Last year, there was a lot of talk about the general expectations of the Argentina men's national team under the new guidance of Javier Weber as Head Coach. Now, for 2010, and with confidence still flowing after a strong campaign in 2009, the dream is even bigger and stronger, with the emphasis on making history at the forefront of everyone's mind.

After the best campaign in the FIVB World League in Argentina's history, overcoming Venezuela at the South American Championship and obtaining qualification for the 2010 FIVB World Championship (the three great international goals set out by the coaching team during the 2009 season) 2010 brings new and exciting challenges.

First, the FIVB World League, with an Intercontinental Round that will be decided in the Final Six in Córdoba at the end of July. It is a great honour for Argentina to be able to host the Final Series of the most important tournament for national teams. Then, the FIVB World Championship, where the team will try to improve on their 13th place position at the previous edition in Japan.

Looking forward to these achievements, the basis of the team from 2009 will be maintained. The experience of older players such as Alejandro Spajic and Pablo Meana, as well as younger athletes such as Rodrigo Quiroga, Guillermo García, Javier Filardi Gustavo Scholtis and Luciano De Cecco, will combine the freshness of talent already secured with Nicolás Uriarte and Facundo Conte, with new promises that grow from grass-root level National Teams and that are the best in the world according to the FIVB World Rankings.

San Juan and Formosa will again be the stage for the FIVB World League and the third venue that will complete the 2010 Intercontinental Round will be Catamarca, which returns to the calendar for the first time since 2007. All of them are courts that can create a unique and important atmosphere for such an important event.

Volleyball was introduced to Argentina by the YMCA in 1912. The Argentine Volleyball Federation was created in 1932, sharing the same management as basketball.

The popularity of the sport grew steadily over the years. Currently there are some 30,000 registered players in Argentina, and thousands more who play in schools across the country.

The National Team's official debut came at the South American Championship held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1951, where they finished fourth.

Argentina's first World Championship was in 1960 in Rio de Janeiro, where they finished 15th. Since then, Argentina has participated in eight World Championships, with its best showing a bronze in Buenos Aires in 1982. Argentina finished 13th at the last World Championship, held in Japan in November 2006.

The team first qualified for the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984, finishing sixth. Four years later in Seoul they won bronze, followed by a sixth-place finish in Atlanta in 1996, fourth in Sydney in 2000 and fifth in Athens in 2004. They advanced to the second round at each Olympics.

Argentina first participated in the World League in 1996 and hosted the event in 1999, where it qualified for the final six. Two years ago, Argentina put in its best performance at the World League, winning seven straight games, four of which were away from home. However, its best position came in 2009, with an ranking in an astonishing fifth and winning a historical place at the Final Six in Belgrade, earned for the first time.

Closer to home, Argentina has claimed one gold and three bronze medals at the Pan American Games.

As further proof of Argentina's growth as a Volleyball nation, several coaches are now working with great success at the top levels internationally, including Daniel Castellani (Poland), Raúl Lozano (Germany), Marcelo Méndez (Sada Cruzeiro), Julio Velasco (Spain) and Jon Uriarte (Italian A1 Series).