Quotes From The Athletes
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General
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Bronze Medal Game:
LENARDO SOTTANI, ITALY (WATER POLO)
"IN THE FIRST TWO GAMES, WE DIDN’T PLAY THAT WELL. BUT AT THE FINAL GAME, WE WERE ABLE TO PERFORM AT OUR BEST. "
"IN THIS GAME, THE REFEREE’S DID NOT RULE THE GAME MORE STRICTLY. IT WAS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER GAME."
"WE DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE GOODWILL GAMES SO THIS WIN WAS VERY GOOD FOR US. WE WILL NOW HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO GET READY FOR THE 2000 OLYMPICS. WE WILL HAVE A VERY GOOD TEAM IN THE FUTURE."
"OVERALL, WE WERE VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GOODWILL GAMES. IT WAS A GREAT TOURNAMENT AND WE ENJOYED OURSELVES THOROUGHLY."
RATKO RUDIC, ITALY, COACH (WATER POLO)
"IT WAS A VERY TOUGH GAME. IN THE BEGINNING WE HAD A BIG ADVANTAGE. WE BEGAN 4-0, THEN WE RELAXED. THE BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE SCORE, MAKES YOU RELAX PSYCHOLOGICALLY. THEN, WHEN THE AMERICANS MADE IT 4-3 THE REAL GAME WAS BEGINNING. THE GAME THEN BECAME TOUGHER AND MORE PHYSICAL. FOR US, IT WAS DIFFICULT BECAUSE WE WERE PLAYING WITHOUT NO. 11 [LENARDO SOTTANI] BECAUSE OF A HAND PROBLEM. WE HAD TO USE YOUNG PLAYERS IN A TOUGH SITUATION. IT WAS AN EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE FOR OUR TEAM WITH EXCELLENT RESULTS."
JOHN VERGAS, USA, COACH (WATER POLO)
"THAT LAST CALL WAS NOT EVEN CLOSE [THE OFFENSE FOUL ON BRAD SCHUMACHER]. IT WAS ALSO A POOR CALL ON THE EJECTION [ALBRIGHT]. LET THE PLAYERS DECIDE THE GAME. THAT’S A SHAME, ESPECIALLY HOW HARD WE WORKED."
(COMMENTS ON PLAYER, WOLF WIGO)
"WOLF WAS GREAT. LOOK, THEY TOOK A GOAL AWAY FROM HIM AND SEE THE WAY THAT HE CAME BACK FROM THAT. MOST PEOPLE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT."
"I HATE TO SOUND LIKE SOUR GRAPES, BUT THAT WAS UNBELIEVABLE. MAYBE THIS WILL PUT SOME FIRE UNDERNEATH US. WE PLAYED A HELL OF A LOT PLAYER THAN WE DID YESTERDAY. IT WAS DISAPPOINTING BUT THE EFFORT WAS DEFINITELY THERE."
WOLF WIGO, USA (WATER POLO)
"THE LOSE WAS NOT FOR A LACK OF EFFORT. I AM NOT TRYING TO MAKE EXCUSES, BUT THE REFEREE REALLY EFFECTED THE GAME FOR US. THE LAST SHOT WAS CLEARLY A GOAL. WE HAD FOUR POSSESSIONS AND FOUR OFFENSE FOULS. UNBELIEVABLE."
(ABOUT PLAYING IN FRONT OF A HOME CROWD)
"I WANTED TO PLAYA GOOD GAME AND I DID. "
(ABOUT HIS BACK INJURY)
"I WILL BE READY FOR 2000 IN SYDNEY."
Gold Medal Game:
BORIS POPOV, RUSSIA, COACH (WATER POLO)
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE SPANISH TEAM?
"THEY ARE A VERY PREPARED TEAM AND PROVED IN THE OLYMPIC FINAL [1996 GOLD MEDAL CHAMPIONS] THEY ARE VERY GOOD."
WHAT ABOUT TONIGHT'S PERFORMANCE?
"WE WERE PREPARED VERY WELL PSYCHOLOGICALLY FOR THE MATCH. "
(ABOUT THE FAST START)
"THEY [RUSSIAN PLAYERS] PROVED THEY WERE BETTER TONIGHT."
REVAZ TCHOMAKHIDZE, RUSSIA (WATER POLO)
"I AM VERY HAPPY. FOR MANY YEARS, RUSSIA DID NOT WIN MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS. I THINK BIGGER THINGS ARE IN THE FUTURE FOR US. TO WIN THE GOODWILL GAMES FOR THE SECOND TIME [IN A ROW] WAS IMPORTANT TO US."
WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS GAME AND THE FIRST TIME THE TWO TEAMS MET?
"LAST TIME, BOTH TEAMS WERE VERY NERVOUS. IT WAS THE FIRST GAME OF THE COMPETITION. TODAY WE MADE LESS MISTAKES AND WERE WORKING BETTER TOGETHER."
HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO GET THE BIG LEAD EARLY?
"I DON'T KNOW. IT WAS A REAL SURPRISE. SPAIN IS A VERY EXPERIENCED TEAM, BUT WE WERE RELAXED AND DID WHAT WE WANTED TO DO. BEFORE THE MATCH, WE KNEW THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER ON THE TEAM WAS IVAN PEREZ AND WE WERE ABLE TO CONTROL HIM."
HOW DID YOU LIKE THE POOL?
"THE POOL WAS VERY NICE. THE LIGHTS WERE REALLY GOOD AND THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER WAS GOOD. LIGHTING IS VERY IMPORTANT. AFTER THIS TOURNAMENT WE ARE LEAVING FOR LAKE PLACID."
SALVADOR GOMEZ, SPAIN (WATER POLO)
"IT WAS A GOOD GAME. WE PLAYED A TOUGH GAME AND A STRONG GAME, BUT THEY [THE RUSSIANS] JUST GOT OUT TO A BETTER START THAN WE DID."
"WE ARE CONTENT WITH THE SILVER MEDAL. WE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO WIN THE GOLD MEDAL, BUT WE ARE SATISFIED WITH THE SILVER MEDAL."
"THIS IS A YOUNG TEAM AND WE ARE GAINING GOOD EXPERIENCE FOR THE FUTURE. I THINK THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE STRONG AND A CONTENDER FOR THE 2000 OLYMPICS."
"THE GOODWILL GAMES WERE ORGANIZED VERY WELL. WE WERE VERY HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING. IT WAS A TOP QUALITY TOURNAMENT."
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