2012 Olympic Games

even if japan lost still they going to play for the bronze medal match vs korea....some teams that are expected to be in the semi finals didnt manage to be in the semis...hopefully usa will win against brazil and japan will win against korea....ganbare nippon...

I expected Japan to put up a better fight...I only watched since middle of 2nd set, but it looked like they never believed at all that they had any chance and just let Brazil play Korea had a harder opponent and put up a much better fight so I hope they get Bronze.

Thaisa and Sheilla finally are in really good shape, Dani Lins plays like never before, Fe Garay adds the necessary energy to the team, Fabi and Fabiana also play better than some weeks ago though still not as great as they can. I remember many people complained about Jaqueline, that she should not be in the team etc., but for me she plays a similar role as Logan Tom, she's not the most powerful attacker but her reception and defense helps the team a lot.

Congrats to the Brazilian girls. It seems like the sets were well distributed by Dani today. I hope she'll maintain this level of performance when they meet the US.

Quote from Matthias

It's nice to see Brazil playing so well after the bad preliminary. This is their true performance It's the best tournament I've ever seen of Dani, she should have been starter from the beginning of the tournament. Fernandinha is a good setter too, but she always looked a bit like a stranger in this team

Yes, I think so too. And also, Fernandinha pretty much never played with the other girls. It was a desperate move by ZRG, cause setting is been a big headache for him ever since Fofão left. Funny enough, during these OG, setting was a minor problem for the team, that struggled so much in the beginning with attack and defense, not so much with setting and also reception, which used to be the weaker points of Brazil.

I have to say Dani was always the setter I supported from the beginning. Everyone's been betting on her, from Zé Roberto, to Bernardinho, to everyone, ever since she was still in the youth NT along with Fabiana. But she always struggled so much with confidence, making mistakes often because of an emotional fragility. We can see now she blossomed and has become, at least in these last two matches, the setter we always believed she could be.

A lot of people criticized Zé Roberto for cutting Fabíola. While I still don't agree about him cutting Mari (and maybe even Sassá, cause she definitely could help more than Natália or Tandara), that's one criticism I don't share. He kept betting on Dani, cause she was better setter all along, and he made a risky move by having a "stranger in the nest". Bold move, I commend him for that.

And it was a great win for Brazil. The match was even more unbalanced than USA's victory over Korea.

(I secretly hope this means Korea's in better conditions to grab that bronze medal. )

Quote from Matthias

I expected Japan to put up a better fight...I only watched since middle of 2nd set, but it looked like they never believed at all that they had any chance and just let Brazil play Korea had a harder opponent and put up a much better fight so I hope they get Bronze.

Thaisa and Sheilla finally are in really good shape, Dani Lins plays like never before, Fe Garay adds the necessary energy to the team, Fabi and Fabiana also play better than some weeks ago though still not as great as they can. I remember many people complained about Jaqueline, that she should not be in the team etc., but for me she plays a similar role as Logan Tom, she's not the most powerful attacker but her reception and defense helps the team a lot.

Yes, I'm one of the complainers. I kinda see your point, and I kinda agree, but not completely. I have to say Jaqueline mostly did her job these last two matches, having a good performance in reception and defense (though, we have to acknowledge that Brazil's opponents didn't serve very well. Maybe Russia served even worse than Japan). So, I think her role in the team is being justified. However, I still believe she's not a reliable player, either in reception or in attack. You can say I'm picky with her, I don't mind, but my sentiment after the match against Russia was "I'm glad Jaque didn't spoil this for us. Just let the others do their work." Matter of fact is: we need her, in order to have better reception and be able to use the attack of the middles. In theory, I would prefere Paula instead of her (still can't understand why ZRG let Garay so much in the bench in the beginning of the tournament, since she's obviously a lot better than the others at this point), but the truth is Paula is in very poor form, she can't help the team much, and Jaque is a better receiver and server anyway. If we had all OH's in good physical conditions, I'd call Natália, Mari, Garay and Sassá, actually, and cut Paula and Jaqueline. Maybe not a popular opinion, but that's how I feel. In the end, it's all good, cause Jaque can't spoil this anymore. Brazil already achieved the best result they could, I think. So, she has nothing to lose. Even if she screws up majorly in the final, her role in the team will be justified, since she did a solid job against Russia and Japan. (But for the next cycle, I wouldn't mind having Gabi and Priscila Daroit replacing Paula and Jaque. )

Brazil in the final Come on girl!!!!

Congratulations, Brazil!

Finally our block is back, good defense and smart attack! It's a pleasure to see my NT giving their best in the court

I hope they can keep this way against USA.

I like all the players, but my favorite is jaqueline, Taiza Sheilla ... I preferred fabiola and Dani lins, I like the fernandinha but I think that because she never played before with the girls she still has difficulty. He preferred instead of Mari Tandara or Natalia.
but anyway, this is the opinion of the coach.

I have a feeling that Brazil will beat USA since Brazil's performance is growing every single match and USA had hard moments against Korea.Anyway wish an unforgettable match in final

First of all, big congratulations to USA for defeating Korea. I am extremely proud of these ladies and wish them the best of luck in the finals. Its nice to see Lindsey Berg again and I hope that she will be healthy in the gold medal match.

Congrats also to Brazil for winning over Japan. They have definitely peaked at the right moment of the tournament. It is going to be an exciting finals.

Any replay of the semis between USA and Korea? Thank you!

Japan pissed me off, waste a spot of Semi.
I think China will play better than Japan against Brazil.
3rd play match, I will support Korea to destroy Japan 3:0!!

USA once more showed class,exceptional performance by Hooker. When Destinee play for national team she's always the best,if she could play like that in club competitions,I think she would be best play in the world!!!

3rd is KOREA
japan will be lose and KOREA is THE WINNER.

Would it be a failure for Brasil to lose to Usa one more time ? or it is a succes to make a final?
Imo,Brasil should play a 3-2 game with Usa if they claim to be one of the best teams truly....

win or lose, making it to the finals is already a big achievement already.

regarding brazil having to prove to be "being one of the best teams"... imo, they have NOTHING to prove since time and time again, despite several setbacks like injuries and all, brazil always fight. they have ALWAYS been at least in the semis in the olympics since 1996. very few teams have achieved that. 2 bronze medals (1996 and 2000), in 2004 4th place, gold in 2008. several grand prix gold medal (7 if i'm corrent), volleyball grand champiions, etc. the only competitions which totally evade them are the World Championship and World Cup. so yes, they ARE a volleyball powerhouse, underperforming or what not.

also, even though USA has beaten brazil in the grand prix finals 3 times in a row, brazil HAVE beaten them just last year, at the semis 3-1, with most OH unavailable due to injury (mari, paula, jacqueline). an ailing natalia actually beaten them, having 21 points, if i'm not mistaken. i think people have forgotten that USA never truly met a complete brazil team, with many brazilian players unavailable due to injuries or underperforming (due to, again, previous injuries).

while it is true that USA's chances to win gold this time around IS higher than brazil (significantly higher, actually), NEVER underestimate brazil...

also, brazil has already won gold and bronze. the only color missing is silver. so if ever they lost, at least they've completed all three olympic medals.... haha

by the way, i still miss MARI. she could've peaked together with sheilla here in this olympics. i still favor her over paula. how i wish natalia is at full health. mari and natalia may be terrible at floor defense, but their offense is a NIGHTMARE for any opposing team (in addition to mari's monstrous blocking abilities). the one position always available for brazil is the number of calibre OPPOSITES. sheilla, mari, tandara, natalia. i also wish ze considered bringing sassa. her contribution to the team has always been underrated but of all brazilian players, she is the most stable...

i mean if Brasil had faced Usa for the first time this year then no objection by me if they would have been beaten...Usa is a good team and can beat Brasil. But they have been faced many times this year and Brasil has lost all the matches and Brasil is a team who aims to achive the best everytime and they have to show it at the final.This is not Brasil's style:"yes usa was better, we couldnt beat them, we are happy we got silver" .....at the moment only Mari is the crucial loss for Brasil who is not healty enough..Jaque is playing well.Garay is playing well.Sheila has started to find her rhythm.They probably have best middle players in the world :Thaisa and Fabiana.the conditions is appropriate anymore for Brasil to achive a title again.

Quote from Canter

i mean if Brasil had faced Usa for the first time this year then no objection by me if they would have been beaten...Usa is a good team and can beat Brasil. But they have been faced many times this year and Brasil has lost all the matches and Brasil is a team who aims to achive the best everytime and they have to show it at the final.This is not Brasil's style:"yes usa was better, we couldnt beat them, we are happy we got silver" .....at the moment only Mari is the crucial loss for Brasil who is not healty enough..Jaque is playing well.Garay is playing well.Sheila has started to find her rhythm.They probably have best middle players in the world :Thaisa and Fabiana.the conditions is appropriate anymore for Brasil to achive a title again.

truthfully, even if i'm brazil's fan, there's a part of me that wishes that they'll lose. i mean, they have already won gold already. let other teams win. cuba had won 3 times in a row and what a bore fest it was to watch other teams try to win gold and kill one another only to succumbed to cuba's power in the end.

on the other hand, the other part of me prevails: the one that wants brazil to win. that's what you call faith, man. and for a team that almost went home before the quarter finals, making it to the finals is something already...

by the way, i downloaded the match between brazil and russia (sorry, i can't get over that match!! ).

about sokolova: it's so sad that her last (probably) appearance in the olympics is blurred by the last 2 reception errors from her which cost Russia the chance to go through the semis. her reaction at the end was truly heartbreaking. it reminds me of marcia fu in the game between brazil and cuba at the 1996 olympics. marcia fu was magnificent throughout that match as well, but her 2 errors at the 5th set had cost brazil the chance to the finals. but errors aside, russia wouldn't be able to go to even 5th set without sokolova. she has NOTHING to be ashamed of. her performance in this olympics is something she should be proud of.