TEAM COMPOSITION

Puerto Rico will be participating in the FIVB World Olympic Qualification Tournament for the first time in 2012. The side's biggest achievement over the last few years was at the 2007 FIVB Men’s World Cup, where they finished sixth. The team has been quite successful in the NORCECA Championships and often challenge the bigger volleyball nations of Cuba and the United States. Puerto Rico finished the last Olympic cycle 10th in the FIVB Rankings, the highest ranking for Puerto Rico in any sport. Consistently leading the NORCECA standings alongside the U.S., Puerto Rico are recognized as the main powerhouse of Caribbean volleyball, collecting gold medals at the 2002 and 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. In 2006, Puerto Rico qualified for their first FIVB World Championship in over 20 years, and in 2007 won their first NORCECA medal (silver). They also claimed a historic sixth place in the 2007 World Cup, with wins over Olympic champions the United States and European champions Spain. Their Olympic dreams were dashed after a loss to Poland in the qualifiers. Most recently, the side placed 13th at the 2010 World Championship in Italy and 16th at the 2011 World League.

Carlos Cardona was born in Rosario, Argentina. His coaching career has taken him from Argentina's National League to Italy's League A-1 (Grottazzolina, Petrolifano and Gioia) and B-1. Upon his arrival in Puerto Rico in 2003, Cardona coached the San Juan Playeros and led the team to the Final Series and various semifinals. He was named men's national team coach and has been retained for the new Olympic cycle as Head Technical Director of their National Programs. Cardona is also coach of the women's national team and guided them to their first medal (bronze) at the Pan American Cup in 2009 and their first medal (silver) at the NORCECA Championship this year.