Director Morales with us from the beginning, South Korea's depressed volleyball
The Korean women's volleyball team, which has lost face due to sluggish performances on the international stage recently, is seeking to rebound under the leadership of Fernando Morales. Morales has been with the team since the first day of the team's call-up, instilling in his philosophy and raising expectations. The Korean women's volleyball team, led by Morales, held an open training session at Jungang Girls' High School in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on the 1st and informed fans of the preparation process for the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Volleyball Nations League (VNL). Korean women's volleyball, which boasted world-class skills such as reaching the semifinals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, went downhill as veterans such as Kim Yeon-kyung, Kim Soo-ji (Heungkuk Life Insurance), and Yang Hyo-jin (Hyundai Engineering & Construction) retired. The Korean women's volleyball team has humiliating 27 consecutive losses in the VNL over the past two years, and bowed its head to all seven losses in the qualifying round for the 2024 Paris Olympics. It finished sixth, the worst ever at the Asian Championships, and fifth at the Hangzhou Asian Games with no win. Due to sluggish international performance, the public has lost interest in the event. This is also why open training sessions, which were held in Jincheon, were held in Seoul. In the end, Cesar Hernandez, who led the national team for two years, was virtually replaced and Morales took the helm. Under Morales, Korea will play in the VNL and seek to overcome the sluggish performance of no wins. To that end, Morales has been joining the players at Jincheon Training Center since April 15 to inject volleyball that he is pursuing. It is a big difference compared to Hernandez's joining the national team two days before the opening of the VNL. At the time, Hernandez gave feedback on the training through non-face-to-face contact, but the atmosphere is inevitably different from working together on the team. "This year, the coach is with us from the beginning of the training, so we are getting ready well," said Jung Ji-yoon (Hyundai Engineering & Construction). "The opposing teams are strong, but if we prepare well, we will have a chance of winning," he said. "I've been bitter and miserable because I haven't been able to win the VNL, but I'll definitely win this time." Coach Morales is calling for strengthening his offense through active games while giving autonomy to play and increasing creativity while working with the players. During the training on the day as well, Morales encouraged the team, saying, "We must perform aggressive matches as we have prepared. We don't have to worry about mistakes made in the course of the training." In fact, when players displayed aggressive attacks in the training, Morales showed off his accolades. In addition, Morales is focusing his efforts on instilling confidence in players who have been intimidated by repeated failures. The national team's ace, Kang So-hwi (Korea Expressway Corporation), said, "The players' confidence fell because they couldn't win a single game for two consecutive years, but the coach encouraged me, saying, 'It's okay, try it', so I'm going to play with confidence." Players are also active. Team captain Park Jung-ah (Pepper Savings Bank) and veteran Pyo Seung-joo (Director Jeong) do not shy away from physical conditions and set an example to younger players. It is also up to veteran players to take care of younger players and boost the team's atmosphere. The team, which has prepared more systematically and boosted its confidence than before, is determined to end its losing streak this year. "I felt bitter and miserable because I couldn't beat him in the VNL, but I will definitely win this time," Jung Ji-yoon said. South Korea will depart for Brazil on the afternoon of the 7th, adjust to the local area, and play against China on the 15th to start 2024 VNL. After that, South Korea will play in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil until the 19th, and then play in Arlington, Texas, from 28th to June 2nd, and Fukuoka, Japan from June 11th to 16th.