Gearing up for World League – Team Brazil

Once more into the breech, dear friends. Here’s the rundown as last we left it:

Egypt Portugal
Japan
Iran
Netherlands
South Korea
Finland
Canada
Italy
Argentina
Serbia
Russia
France
Brazil
Germany
Bulgaria
Cuba
USA
Poland

And so the post-Giba era begins.

Gilberto Amauri de Godoy Filho, better known simply as Giba, was the outgoing captain of the Brazil team. His career ended at last summer’s London Olympics, in what had to be staggeringly disappointing fashion as the Brazilians lost a remarkable match to Russia in five sets, after winning the first two. They had gold medal point in the third, at 24-23, and turned to Giba as a serving sub, a decision that could charitably be described as puzzling. The 35-year old, tired, injured legend (and make no mistake, Giba absolutely deserves the mantle of ‘legend’) was, sadly, the face of the team as they faded from surefire gold to the bitter pill that was silver.

But this is Brazil we’re talking about. Losing perhaps the world’s most famous volleyball player is barely a blip on the radar for a program this strong. Giba’s captaincy now passes to setter Bruno Rezende (Bruno), son of head coach Bernardo ‘Bernardinho’ Rezende.

Bernardinho’s playing career was one of surprisingly modest hardware, as he boasts a 1984 Olympic silver medal but little else. He coached Brazil’s women’s national team for seven years, and this will make his 13th season at the helm of the men’s national team. He is one of the most decorated coaches ever, guiding the Brazilian women to two Olympic bronzes, a world championship silver, and medals from all six (they skipped a year) participations at the World Grand Prix.

This all says nothing of the recent successes of Brazil’s men under Bernardinho. They’re three-time defending world champions, they’ve won the World League 8 of the first 12 seasons under Bernardinho, and a host of other medals in lesser events that would take an entire article to list. Silver in London was a huge disappointment — let’s just put it that way. Now with that said, it might bear pointing out that Brazil last tasted gold at a major international event in 2010 — eternity for them. Since winning the World League and the world championships 3 years ago, silver in London and at the 2011 World League has been the high water mark. Their sixth place last season was as low as they’ve been in a very long time, but falling as it did on an Olympiad, I doubt it’s predictive (they likewise failed to medal in ’08).

Giba isn’t the only one who has departed the team following the London Olympics. Veteran middle blocker Rodrigo Santana (Rodrigão) left the national team after the Olympics as well, and left indoor volleyball altogether following last year’s club world championship in order to pursue a beach volleyball career. Pin hitter Murilo Endres (Murilo) hasn’t stepped down from the team, but he’s not available for the World League tournament after finally opting for surgery to fix a nagging injury in his right shoulder. Longtime libero Sérgio Santos (Sérgio) has also departed the team. It’s not crystal clear why, but he is 38 — it’s likely he simply retired, just as Giba.

Of course, some big names and heavy hitters return from last summer. The foremost on both counts might be Lucas Saatkamp (Lucão), a towering middle blocker and powerful server. Fellow middle blocker Leandro Vissotto (Leandro) gives them an intimidating 1-2 punch up the middle, as both near 7 feet in height. Another middle blocker, Sidnei dos Santos (Sidão) didn’t get a great deal of playing time in London, but probably will at least early on in World League play. Pin hitter Wallace de Souza (Wallace) is a returning starter from London but is actually still pretty new to the senior national team, this being his third year at that level. Another pin hitter, Thiago Soares Alves (who seems to be known simply as Thiago, so take care not to confuse him with beach player Thiago Barbosa) is likewise a London alumnus. We’ll see a little of the new faces on the team as well. If the pre-tournament measurables are reliable, I’m very interested to get a look at 23-year old Renan Buiatti (Renan), a 7-footer. Likewise it will be intriguing to see rank rookie Mauricio Souza (Mauricio), who similarly touches the sky on his block and spike.

Brazil’s players are good enough to play anywhere in the world, but when the league in your backyard is the envy of the world (except for Italy), why leave home. Most of the Brazil national team play in the 12-team Brazilian Superliga. The Superliga graduates four teams to the South American club championship, where Brazilian teams have never failed to make the championship match. It’s been Italian teams who’ve dominated the world club championships, but even so, the Brazilian league has every bit the esteem the Italian league does, and arguably more. Volleyball is probably no more popular anywhere than it is in Brazil (it’s a very close second to soccer, which is as always king) and that level of cultural involvement in the sport will pretty much ensure that the Brazil national teams are always competitive.

So are we looking at a winner?

I mean, it’s freaking Brazil. They’re not exactly gonna get swept out of pool play. They’ll be in Argentina for the medal round, no doubt. But with that said, this is definitely a team in transition. I suppose everyone is, to an extent, but this tournament will be important for Brazil to again find their identity as a national team. I don’t imagine it’ll be too hard for them, but it’s still something that needs doing. The world’s #1 ranked team will of course be serious contenders, but as I’ve said before, I favour Russia to win the whole tournament. It wouldn’t really surprise me if the final turned out to be the same matchup as last summer in London, and if it is, that’ll tell us a great deal about this team and the whole world.