*This content was translated by AI.
"I've changed my mind. "I'm not going to care about volleyball at all, but I'm going to focus only on my recovery."
It was an unexpected "Woori Card Magic," but it was all the more regrettable. Therefore, he said he would not watch the championship game, which has become a 'party of someone else's house'. For Rafael Araujo (35, Brazil), the main catcher of Woori Card in Seoul, this season remained regrettable.
Araujo visited the scene of the Kiwoom Heroes professional baseball game against the SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 1st. He visited the ballpark once again following September last year with interpreter Woo Sang-baek, a longtime SSG fan.
I was interested in the previous experience, but it was also because of the idea of enjoying my leisure time without caring about volleyball.
Speaking to Star News, Araujo said, "When I look back on one season, I'm very grateful. Not only me but also my team members were able to finish well without any major injuries. I'm grateful because my grades weren't bad, he said, but I definitely feel like I'm missing something.
Starting from the bottom, Woori Card headed to spring volleyball with 14 wins and 4 losses under acting coach Park Chul-woo. Expectations were inflated because it was like a miracle that no one expected. Therefore, it was more regrettable.
In particular, the playoffs were painful. In both the first and second games, they won the two sets first, but suffered a come-from-behind defeat. In particular, in the second game, he lost 16 deuce games in the fourth set and lost five sets, suffering from elimination.
Araujo, who transferred to Woori Card ahead of the 2025-2026 season after going to the Japanese league after Europe, had an impressive season, including third place in scoring (809 points), fourth place in overall offense (52.13%), third place in serve (0.401 points per set), and first place in open attack (44.81%), especially since he won the MVP of the round in succession in the fifth and sixth rounds, the loss was greater.
Asked if he had any plans to watch the championship, he said, "I was going to do that, but now I've changed my mind," adding, "I don't want to pay much attention to volleyball. We plan to spend the game focusing only on recovery without watching the game," he said.
Looking back, the time spent with acting Park Chul-woo was also very meaningful. "Brazilian expressions say that there is a star quality, but he's achieved tremendous achievements as a player and I've certainly seen a lot of those aspects as a leader," he said. "I think it helped me a lot in many ways, starting with how to approach the players, leading to a good result."
Due to the current unstable situation in the Middle East, the departure schedule has been delayed. I had to go back via Qatar, but the flight was suddenly canceled. Thanks to that, I have time to enjoy Korean life more. Araujo, who is enjoying life in Korea with his wife and 32-month-old child, said, "I'm planning to go to Jeju Island and go sightseeing because it's cherry blossom season."
The flight was unexpectedly canceled, but I don't want to think about it in a hurry. "Of course, I miss my family in Brazil a lot, but I'm careful to make them go through rapid changes because I'm living in Korea, especially because my child is very young," he said.
According to Woori Card officials, they have not yet discussed renewing the contract with Arauzo. This is because a new head coach has not been decided. Currently, acting coach Park Chul-woo is likely to be promoted internally. The industry's majority opinion is that there is no reason not to appoint him given his star quality as well as his leadership as an acting director.
It's been a very satisfying year for Araujo. Araujo also expressed his desire to continue his career in Korea. "The memories were so good in Korea, and the fans and Woori Card team feel a lot of love and are quite satisfied with Korean life," he said. "As for me, I want to play in Korea next season."
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*This content was translated by AI.
