Rome, Italy, October 10, 2010 – A clash of two generations. A dream finale. Sixteen days of competition come to a head on Sunday in Rome as the FIVB Men’s World Championship Italy 2010 final sees world No. 1 and two-time defending champions Brazil, take on the young pretenders to the crown Cuba. A battle of skill against power. Youth against mind. Brawn against tenacity. It has it all. Starting at 21:15 at the PallaLottomatica.

The two-time defending champions and world No. 1 Brazil will play the new generation of Cuba in the first ever gold medal match between these two nations in an FIVB event after both teams won their semifinals on Saturday. Cuba beating Serbia in a thrilling five-set match 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 31-29, 22-25, 16-14) before Brazil beat Italy 3-1 (25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17).

Cuba, the youngest team in the competition, has played in one FIVB Men’s World Championship final in 1990, when they lost to Italy. The world No. 8 also has the pedigree being the fourth most successful nation in international Volleyball with 21 medals behind Russia (43), Brazil (31) and Italy (27). Of course, this is a new generation. Cuba’s last gold medal was at the 2001 Grand Champions Cup.

Brazil meanwhile, have won the World Championship title in 2002 and 2006 while also winning the World League eight times in the past 10 years. The favourites are also World Cup and Grand Champions Cup title holders.

Cuba did beat Brazil 3-2 (34-32, 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12) in the first round of the FIVB Men’s World Championship Italy 2010 in Verona – which stands as the third highest scoring match of the competition - however Brazil had won the previous seven matches in a row while the overall record between the two nations is in Brazil’s favour 26:22.

Meanwhile, the bronze medal match will see world No. 4 Serbia take on world No. 5 Italy at 17:00. The two teams played each other four times during the FIVB World League splitting the matches with two wins apiece. Serbia hold a slight overall advantage having won 27 of the 48 matches between the two nations. A win will see Serbia claim only their second World Championship medal after picking up silver in 1998 while bronze will add to Italy’s three gold (1990-1998) and one silver in 1978.

Match Schedule - Oct 10
17:00 Bronze medal match (Rome) Serbia v Italy
21:15 Gold medal match (Rome) Cuba v Brazil

Final Standings
1)
2)
3)
4)
5) Russia
6) USA 
7) Bulgaria
8) Germany
9) Argentina
10) Czech Republic
11) France
12) Spain

Highest Scorers By Day
Day 1 (1st Rd): 28 points by Antonin Rouzier (FRA) in France’s 3-2 win over the Czech Republic in Turin
Day 2 (1st Rd): 27 points by Maxim Mikhaylov (RUS) in Russia’s 3-1 win over Australia in Modena
Day 3 (1st Rd): 28 points by Fernando Hernandez (CUB) in Cuba’s 3-2 win over Brazil in Verona
Day 4 (2nd Rd): 24 points by Gyrgy Grozer (GER) in Germany’s 3-0 win over Puerto Rico in Catania
Day 5 (2nd Rd): 30 points by Iban Perez (ESP) in Spain’s 3-2 win over Russia in Catania
Day 6 (2nd Rd): 23 points by Ahmed Abdelhay (EGY) in Egypt’s win against Spain in Catania
Day 7 (3rd Rd): 25 points by Murilo (BRA) in Brazil’s win over the Czech Republic in Rome
Day 8 (3rd Rd): 26 points by Ivan Miljkovic (SRB) in Serbia’s win over Russia in Florence
Day 9 (3rd Rd): 28 points by Vladimir Nikolov (BUL) in Cuba’s win over Bulgaria in Florence
Day 10 (Semifinals): 26 points by Iban Perez (ESP) in Argentina’s win over Spain in Florence
Day 11 (Semifinals/Finals): 30 points by Ivan Miljkovic (SRB) in Cuba’s win over Serbia in Rome
 
Highest Set Score
34-32 (EGY v JPN in Pool A) (CUB v BRA in Pool B) Both matches played on September 27.

Highest Scoring Matches
233 (BUL v CUB in 3rd Round) 2-3 (25-22, 23-25, 28-26, 28-30, 11-15) played on October 6 in Florence
231 (FRA v BUL in 1st Round) 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 28-30, 19-17) played on September 26 in Turin
230 (CUB v BRA in 1st Round) 3-2 (34-32, 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12) played on September 27 in Verona
228 (JPN v EGY in 1st Round) 3-2 (32-34. 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-13) played on September 27 in Milan
226 (SRB v CUB in Semifinal (1-4) 3-2 (25-22, 17-25, 29-31, 25-22, 14-16) played on October 9 in Rome

Tournament Top Scorers
173 Iban Perez (ESP)
168 Vladimir Nikolov (BUL)
162 Maxim Mikhaylov (RUS)
157 Facundo Conte (ARG)
150 Clayton Stanley (USA)

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Coming soon
The FIVB Women’s World Championship Japan 2010 (October 29 - November 14, 2010)
The FIVB Club World Championships (December 14-21, 2010)  in Doha, Qatar
FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships (June 17-26) Rome, Italy