While soccer dominates the sports scene in Brazil, there are actually several other sports that are popular, including Formula 1 and volleyball. Several types of Brazilian volleyball are popular, including men’s and women’s teams, as well as indoor and beach volleyball. Brazilian volleyball players are among the best in the world.

The Volleyball World Championship is currently taking place in Italy, and the men’s Brazilian team has made it to the next round. The team is led by one of Brazil’s most famous coaches, Bernardinho, also known as Bernardo Rocha de Rezende. He was a player in the 1980s, and has had a successful coaching career since the late 80s with a lengthy list of medals, from regional championships to the Olympics. He’s built something of a volleyball family – he was originally married to a former female volleyball player, and their son is now on the Brazilian volleyball national team. He’s now married to another former volleyball player and has two daughters.

The current seleção brasileira masculina, or male national team, has some of Brazil’s biggest volleyball superstars. One of the most famous is Giba, also known as Gilberto Amauri Godoy Filho. Giba has an incredibly inspiring story: after battling childhood leukemia, the Paraná native went on to become an athlete as a teenager and quickly became successful in volleyball. He has over thirty medals, including one gold and one silver Olympics medal. He was also named MVP at the Athens Olympics Games in 2004. He’s married to a former volleyball player from Romania and has two kids.

Check out the team’s recent practice below, as well as interviews with the coach and players.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDDYvF6XXT0