Brazil coach Guimaraes considers the 2010 Women's World Championship the most competitive ever

Hamamatsu, Japan, October 28, 2010 – Brazil coach Jose Guimaraes said his side's reputation would count for nothing at the 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship, warning that they could not take anything for granted because of the quality of their opponents in Japan.

"We can’t think of the history when we evaluate a competition before it starts, we have to work hard and look forwards and forget about the past," said Ze Roberto, who has won 13 gold medals with the Brazil team since he took charge in 2003. "We can't depend on our history because it is only in the record books and now we have to look at the court.

"We are coming into the most difficult competition in history because all the big teams are here and to win the title you have to make very few mistakes. My team are drawn in a very tough Pool B with the best teams from around the world like Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Puerto Rico and even Kenya who we know very little about.
 
"Even if we get past the first round we have a more difficult route ahead in the second round. I consider Italy as a big force here with experienced players like Simona Gioli, Eleonora Lo Bianco and Francesca Piccinini."
 
The South American side finished runners-up at the last edition in 2006 and will aim to go one better this time around after a successful few years. Reflecting on their preparations, Ze Roberto said they had been focusing since the FIVB World Grand Prix on "team work, especially the setter (position) after we lost the veteran Fofao and now we depend on both Danielle and Fabiola".

The world No.1 side are at their 14th World Championship and their best performance came in 1994 and 2006 when they won silver. They have a tally of 27 medals in all FIVB competitions.