Brazil remains the leader of the pool A but finally someone won over canarinhos! After the stunning game USA reminded us who is still the reigning Olympic champion.
These American guys are always dangerous and willing to fight for a victory, no matters who the rival is. Poland twice outclassed team of Puerto Rico and got precious 6 points before clashing with USA.
The matches between Brazil and USA were played as if both teams were fighting for Olympic gold or world championship, so many powerful serves, digs from the floor, emotions and pain on the faces of the players and both coaches with their heart being left on the court… If anyone thought Brazil would not meet the equal competitor in this year’s edition of World League and will easily reach for the 10th (!) title in a row, well he or she would be strongly disappointed after the games in Belo Horizonte.
In the first match everything went according to the plan of coach Bernardo Rezende. 15000 of fanatical, loud fans of canarinhos had one wish: revenge for the loss at the Beijing Olympic games in 2008. And they got what they wanted. Leandro Vissotto was in his trance, scoring 14 points and leading his team to another brilliant victory. Brazilians played at ease, we could see smiles on their faces and they were celebrating every successful action. However the opening set was won by the visitors but Americans weren’t able to keep they concentration and as the hosts speeded up the pace and found their rhythm, USA was left behind. For sure it was a huge disappointment for veterans of the team, playing at their best Clayton Stanley and William Priddy. Their experience was not enough to stop the Brazil. But would happen if we mixed-up the experience and calm with youth and energy?
The following day showed us it’s the way the world best teams are built… USA proved that impossible is nothing and simply smashed the Brazil in front of thousands of shocked Brazilian fans. World champions lost both first and second set and were close to the humiliating defeat, not seen for ages. I don’t remember when I saw such sad and tired Murilo, unable to receive well and finish his spikes. He was totally down and the whole team was playing without any joy, feeling worse and worse after every successful action of Americans. The biggest advantage of Brazil in my opinion is how they easily get back into the game, even after losing a set or an important action. But this time nothing seemed to work well.
Finally Bernardo Rezende was forced to make some changes in order to find the right line-up, ready to fight against brilliant Americans. Vissotto, Bruno and Lucas were replaced by Wallace, Marlon and Sidao and canarinhos took the second breath, allowing them to win the third set. Also Murilo was playing better and better and finally we could see him relaxed. Fourth set could be named the set of the truth. Tough battle, played point by point till the very end. It was a true test for the young setter Brian Thornton and he passed it with A grade. It was simply a day of Matthew Anderson who scored 21 points and avoided committing errors from the previous game. American block stopped the Brazil and even usually calm David Lee was so happy that he was almost dancing. As I mentioned before, USA proved that impossible is nothing and if you’re playing as a team, with all the players involved you can beat even Brazil. You can beat even Brazil in front of their 15000 fans… So unlike most of us like to think, Brazil isn’t licensed to win. And this conclusion makes the volleyball still interesting. It would be really boring if guys of coach Bernardo Rezendo would win everything, everywhere, all the time… wouldn’t it ?
Poland twice outclassed Puerto Rico, winning in straight sets. The youngest players in the Polish team, Bartosz Kurek, Michal Kubiak and Zbigniew Bartman still keep their shape and are playing at the really high level. Kurek at the moment is the World League’s best scorer while Krzysztof Ignaczak – the best digger. The moment of truth will come for the European Champions next week when they will face USA again. In my opinion, Poland can win once but the second victory is reserved for the Olympic champions…
photo: FIVB
