Cesar Gonzalez, coach of the Korean women’s volleyball team, is coming to Korea in mid-February. The Korea Volleyball Association (hereinafter referred to as the Volleyball Association) announced that “Director Gonzalez will enter the country on February 13th.”
Coach Gonzalez does not stay in Korea for long. She leaves the country on the 15th of the same month. He is also a coach for power analysis of Bakibank in the Turkiye (Turkey) League. The Turkish League is also in the middle of the 2022-23 season, so it is not possible to leave the team for a long time.
The Volleyball Association said in a phone call with ‘INews 24’ on the 27th, “Coach Gonzalez plans to watch the V-League game in person after entering the country.” Due to the short schedule, the match is likely to be the 5th round of the 2022-23 season V-League between Hyundai E&C and Korea Expressway Corporation, scheduled to be held at Suwon Gymnasium on February 14th.
Coach Gonzalez will also hold a press conference on how to manage the national team after entering the country. The Volleyball Association explained, “When the schedule is confirmed, it will be officially announced.”
González joined the coaching staff in 2019 when Stefano Lavarini was appointed head coach of the women’s national team. ‘Lavalini’ succeeded in advancing to the semifinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. 스포츠토토
The Volleyball Association pushed for a renewal of the contract with coach Lavarini at the time, but it did not happen. Coach Lavarini later moved to the command tower of the Polish women’s volleyball team, and the Volleyball Association entrusted Coach Gonzalez with the leadership of the women’s national team as Lavarini’s successor in October 2021. The term of office runs until 2024, the year the Paris Olympics will be held.
‘Gonzalez’ has not been able to achieve satisfactory results in the international competitions it has participated in so far. In the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) hosted by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) held last year (2022), he lost all 12 games. At the World Championships held in September of that year, he also slipped in the group stage with 1 win and 4 losses.
The performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which is approaching this year, is also unpredictable. Kim Yeon-kyung (Heungkuk Life Insurance), Kim Su-ji (IBK Industrial Bank of Korea), and Yang Hyo-jin (Hyundai E&C) announced their retirement from the national team after the Tokyo Olympics, and the national team is undergoing a generational change.
In the midst of this, in the process of selecting the national team, there was a big difference in opinion with the V-League commanders. Although coach Gonzalez has a short time, attention is focused on how he will share sympathy with V-League coaches and narrow differences of opinion through this visit to Korea.
Gonzalez will participate in the VNL from May to July, and in September, the world qualifiers for the Paris Olympics and the Hangzhou Asian Games will be held. Meanwhile, Bakibank is in second place in the league with 14 wins and 1 loss as of the 27th (Korean time).
Exashibashi and Fenerbahce, where Kim Yeon-kyung played, are ranked 1st and 3rd in the league with 16 wins and 11 wins and 4 losses, respectively.