Bruno: “Being back at the Maracanãzinho is an amazing feeling”

Brazil haven’t had a lot to celebrate yet in the 2023 season, but the fourth-best-ranked national team in the FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Ranking hopes that the return to a familiar venue will help them achieve their main goal of the year.

The South Americans started their campaign at the Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament Pool A on Saturday, in front of their home fans, at the Maracanãzinho stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, and hope to, again, get to celebrate at the end, on October 8.

• Watch all matches of the Men's Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament on VBTV

The most traditional and iconic volleyball venue in the country, the Maracanãzinho hosted the Rio 2016 Olympics, which ended with the Brazilians at the top of the podium to the delight of their home fans.

After being knocked out of the Volleyball Nations League in the quarterfinals and failing to win the South American Championship for the first time in 56 years, the Brazilians expect to end the year on a high by claiming one of the two spots at the Paris 2024 Olympics in play this week.

“To be back at the Maracanãzinho is an amazing feeling and it brings out the memories of moments that will be forever in my mind,” team captain and setter Bruno Rezende said. “I’ve lived the most amazing moments of my career at the Maracanãzinho during the Rio 2016 Olympics and feeling that energy again is fantastic. Having the fans behind us is also huge. Our dream is to qualify for Paris this week and we’re very motivated for the tournament.”

The positive memories and encouraging atmosphere pushed Brazil to win their opening match in Rio, handling Qatar 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 26-24) on Saturday. The squad led by Renan Dal Zotto features three players who won gold at the Rio 2016 Games – Bruno, outside hitter Ricardo Lucarelli and middle blocker Lucas Saatkamp.

“Returning to the Maracanãzinho brings back the memories of the Rio 2016 Games,” Lucarelli added. “And we’re coming back here with the exact goal of returning to the Olympics. I hope that the Maracanãzinho that helped us win gold seven years ago can push us to perform well in the Olympic Qualifier and book our tickets to Paris.”

Against Qatar, Lucarelli and opposite Alan de Souza were the top scorers for Brazil, each contributing 14 points. Middle blocker Flavio Gualberto delivered eight points.

“We started the match very well and were pretty solid in the first two sets,” Alan commented. “Qatar caught us a little bit off guard on set three, but Lucarelli was great at the end and made a difference for us.”

Volleyball Olympic Qualifying Tournament - Match Schedule and Results

World champions Italy dropped a set, but also started their campaign to qualify for the Paris Olympics with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-22, 25-19) win over Czechia. Star opposite Yuri Romanò led the Italian offense with 18 points, while Czech opposite Jan Hadrava topped all scorers with 22.

Germany also needed four sets to secure their first victory in Rio, overcoming Asian Games champions Iran 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 25-21). Veteran opposite György Grozer and outside hitter Moritz Karlitzek combined for 40 points, tallying 23 and 17, respectively.

In the final match of the opening day, Cuba took Ukraine down 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-18) to also start with a win. Opposite Jesus Herrera (13 points), outside hitter Marlon Yant (11) and middle blocker Javier Concepcion (ten) all reached double digits in scoring.

On Sunday, Brazil will face Czechia at 10:00 local time (17:00 UTC), Cuba will meet Germany at 13:30 local time (20:30 UTC), Italy will battle Qatar at 17:00 local time (00:00 UTC, Monday) and Iran will go against Ukraine at 20:30 local time (03:30 UTC, Monday).

Quick links:
FIVB Road to Paris Volleyball Qualifiers
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