Tokyo, October 25, 2006: Brazil head coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes has played down the widely-held view that his team is the favourite to win the women's World Championships.
In an interview with the official website of the FIVB World Championships on Wednesday?Ze Roberto said as many as six teams could win the gold medal come the day of the final in Osaka on November 16.
When asked if he thought his team was the favourite, the Brazilian tactician replied frankly: “No, I don't think so. I think we have four, five or six teams who can win the gold medal, and I expect some surprises.
“I think China, Russia, Italy, Cuba, Brazil, Netherlands, USA…and I like very much the German team.”
The Brazilians arrived in Tokyo from Frankfurt on Monday after a week-long training camp in the German city of Heidelberg. They are staying at Akabane, 15 kilometres north of the city centre, and training at the nearby Japan Institute of Sports Sciences until leaving for Kobe on Sunday.
The Brazilians are favourites on the strength of their recent dominant form on the international front, having won the World Grand Prix annual tour title for the past three years and the World Grand Champions Cup (inter-continental championship) in Japan in 2005.
But Ze Roberto feels his team is in a tough first-round Pool C, and the path to the semi-finals becomes even more treacherous in the second round.
“I think we are in good shape, but we have a very hard group against many teams, such as Puerto Rico, Holland and USA,” he said.
“After that, when we cross groups for the second round, it is very dangerous for everybody. We will have four teams to play out of Russia, China, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Germany or Azerbaijan, so we have to play well every game.”
Surprisingly, Brazil have never won the women's world crown. “It's history; it did not arrive at our time,” is how Ze Roberto dismisses it.
But when asked if he feels it's Brazil's time in 2006, the pleasant demeanour becomes slightly more stern.
“I don't like to talk about this,” he says. “I have my feet on the ground. It is our dream but I do not know if it is possible. We are here and we will try to win, but we have to play well in many hard matches.”
