When his Name is proclaimed, the fountains, at the edge of the fire, spitting and occasionally, up to 8000 people cheering, experienced Samuel Tuia true feelings of happiness. “It is indescribable. I love this,“ he says. To understand why the opening show at the home of the BR Volleys for Tuia play feels maybe a little more intense than others, can help a look at its origin. A lot of exotic. On the map of Wallis and Futuna is, where he is born and raised. A tiny point, surrounded by the Blue of the Pacific. “It is a Mini-island. It lives only very few people,“ he says.

Overall, it is cheering to 12,000, not much more than Tuia in the Volleys. The outside attacker is looking forward to this Saturday. Then again, it is a matter with the fire from the fountains, and the roar of the spectators. The Volleys to receive in the Max-Schmeling-Halle on TV Rottenburg (18.30).

Until the age of 16, he began with Volleyball

The story of how the man of the Mini-island has managed in the South Pacific to Volleyball professional, is curious. “There was with us earlier, not a classic Volleyball-the club,” says Tuia. “I’ve done athletics, especially in the spear I was throwing well.” The 32-Year-old is almost a shockingly good example of how closely knit the network of French talent selection. Wallis and Futuna is an overseas territory of France, many Thousands of kilometers from the French mainland. However, a Scout was lost on the island and saw the spear-thrower Tuia. “He has seen that I am tall and athletic and asked me if I wanted to try it at a French sports school with a focus on Volleyball.” Since Tuia was 16 years old, basketball he had played up until then, only every once in a while. “Two years later, I was a professional,” he says.

This testifies to the extraordinary sporting Talent of the 1,95-metre Tuia. However, although he quickly sat down in the Stranger, were the first years in France, very hard for him. “On our island, everyone knows each other. In France it was different,“ he says. “In addition, all were there for my feeling in a hurry, all of them had Jobs.” Was Tuia a different life lived on the island: “The water and the fishing will play a big role there, and of course the family.”

Rennes in Brittany, was a bit of a culture shock for him, but Tuia by bite. “I worked hard, because I didn’t want to disappoint my family,” he says. “Finally, you should not believe that I’m there only on holiday.” Quickly the family in the distant homeland, it became clear that her son was not gone for the fun of it to Europe. Tuia left France and made a career. He hired at well-known clubs in Russia, Poland and Turkey, before he joined before this season to the BR Volleys. The German national player Björn Andrae, played with him in Russia, had told him of Berlin and the many spectators. “I’m here now, is crazy. I am happy in Berlin,“ says Tuia.

Happy with it, more and more, the person in charge of the club. “Samuel Tuia shows with his stronger performances how committed he is. Since Grankin, on plays also, he is much freer,“ says Manager Kaweh Niroomand. In fact, the shape of the curve Tuias shows since the arrival of the Russian variations in speech Sergey Grankin to the top. Grankin has the perfect feel for the room. And Tuia shines again with his bounce and his enormous arm Stroke. Most of the other attack players distinguishes him is that he has a wide range of beats. “Tuia can’t just shoot,” said Niroomand. He can play the balls are also quite delicate in the gaps in the field. Last, Lüneburg, for example, he scored a strong 19 points.

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His contract runs until the end of the season, with an Option of a further season if all want to the. Tuia wants, and also the Volleys are likely to currently speak little against an extension. “I’m here to give the group a positive feeling,” he says. “That’s my mentality and the mentality of the Wallis and Futuna Islands.” The Volleys from the big Berlin, the island mentality.