Paola Egonu, Zehra Gunes and the non-waiver on the 18th not surprising

Zehra Gunes and a non-waiver that comes as no surprise

It is not surprising that Zehra Gunes did not want to give up the 18 to cede it to Paola Egonu (assuming the Italian outfielder asked her to, by the way…), who in her adventure at Vakifbank will have to use a different number from the one we are used to seeing her take the court with, as much in club teams as in the national team.

Zehra, at only 23 years old, has over two million followers on Instagram and major brands are competing to ask her to be a testimonial. Her popularity literally exploded after the Tokyo Olympics, she is one of the mainstays of the Turkish national team (as well as, of course, Vakifbank), and even internationally she is among the best-known volleyball athletes ever.

Beyond the emotional issue, which is present moreover in all sportsmen and women or almost all, changing her number would not have been a great marketing move…