Lausanne, Switzerland, July 10, 2015 - The relationship between Brazil
and volleyball is undeniably a very special one. Many of the country’s
200 million inhabitants are volleyball fans and the two national teams
have been among the most successful teams in the world for decades.
Two Olympic gold medals (1992 and 2004) and three World Championship titles between 2002 and 2010 for the men’s team speak volumes. Brazil were also one of the eight teams to play in the inaugural edition of the FIVB Volleyball World League back in 1990. Since then, the men’s national team have been involved every year, making Brazil one of only two nations (the other is Italy) to have played in all 26 editions of the annual showdown of the best teams in the world.
It goes without saying that the Brazilians are also the record winners in the FIVB World League, with nine titles and 18 medals in total to their name.
Here is a taste of their most recent victory in 2010:
However, the Selecao have now been waiting five years for a historic tenth victory. In 2011, 2013 and 2014, they narrowly missed out on the title, finishing runners-up on each occasion. They are hopeful that will all change this year, particularly with home advantage. Rio de Janeiro hosts the final round, which features the top six teams in the FIVB World League. Brazil has already staged the final round five times, but has only gone on to clinch the title once, in Sao Paulo in 1993 on those five occasions. The last two final rounds to be held in Rio de Janeiro yielded nothing more than a second (1995) and a fourth place (2008).
This time is a bit different, however: the grand finale at the Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, from Wednesday to Sunday, will serve as a test event for the volleyball competition at the 2016 Olympic Games at the same venue. Everyone is looking forward to the big event.
The main goal at the Olympics is to win gold - particularly as Brazil had to settle for silver at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012, as well as at the 2014 FIVB World Championships. The mission is of national importance.
"I have no doubt volleyball is going to be a big success at the Olympics. The Brazilian passion for volleyball will ensure one of the greatest Olympic competitions of all time,” said FIVB president Dr. Ary S. Graça F° in an interview with AP. When asked whether the Olympic final would be a sell-out if it were played at the legendary Maracana football stadium, Graca replied: “For sure.” There are only a few tickets still available for this week’s final round of the FIVB World League at the Maracanazinho, a 12,000-seat arena located next to the famous Maracana.
The big breakthrough for volleyball in Brazil came in 1983, when the Maracana in Rio hosted a friendly match between the men’s national team and the USSR. The match attracted a crowd of 95,887, which remains the sport's biggest ever. After the Olympic silver medal in 1984, the sport’s popularity went through the roof. Nowadays, over 15 million people play volleyball in Brazil. The BBC rightly quoted a Brazilian saying: “Football is religion, volleyball is our number one sport.”
Major sponsors support the sport, which is also regularly shown on TV. The stars are millionaires and celebrities: the dream couple are two-time Olympic gold medallist Jaqueline Carvalho and her husband Murilo Endres. The sun-blessed country also rules the world when it comes to beach volleyball: at the recent World Championship, which took place in the Netherlands just a few days ago, five of the six places on the podium went to Brazilian teams – with Ágatha Bednarczuk / Bárbara Seixas and Alison/Bruno Schmidt taking gold.
The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio have once again energised the country’s volleyball lovers.