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BRA / Brazil - Team Composition

Team manager	Jose Elias Proença
Head coach	José Roberto Guimarães
Assistant coach	Paulo Barros Junior
Doctor	Julio Nardelli
Therapist / trainer	Claudio Pinheiro
Journalist

	No.	Name	Lastname	Shirt Name	Birthdate	Height	Weight	Spike	Block	Club
	1	Walewska	Oliveira	Walewska	1/10/1979	190	73	310	290	C. A. V. Murcia
	2	Carolina	Albuquerque	Carol	25/07/1977	182	76	289	279	SOLLYS OSASCO
	3	Marianne	Steinbrecher	MARI	23/08/1983	188	70	310	290	FENERBAHCE
	4	Paula	Pequeno	PAULA	22/01/1982	184	74	302	285	FENERBAHCE
	6	Thaisa	Menezes	THAISA	15/05/1987	196	79	316	301	SOLLYS/NESTLÉ
C	7	Helia Rogerio	de Souza Pinto	Fofão	10/03/1970	173	65	283	264	FENERBAHÇE
	8	Valeska	Menezes	Valeskinha	23/04/1976	180	62	302	290	Asystel Volley Novara
	9	Fabiana	Claudino	FABIANA	24/01/1985	193	76	314	293	Fenerbahçe
	10	Welissa	Gonzaga	SASSÁ	9/09/1982	179	76	300	287	Sesi/SP
	12	Jaqueline	Carvalho	JAQUE	31/12/1983	186	70	302	286	SOLLYS/NESTLÉ
	13	Sheilla	Castro	SHEILLA	1/07/1983	185	64	302	284	SOLLYS/NESTLÉ
L	14	Fabiana	Oliveira	FABÍ	7/03/1980	169	59	276	266	Unilever

C=Captain L=Libero

Team Profile

Coach Profile

Brazil are currently ranked No. 1 in the world by virtue of consistently high finishes in major international tournaments, but also by the wobbles experienced by the Russians and the Chinese in 2007.

It was a mixed bag for Brazil in terms of results in 2007. In the FIVB World Grand Prix, without setter Fofao and the middle-blocker Walewska Oliveira, the most experienced players, Brazil finished fifth. The year ended on a high, though, when the Brazilians claimed silver medal behind Italy in the FIVB World Cup in Japan, putting them at the top of the world rankings.

The previous year was probably better overall, though, for Brazil. Then, they won the Montreux Volley Masters, the Pan-American Cup and the World Grand Prix for the sixth time before having another great end to the year by claiming silver behind Russia in the FIVB World Championship in Japan.

Brazil have had a run of good form since 2003, which was something of a turning point for them. Following a seventh-place finish at the annual FIVB World Grand Prix, coach Marco Motta was replaced by Jose Roberto Guimaraes, an Olympic Champion in Barcelona 1992 with the Brazilian Men's National Team.

The first move by Guimaraes was to bring back many players who had been away from the courts for a long time. Erika Coimbra, Elisangela Oliveira, Fernanda Venturini, Fofao and Walewska, who all helped Brazil claim bronze at the 2000 Games in Sydney, came to the rescue and led the team to the silver medal at the 2003 World Cup. That fantastic result came on the back of the Brazilians winning the South American Championship in Colombia.

In his team reshuffle, Guimaraes didn't forget the new generation. He developed young middle blockers Valeskinha and Fabiana Claudino. Fabiana, for example, won the gold medal at the 2003 Junior World Championships in Thailand where she received the Best Attacker award.

In the following season, they claimed the World Grand Prix, and fourth place in the Athens Games. In 2005, they won the Montreux Volley Masters, the World Grand Prix, the South-American Championship and the Grand Champions Cup.

This haul of trophies was the early stages of a run of form that hasn't let up yet.

Jose Roberto Guimaraes (Ze Roberto) was borne in Quintana, a city 500 km away from Sao Paulo. His career as a player started in 1967 playing for Randi Esporte in Santo Andre. The team changed its name to Aramacan and later to Pirelli, where Ze Roberto played as a setter from 1979 to 1982.

"Maybe that was the reason why I became a coach. The setter is that player that keeps contact with all the team. It is easier for him to get used to the attack style of other players, who gives him a better vision of the game and creates a closer relationship between the setter and the coach," says Ze Roberto.

As a Brazilian National Team player, Ze Roberto won the gold medal in the South American Championship twice and finished seventh in the Montreal Games of 1976.

He started his career as a coach in 1988. He quickly became assistant coach to Bebeto de Freitas, who was Brazil Men's Head Coach. In 1991, he started to coach the Youth and Junior National Teams and won the silver medal in the Women's World Championship.

In 1992, as Head Coach he led the Brazilian Men's National Team to the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. It was the start of a very good run of medals: first place in the 1993 FIVB World League, first in the 1993, bronze in the 1994 World League, silver in the 1995 World League, gold in the 1995 South American Championship, bronze in the 1995 World Cup and third place in the 1996 World League.

After finishing his cycle in the National team, Ze Roberto started to coach Banespa Men's team, where he won the gold medal in the 1996-97 Superliga -- the Brazilian Championship. After that, he coached Women's team Dayvit. The following season he left the courts and worked as a Volleyball and football manager. Ze Roberto was back in Volleyball in 2001 to coach BCN/Osasco, and during this season he claimed second place in the Superliga Championship.

He became Head Coach of the Brazilian Women's National Team in 2003.