olympic Games. Clubs throughout Europe still are excited to have him in their lineup. After playing in Italy, Turkey, and China for the last 14 years, Marshall is going to Portugal for the first time in his career. He will be playing for Sporting CP, the defending champions of the Portuguese Volleyball First Division.

Marshall has achieved success in Italy and Turkey during his storied career. He has won the following titles at the domestic and European levels:

• CEV Cup runner up with Piacenza in 2004 and 2007
• CEV Top Teams Cup winner with Piacenza in 2006
• Italian Serie A1 winner with Piacenza in 2009
• Italian Serie A1 runner up with Piacenza in 2004 and 2007
• Turkish League winner with Fenerbahçe in 2011 and 2012
• Turkish Volleyball Cup winner with Fenerbahçe in 2012
• CEV Challenge Cup winner with Fenerbahçe in 2014

After a season in China with BAIC Motors Beijing in 2015-2016, Marshall has played the last 2 seasons with Wixo LPR Piacenza. This was a homecoming of sorts as he started his career outside of Cuba with Piacenza. He played at the club for a total of 8 seasons (2003-2007, 2008-2010, 2016-2018). This last season Marshall appeared in 17 matches and scored 136 points with a 2.19 points per set ratio.

Piacenza finished the regular season in 7th place. They were eliminated from the playoffs in the quarterfinals by Lube Civitanova 2-0 in a best-of-3 series. They were then relegated to the 5th place playoffs where they eliminated by Gi Group Monza 2-0. Piacenza will not play in the Italian SuperLega next season due to financial problems.

Source: https://volleymob.com/cuban-legend-leonel-marshall-makes-his-way-to-portugal/