Brazilian Volleyball, just like its culture and lifestyle, is full of passion and flavor and it is these qualities the women's national side will be counting on for an improved performance in the 2003 World Cup.

Brazil, ranked seventh in the world, are currently going through a rebuilding phase and with that, they have attracted a lot of off court pressure as the team looks to return to its glory days of the 1990s.

Following a seventh place finish at the 2003 World Grand Prix coach Marco Motta was replaced by José Roberto Lages Guimarães, Olympic champion in Barcelona 1992 with the men's national team.

The first move by Guimarães was to bring back many players who had been away from the courts for a long time. Erika, Elisângela, Fernanda Venturini, Fofão and Walewska will help Brazil try and improve upon their bronze medal at the last World Cup in 1999. These are also players who picked up bronze at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

However, in his reshuffle Guimarães didn't forget the new generation. He is also working with some young talent in the way of attackers Paula Pequeno and Sassá and the middle blockers Valeskinha and Fabiana Claudino. Fabiana, for example, just won the gold medal at the Junior World Championships earlier this year in Thailand where she received the best attacker award.

The first step in this new era for Brazil has already been taken having won all their matches at the South American Continental Championship in Colombia to qualify for the World Cup as Continetal champions. The second step took place in Texas, United States, where Brazil won three of four friendly matches against the USA (3-0, 3-0, 3-1).

Now everyone waits to see if they can complete step three and qualify for the Olympics at the World Cup.