Background
Although he was born in Brazil, his family moved to California when he was 1 month old.
Although he was born in Brazil, his family moved to California when he was 1 month old.
During his four years at Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California, his team won four California Interscholastic Federation championships and he was named Most Valuable Player all four years. Azevedo led Stanford"s men"s water polo team to two National Collegiate Athletic Association championships (in 2001 and 2002), and he represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. At the 2004 Olympics, Azevedo was second on the tournament’s goals scored list with 15.
He set a school freshman scoring record (68 goals), a single-season school record as a sophomore (95, or 34 goals a game) and, scored a school record 332 career goals in four years at Stanford.
Foreign each of his four years in college, Azevedo was honored as the most outstanding male player of the year with the Peter J. Cutino Award – water polo’s version of the Heisman Trophy. While at Stanford, he was a member of the Alpha Pi chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order.
Nicknamed "The Savior" at one point, he is considered to be one of the best American water polo players in recent memory. He is the current captain of the United States National Men"s Water Polo Team. When he was four, Azevedo suffered a fall that severed his trachea and esophagus.
Although his heart stopped beating on the operating table for a period of four minutes before doctors were able to revive him, he made a complete recovery and went on to excel in water polo, a strenuous sport.
He is 1.85m and weighs 91 kg. In 2004 after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in International Relations, Azevedo signed a professional water polo contract with Bissolati Cremona (Italy) placing him among the top 10 paid players in the sport.
Playing with Team Bissolati for his third season in 2006, he scored 63 goals with a 2.62 average per game. Azevedo rejoined the rest of the United States men’s national team at the 2007 Melbourne World Championships.
Azevedo played for VK Jug from Dubrovnik for two seasons from 2008 until 2010.
Since summer 2010 he"s been playing for VK Primorac from Kotor. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Azevedo was named the captain of the United States men"s national water polo team Near the end of the contest against Romania on July 31, 2012, he was called for a misconduct foul and was given a red card.
The United States of America team defeated Romania 10–8.
In 2010s he played for Croatian water polo squad Jug from Dubrovnik. The Azevedo family is a water polo dynasty.
Azevedo senior was Head Water Polo Coach both of United States National Team and Long Beach State University. Tony"s sister Cassie is a two-time All-American water polo player at Long Beach State.
Cassie also plays professionally in Italy after adjusting to a congenital health condition that temporarily sidetracked her water polo career.
During his four years at Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California, his team won four California Interscholastic Federation championships and he was named Most Valuable Player all four years. Foreign each of his four years in college, Azevedo was honored as the most outstanding male player of the year with the Peter J. Cutino Award – water polo’s version of the Heisman Trophy. Azevedo scored 5 goals of an 8-4 win by the United States National Team over host country China in the opening games of the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the championship game, the United States of America team won the silver medal, defeated by Hungary.
While at Stanford, he was a member of the Alpha Pi chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order.
