AZEVEDO HOPES
SUMMER '08 ENDS IN GOLD
By Dan Pieringer, STATS Writer
October 5, 2007
A long time ago, Tony Azevedo lost count of how many countries he's
visited. As one of the world's best water polo players, he's usually
got other things on his mind.
Like winning a gold medal.
Azevedo's travels have taken him around the world, including Olympic
stops in Sydney and Athens. But his July trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
just might have been the most memorable trip yet for the veteran globetrotter.
Sure, this particular trip was important because Azevedo and the United
States men's national team qualified for next summer's Olympic Games
in Beijing with a gold-medal finish at the Pan American Games. But it
was also special because it gave Azevedo a chance to play in his birth
country.
"Just the smell getting off the plane, it felt like coming home
almost," said Azevedo, who was born in Rio on Nov. 21, 1981.
Azevedo's family moved from Brazil before he was a year old, but the
Azevedos made frequent trips back to see his paternal family. Ricardo
Azevedo was born and raised in Brazil, where he played for the national
water polo team from 1974-1980.
Ricardo couldn't make it back to Rio for this year's Pan Ams, but he
said there was no question which team he was rooting for in the gold-medal
game between Brazil and the United States - the team he coached for
a year and a half before giving way to current coach Terry Schroeder
earlier last summer.
"He coached us to where we are today," Tony said. "He
was 100 percent cheering for us."
"I couldn't (root against Tony)," said Ricardo. "As a
parent, you're always proud, no matter what happens. But there was something
extra to this, to watch him come full circle."
Playing in front of more than a dozen family members and friends - some
of whom were watching him compete for the first time - Tony led all
scorers with four goals. He helped the U.S. beat Brazil 9-2 to clinch
a trip to China next summer.
"It's important that he's in touch with (his heritage)," Ricardo
said. "It's important to know where he came from, where his father
came from, where his grandfather came from. Everyone should know their
roots and appreciate them, and for Tony to get a chance to do what he
did in Brazil is definitely a step in that direction."
While Tony's spot on the Olympic team was virtually assured before this
summer, his performance in Brazil should remove any doubt that he'll
be able to add China to his already long list of passport stamps once
the team is officially announced early next summer.
The trip to Beijing would be Tony's third Olympics - three more than
Ricardo participated in while with the Brazilian team. Ricardo missed
a chance to go to the games in the Soviet Union in 1980 because of the
boycott, and wasn't with the team when it played in Los Angeles in 1984
because he was raising young Tony in California with his wife Libby.
"I guess it's frustrating because that's the highest competition
there is, but I'll take my wife and kids any day," said Ricardo,
whose daughter Cassie was a four-year All-American at Long Beach State
before moving to Italy to play professionally. "I have no regrets,
but it's definitely made me proud that my kids have accomplished so
much."
The gold-medal finish in Brazil was the fourth straight at the Pan Am
Games for the U.S. team, but that success hasn't translated to the ultimate
stage. The Americans haven't medaled in the Olympics since winning silver
in Seoul in 1988. That's a drought Tony hopes to help end next summer.
"Our goal is to come back with a medal," Tony said. "We're
an experienced team, we're a talented team, we have guys who have been
to Olympics before. And now it's time to prove we can put it all together.
Our goal is definitely to bring back a medal for the United States."
That's certainly a possibility, especially if Tony can repeat his stellar
performances from his two previous Olympics. In Sydney, he scored 13
goals - fourth-most in the world - as the U.S. finished sixth. In Athens,
he was second in the world with 15 goals for the seventh-place Americans.
If 2008 does turn out to be the year that the Americans earn their first
Olympic medal in two decades, Tony might have a new favorite road trip.
"It'd be hard to beat playing in front of my family in a place
where I have a history," he said.
"But that might do it."
