Cordoba, Argentina, July 20, 2010 - The Brazilian captain Giba has been confirmed to play in the 2010 FIVB World League Final Round by coach Bernardo Rezende during the official press conference for the event, which took place in the Sheraton Hotel on Tuesday.
Giba injured his shoulder in training and while the Brazilian doctor confirmed Giba's health over the weekend, Rezende reconfirmed it ahead of Brazil's opening match against Argentina on Wednesday.
"Giba is in good shape, after a small injury on one of his shoulders; he's training and will be able to play," Rezende told the media. "Looking ahead to the first match I know Javier and the Argentina players well and we know what they can do on the court so we won't be underestimating Argentina at all."
Full press conference quotes:
Javier Weber, Argentina Coach: I would like to welcome everyone to this Final Round, and thank everyone for their work in Córdoba. We have now a shot against the best teams of the world, it's an honour for us to be here. It's a very important tournament for Argentinean Volleyball. Our results from the Intercontinental Round should not be taken into consideration, we have been preparing for this moment and now we are looking forward to obtaining some key results this week.
Bernardo Rezende, Brazil Coach: We know how hard it's going to be to play this Final Round, we aim to have all of our players ready for the first match. Giba is in good shape, after a small injury on one of his shoulders; he's training and will be able to play. Looking ahead to the first match I know Javier and the Argentina players well and we know what they can do on the court so we won't be underestimating Argentina at all.
Orlando Samuels, Cuba Coach: This year, our young team is one year more experienced. It's our second Final Round in a row and we want to improve on last year's result (fourth place). We are confident and dream for a medal.
Andrea Anastasi, Italy Coach: It's very important for Italy to be again in a Final Round after a long while. All of our players, the young ones and the experienced ones, are ready for this. We trust in playing a good part in this week's Final Round, which is just what we need considering we will be the hosts of the 2010 FIVB Men's World Championship later this year.
Daniele Bagnoli, Russia Coach: We changed seven of our players for this year. It was the first big tournament for them and we wanted first to qualify for the Finals. We made it, and now I'm curious to see what happens here. We have a big target, to improve on last year (third place).
Igor Kolakovic, Serbia Coach: We managed to achieve our goal in the last minute. Now we have a new dream, which is to get to the semifinals. We will do our best, and hope it turns out the best way but we are growing all the time and with this young team we hope to achieve some exciting things this year.