France captured their second World League gold medal in the last three years
Curitiba, Brazil, July 8, 2017 - Still pulsating with emotions, France coach Laurent Tillie expressed luck was on their side at “an incredible game, a very nice final”, while captain Benjamin Toniutti was equally ecstatic.
Laurent Tillie, France coach: “It was an incredible game, a very nice final with so many emotions and fantastic actions. The best part of the match was the mental side - both teams fought with all their forces until luck decided the game. Brazil was supposed to win, but that defence of Ngapeth that landed on the corner changed the outcome of the match. And then, Le Roux smashed the way from the serve. Volleyball is like that: you have to work maybe for only three points. To stay in the game just for a moment like that. This championship is my biggest satisfaction; World League has an incredible atmosphere with such great fans and to win it again is awesome.”
Benjamin Toniutti, France captain: “I think there was a key moment on the game and it was when Ngapeth’s dig on the tie-break fell on their side of the court. We came back into the game after that point, we gained a lot of energy there and it made me think that nothing wrong could happen. When you have that kind of luck, it’s just amazing. We have a lot of respect for Brazil, they’re the best team in the world and today we just beat them. Now we want to stay at this level as long as possible - Brazil get a medal at every competition and we have to start thinking like this.”
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Bruno Rezende, Brazil captain: “I’m not really sure right now of what we lacked; they done many things right and for sure they have enough merits for this win. You have to play better than your rival to win. But we made it into the final match and that’s positive - maybe now we are frustrated for the loss, but we are among the best teams of the world. France is an extremely talented team, they know each other very well and they are a very hard rival to face.”
Renan Dal Zotto, Brazil coach: “We’re sad about the loss, but I think we are on the right track. Both teams reached this final match as the best two teams of the Preliminary Round, France first and Brazil second. We weren’t here by any other reason than the good things we’ve done so far. We deserved this place on the final match as well as being among the world’s best teams.”