Brazil’s hopes of success on its debut in the women’s Olympic water polo tournament rest in the hands of a highly qualified Canadian. However, for all his top-level experience and tactical nous, Patrick Oaten, the former high performance director of the women’s programme in his home country, will bank on traditional Brazilian virtues when he leads his charges into the Rio 2016 Games.

“The Brazilian players have great natural creativity, which is our team’s strong point, and we have to use this in our favour,” said Oaten, who coached the Canada women at the Athens 2004 Games, as well as leading them to bronze and silver medals at the 2005 and 2009 world championships.

Brazil have tried and failed to reach the Olympic Games every year since women’s water polo was added to the programme for Sydney 2000, but the host nation has a place guaranteed at next year’s Games. And despite their lack of Olympic experience, Oaten, who took charge of the team last year,  believes they have every chance of making the podium.

“Our aim is to compete for a medal at the Games,” he said. “Having seen how much the players have improved in recent months, this is absolutely possible. The team has got better in terms of physical fitness and style of play, and they have had some important results. On the world stage, the United States is a little above everyone else, but apart from them, things are very balanced and the games are always hard to predict.”

Brazil players Marina Zablith and Tess Oliveira pose with the Rio 2016 logo in front of Sugarloaf Mountain (Photo: Rio 2016)

Under Oaten, the Brazilians last year qualified for the first time for the World League Super Final – contested by the world’s eight best teams – and have also managed their first ever victory over Canada, traditionally one of the sport’s strongest teams. Such performances have boosted the players’ confidence ahead of the first Olympic Games in South America.

“Competing in the Olympic Games will be a dream come true,” said 28-year-old captain Marina Zablith. “We’ve been training for more than 10 years for this. We will be in a position to do well, rather than merely participate, and that makes it even more special.”

In their last full year of preparations for their Olympic debut, the Brazilian team have a full calendar. After playing friendly matches against university teams from the United States in Hawaii, they came second in the prestigious UANA Cup in Canada. Between April and June they will be competing in the World League, closely followed by the Pan American Games and world championships in July and August.

“We have a group of excellent players, but in the past we haven’t been able to take part regularly in the leading international competitions,” said Zablith. “Despite training hard, when it came to the matches we felt a lack of rhythm and we weren’t able to reach our potential. For this reason, 2015 is very important. At the end of the year, we will have a better idea of what to expect of ourselves and our main opponents.”

Tess Oliveira has been Brazil's first-choice goalkeeper since 2003 (Photo: SS Press/Satiro Sodré)

Hosting the Olympic Games has radically improved conditions for water polo in Brazil and goalkeeper Tess Oliveira hopes the legacy will be lasting. “Today we have an international coach, we can train for periods outside the country and we will participate in the leading competitions, and that’s all because we have received more investment as a result of the Olympic Games. We want this reality to be maintained after the Games and for more young people to become interested in playing sports. This is the legacy we expect from the Olympic Games.”