It was bound to be one of them.
I’ve yet to see a conspicuous announcement, but this article casually reveals that with Larissa and Juliana’s split, due to Larissa’s (possibly temporary) retirement, Juliana will continue next season with Maria Antonelli. Maria herself had been in a partnership with Talita Antunes, one that paled in comparison to Larissa and Juliana but was pretty well the envy of any other team in the world.
It didn’t take a genius to speculate that Juliana would end up with one of them (as perhaps I proved personally 😛 ). And today, it seems the choice has been made. It will be Juliana/Maria next season.
As I’ve said before, all four are similar players in terms of physical makeup and playing style. It would be a seamless transition for whoever joined up with Juliana. They just couldn’t both do it. It will be interesting to hear about why Juliana and Maria joined up. It could be something as simple as greater personal compatibility. Then there are the matters we will probably never know, such as if Talita and Maria chose to split knowing that easily the best player in their country was searching for a partner for 2013 and chose to play their luck rather than continue on together. I think I’ll always have my tinfoil hat theories.
But it leaves Talita on the outside looking in. To whom does she go now? Will she try to poach Agatha Bednarczuk or the talented youngster Barbara Seixas away from their burgeoning partnership? It seems a better option than someone further yet down the national pecking order, though knowing the reputation Brazil (quite rightfully) have, whoever she finds will be a talented, valuable counterpart. And there’s time yet, of course.
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