Hyundai Capital men’s professional volleyball head coach Philippe Blanc has stepped foot on Korean soil.
Blanc arrived in South Korea on Sunday through Incheon International Airport. “Coach Blanc will move to the team’s complex base camp, Castle of Skywalkers, and immediately join the squad to prepare for the 2024-25 season,” Hyundai Capital said on its official social media.
Blanc, who is from France, is the head coach of Japan’s men’s national volleyball team and is expected to fly to South Korea directly from France after the 토토사이트 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Hyundai Capital parted ways with Choi Tae-woong midway through the 2023-24 season and finished the remainder of the campaign under acting head coach Jin Soon-ki. The announcement of Blanc’s appointment was made during the season, and Italian coach Fabio Storti, who will assist Blanc, joined the team early to prepare for the new season.
Storti has been training with Blanc in consultation with him. Now, Blanc will be joining the team and will begin his training in earnest.
On the same day, the Hyundai Capital players held a one-day cafe in Cheonan to create special memories with fans.
The players are also excited to see their new coach. Deng Xinfeng, a new member of the Asia Quarter from China, told The Spike, “I have seen the progress of the Japanese men’s national volleyball team. I hope to improve my skills by learning new training methods from the Hyundai Capital team.”
“Coach Fabio came in beforehand to get to know the players, and now all the players, including Leo, have come in,” said captain Moon Sung-min. ”I tried to learn a lot through training, and I accepted it well. Coach Fabio thought it was positive,” he said, adding, ”When Coach Blanc comes, we will need time to adjust. I think it’s a good experience for the players to learn. If we start with the idea of learning, we will get better results,” he said encouragingly.
Hyundai Capital is in for a big change. After winning the V-League championship in 2018-19, Hyundai Capital reached the championship finals for the first time in four years in 2022-23, but finished as runners-up. The previous season, the team finished fourth in the regular season and made a dramatic run to the semi-finals before falling short to OK Financial Group. In the 2024-25 season, they are looking to go even higher.