Ida
Álvares
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| If I had to liken her to someone, it would
be Russia's Valentina
Ogienko, for in many ways she was the Brazilian
Ogienko, at least it seemed that way to many Peruvians! I never knew
exactly what her name was, sometimes I would see it as being Margarida
Alvares or Ana Vieira or Ana Margarida Vieira or Ida Alvares (Ida is the
diminutive of Margarida). So Ida is much simpler.
This middle hitter was, to put it in one word—explosive. She was on the Brazilian National Team since the '86 World's in Czechoslovakia, where Brazil came in 5th place. Those years saw different names on Brazilian courts: Isabel, Eliani, Regina, Ana Maria, Ana Claudia, Ana Lúcia, and some other Anas which I cannot remember right now. But from that |
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| generation, two players were combined into the two World Junior Champion classes of '87 and '89: Ida and Cristina Lopes (Tina). Both middle hitters, both very quick, but both not very tall for the position they were playing. Still, their dynamism compensated, and credit has to go to their physical trainer for keeping them in optimum shape. Playing middle is physically the most demanding position of all because of the constant running along the net, as well as jumping at every attack from the opponent, and attacking or faking every time the ball is in the setter's hands. Ida was blessed with very long arms that helped her block well, provided she got to the block on time. And she had one of the best mid-air suspensions of any player on her team, an ability that is very important for middle hitters because the longer they stay up there, the more time they have to find the open spaces. | |||
| At the '90 Goodwill Games in Seattle I caught the first glimpse of the new Ida. In '86 she had been alright, nothing spectacular (probably because she was still very young). But in Seattle four years later she seemed to be infused with the youthful energy of the generation around her: Ana Moser, Márcia, Fernanda, Ana Flávia, et al. Both she and Tina were running lightning quick slides à la Ogienko, combination plays in the middle, and blocking very well. I saw her next at the Barcelona Olympics and her performance was one of the team's best. She was even named one of the six most spectacular players of the tournament (a recognition separate from the best players in every skill). But the years between the '94 World Championships in Brazil and the Atlanta Olympics were when Ida thrived the most. |  Ida digging a ball for her former club Leite Moça/Leites Nestlé. [FIVB Photo Archives] |
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| Tina was gone by then, because apparently she told the coach that she wouldn't put up with being a reserve. But what could he do? Suddenly he had two generations worth of Junior World Champions flooding the Adult ranks and it was more than logical that he choose the best that he had. It was indicative of Ida's exceptional quality as a player when the new coach Bernardo Rezende kept her on the team as the only representative of her generation to be a full-time player (Sandra Lima/Suruagy was also a middle hitter at the '86 World's along with Ida, but she was brought back from obscurity by Bernardinho to become Brazil's first libero in '98). So at the '94 World's, Ida was paramount in taking Brazil to the final against Cuba. Even though they were wiped out in the final, Ida demonstrated real guts when facing such towering middle hitters as Regla Torres and Magaly Carvajal. Then at the '96 Olympics, she shared her middle position with Ana Paula or Ana Flávia, depending on which team they were facing. But her middle attacks were always lethal. She was on the court during the last set against Russia for the bronze, and she celebrated wildly after earning her team's first ever Olympic medal. | |||
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| I heard or read,
I don't remember where, that Ida was involved in some type of road accident
(car or motorcycle) in Spain. What I read was that it resulted in serious
damage. But then several months later I heard that she was doing better, and
that she was even contemplating playing volleyball again for the National
Team. I really hope she is fully recovered, and even if she can't play
internationally, she can still play in the Superliga and help the
future talents measure themselves against the great skills that Ida Alvares
brought to Brazilian and World volleyball.
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