RIO DE JANEIRO, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Cruzeiro and Volei Futuro will vie for their first Brazilian national volleyball championship when they meet in Saturday's super league final.
Statistics say Cruzeiro will begin as favorite for the duel in Sao Bernardo do Campo, on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Cruzeiro has won 15 of the teams' 17 previous meetings, including two victories this season.
Those numbers belie a competitive rivalry between the teams that has had moments of controversy. Last season, Volei Futuro's Michael was subjected to homophobic comments from Cruzeiro fans, leading to court action and a 30,000-dollar fine for the Belo Horizonte club.
According to Michael, the past will count for nothing when the teams meet in the title-decider.
"The past is history, now we are only focusing on the final," Michael said.
"We don't feel that we have achieved our objective yet. I want to be champion - even more so now because of the standard of competition that we have in Brazil. I want to respond to everything that has happened by winning this title."
Cruzeiro's Wallace also knows how it feels to be abused by fans. Earlier this year he was racially taunted by supporters of fellow Belo Horizonte team Minas.
"The rivalry we have now is just on the court," he says. "Most of the players know each other and are all good friends. But on the court it's a battle and we will do everything we can to win."