José Roberto Lages Guimarães Zé Roberto
Last year’s silver medalists are in sixth place with 14 points and need to finish in the top six at the end of the this weekend’s games to ensure the advance to the World Grand Prix Finals in Sapporo, Japan, which will take place from August 28 to September 1.
Zé Roberto, who has led Brazil to five of “seleção’s” record eight World Grand Prix titles, said winning each and every match in Almaty is necessary to advance to the World Grand prix Finals but it is also a key part of a greater objective. “We need three victories to qualify for the finals. It is important to be on the podium, to be on the top and it’s always valuable to compete with strong opponents,” he said. “But the general plan for the upcoming games is not only winning the Grand Prix but to get ready for the Olympic Games.”
Zé Roberto’s mentorship of the Brazilian national team began in 2003 and he has helped the team to be the two-time Olympic champion and now to be one of the strongest contenders for this year’s World Grand Prix title.
“It has been a wonderful 10 years. I spent the last decade mostly thinking about strategies against opponents and I am happy with how things have worked out for my team,” he added.
See the profiles of Zé Roberto and Brazil.
For more information about this competition, click on World Grand Prix 2013.
