Carambula hoping to head home for Fort Lauderdale Major

Lausanne, Switzerland, January 13, 2017 – With under a month until the start of the 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour begins, Italy’s Adrian Carambula is keeping his fingers crossed that he will be able to compete in a city that used to be his hometown. 

The 28-year-old Italian player was born in Uruguay, but grew up in the USA. However, when he was 17 he lived over a year there without a US visa and since he left he has been unable to return to the city where his mother still lives. 

At the moment lawyers are working to overturn the decision, with Carambula hopeful the process will be completed in time to allow him to compete on a beach he knows very well.

“It's the city that I lived in last when I lived in the US,” Carambula told swatchmajorseries.com. “I played a bunch of tournaments there, I can't even say the number. It would be a dream come true to come back and play over there, but honestly, I am trying not to think about it. 

“When they had the World Tour Finals in Fort Lauderdale, everyone was sending me videos and pictures. I really just disappeared from social media, because it hurt me – not to play where I grew up. That's the beach where I basically started playing. This is the tournament or place, where I would like to go back and show what I am able to do on the court with Alex.”

Since he made his World Tour debut alongside Alex Ranghieri in 2015, Carambula has become one of the World Tour’s cult heroes with his skyball service proving popular with fans and feared by opponents. 

They have won gold together at the 2016 Qatar Open and silver at the 2015 CEV European Championships. They also played at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, where they lost in the first knockout round to compatriots and eventual silver medallists Daniele Lupo and Paolo Nicolai. 

Over the off-season the pair have changed coaches. They have brought in Venezuelan coach Carlos Cartaya to replace Brazilian Paulao and have been hard at work since November 10. 

“Carlos played with Marcos Macau, who was my first beach volleyball partner,” Carambula explained. “I have a pretty good relationship with him, we worked together in Miami for five years. Carlos is a master of nutrition and training. After a month of working together we can already see where he is going to take us.

“We want to improve on what we have done the last two years. Personally, I want to reach a physical level that can take me to the next level as a player. We want top results in Vienna at the World Championships, that´s the tournament everyone wants to win.”