Brazil - Italy (full match)

2008 semifinal match between Brazil and Italy. Just like in 2004 Olympic Games, Russia, Italy, USA and Brazil reached the semifinals. Brazil defending gold medal came to Beijing under a lot of pressure, after a bad result in the World league finals in Brazil (4th place). Fans expectations were high due to the fantastic results all over the decade. Andrea Anastasi came back as Italy's coach, after winning the european championship 2007 with Spain. Bernardo Rezende said: "For us, it was a tough match, very tight. The team was nervous and very tense. There is a heavy burden on our shoulders after we lost the World League. I was worried that the players would think too much about what would happen if they lost again, instead of focusing on playing. Right now we have to focus on the USA. They played very well, consistently. We have to play better".

#Brazil #Italy #TheOlympics2008