The coaches and captains of the Pool K teams - USA, Brazil and Italy at the pre-tournament press conference
Krakow, Poland, July 12, 2016 - The FIVB World League Finals start on Wednesday at 17:30 (local time) with the key encounter between the two most successful countries in the competition - Brazil and Italy in Pool K.
Brazil, who have won the tournament nine times, and Italy (eight times) face off while the third team in the pool USA play their first match on Thursday against Italy.
Brazil coach Bernardo Rezende said: "It's a big pleasure to play here and the atmosphere in Krakow Arena makes everyone wants to be here. We want to play well looking forward to the Olympic Games."
His son and Brazil captain Bruno Rezende said his side is coping well with the pressure of performing well, especially at the Rio Olympics.
"We already feel the pressure before the Olympic Games because this kind of event at home is the most important things. We talk a lot to each other to play the best volleyball.
"The Tauron Arena is one of the greatest arenas I've ever played. We want to improve in this tournament and we want to work as much as possible before Rio. We played well in the Preliminary Round and now we are facing two absolutely top teams.
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John Speraw, coach of USA: "It's exciting to be in Krakow. We love to play in Poland as it is always great experience. We hope to play better volleybal. We started the season slow but improved in the next weeks to reach the maximum point at the Olympics.
"I've decided to announce the team roster for the Olympic Games because it is the best thing to build our team. We can start working building this group now."
David Lee, captain of USA: "This is the best arena and the best crowd. We played here two years ago during the World Championship. Now we are in the probably strongest group in the World League."
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Gianlorenzo Blengini, coach of Italy: "It's amazing to be here. It's good for us to take part in the Finals and we aim to go through to the semis. We are facing very strong opponents who advanced from the first two spots in the Preliminary Round."
Emanuele Birarelli, captain of Italy: "We are very happy to play in Poland with the great atmosphere in a great arena. We didn't show our best so far, but we did a lot of practice to improve. This tournament it's a perfect test to show ourselves and other people that we have improved."
Related information:
Rio 2016 Olympic Games