Maria Segura Pallerès: "Retiring is accepting that a part of you dies."

BarcelonaMaria Segura Pallerès (Barcelona, ​​1992) was always on the go when she played at the Escola Sadako in Barcelona. She would chase after a ball, kicking it, but ended up playing volleyball with some friends, never imagining that she would become the best Catalan player of all time. At 33, after years playing in Italy and Germany, she retires with the sweet taste of having played in a World Championship for the first time.

What was that World Championship like? Let's start with the World Championship.

— It was, honestly, the icing on the cake. I had already decided to retire, but when I saw we were going to the World Championships, I extended my career for another year. It had been almost half a century since the national team had been to a World Championship, and I wanted to be there. When I joined the team, we were in a slump, always losing. So being in Thailand was a way to close that chapter. And to top it off, we had a historic victory against Bulgaria. If I'd been given a blank page, I would have written that ending to my career.

You were receiving offers to keep playing. Why are you quitting now?

— I've always been clear that I would keep playing as long as the sport outweighed life. My friends, my family... they're all at home. Being an elite athlete is wonderful. Now I have friends in every country in the world; wherever I go, I meet someone. But being a professional also comes with a life of sacrifices. I can't even remember the last time I was able to celebrate a normal Christmas. I hadn't celebrated Christmas in 11 years; sometimes I'd have dinners a few days before to see my family and friends, since I was playing. I'd been thinking about it for a while and was considering finding a new job. I'm interested in marketing, so I found a job at the talent agency where I did an internship. It's a large agency, with offices all over the world. For example, we represent the best Japanese player, who plays in Stuttgart, where I've retired. It's time to leave now, at a high point in my career. I've loved this sport so much, but it was time to call it quits.

Many athletes have a hard time when they retire.

— That's right. I've worked on it a lot with my psychologist. I started working with her in Stuttgart at a time when I wasn't doing well. I'm going to blowAfter so many demanding years, I was a bit lost, and seeing a psychologist helped me a lot. Thanks to her, I've come to understand that retiring from sports is like going through a grieving process. A part of you, the player, dies. A life ends. And you enter a process of denial, of acceptance... It's a tough time, but I've also experienced it in a beautiful way. Everything has gone perfectly, since I was able to win the treble in Stuttgart and then go to the World Cup.

To win titles and have great experiences, you have to leave Catalonia. How have you experienced it?

— Many people only see the glamorous side of elite sport, but it involves sacrifices. Having a sick relative in Barcelona and not being able to be there. You miss celebrations, beautiful moments. You gain them on one hand, you lose them on the other. There came a point where I realized the personal aspect was weighing more heavily on me. I'm still in Stuttgart now, but I can go home whenever I want. And the plan is to return to Barcelona.

You started playing at school, right?

— I was a restless soul, always playing football in the playground or climbing trees. When it came time to choose extracurricular activities, I was quite alone among those who wanted to play football, so I switched to volleyball. And look, I just kept at it... and the coaches were already telling me I'd go far. I played against opponents two years older; I had a knack for it. That's how I got into Mundet, then Vall d'Hebron, and the key moment was joining Barça, where everything was more professional. Here you could train and develop discipline. But Marta Gens, who was a very important player here in Spain, told me I should go abroad. She took me aside and said, "María, you're going abroad, you're not staying here." And that's what happened.

And you go to Italy, where volleyball is in a different league, with the best team at the moment.

— I started at a modest club, hoping to improve. Then I moved on to increasingly stronger clubs. You really absorb their volleyball culture. Back home, football takes center stage. In Italy, they have football, but they also support other sports. They broadcast volleyball matches on TV, and the arenas are packed... Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in all of Europe: in France, Poland, Germany... everyone knows about it! In Spain, on the other hand, it's not seen as a professional sport. We even made it to the World Championship here... and it wasn't even televised!

What was it like the first time someone stopped you in the street to ask for an autograph?

— I thought it was funny. I didn't think it could happen to me. I had a bit of imposter syndrome... Years later, it was still exciting to walk into a packed arena and see people wearing my t-shirt. Lines of people waiting to ask me for a photo.

After Italy it was Germany's turn, where you've won everything.

— When I left the Spanish league, I was just a kid. In Italy, I improved, and by the time I arrived in Germany, I was a fully formed player who could carry the team. Winning titles has been special; it's been the best period of my career, even though it's been hard-fought.

Your plan is to live in Barcelona again. What are your thoughts on volleyball in Catalonia?

— We're working quite a bit with the Catalan Federation to get things done, and also with the Blume Institute... I'm helping to find contacts for national team players who can move to other leagues to improve. There's a lot of potential, but for the players to become stronger, they need to go abroad; that's the reality. What we need is a more stable league and clubs; we would need more support from institutions or businesses to act as sponsors.