On the 19th, Heungkuk Life Insurance, which operated as an agency system after manager Kwon Soon-chan was fired, announced the appointment of manager Marcello Abondanza (53). His contract period runs until the 2024-25 season.
Kim Yeon-kyung (35, Heungkuk Life Insurance) welcomed director Abondanza. The two are quite related. During his four years as player and manager at Türkiye Fenerbahçe, he won the league title and the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) Cup. 슬롯사이트
Previously, when coach Kwon Sun-chan was fired, Kim Yeon-kyung, who said, “Even if (who) comes as the next coach, I can’t trust it. (Through this controversy) After all, isn’t it that the club prefers a coach who listens well?” welcomed companionship. He is from a world-class master and is a foreign command tower, so he can be more free from the club’s instructions or pressure.
Kim Yeon-kyung said, “I was also surprised (to hear the news of the appointment). I received a lot of calls from players and coaches playing in Europe.”
Head coach Abondanza, who started his coaching career in 1996, has served as coach of the national teams of Bulgaria, Canada and Greece. He has also led world-class teams such as Fenerbahce, Lavita Baku in Azerbaijan, and Zanetti Bergamo in Italy.
This is the first time director Abondanza has appeared on the Asian stage. After entering Korea on the 18th and finalizing his contract, he exchanged greetings with the players for the first time. As related procedures such as visas were not completed, he watched the Heungkuk Life Insurance-GS Caltex game from the stands on the 19th. On this day, Kim Yeon-kyung led the team to a 3-1 victory with 21 points and an attack success rate of 55.56%. Kim Yeon-kyung laughed after the game, saying, “I met the coach for the first time in about 4 years, and for two days we had so many conversations that my ears were bleeding.” After the game, coach Abondanza came down to the court and had a conversation with Kim Yeon-kyung with a bright smile.
Kim Yeon-kyung said, “He wanted a lot of help from me,” and promised, “I will play a good role in the middle so that coach Abondanza can adapt to the V-League well.”
Kim Yeon-kyung’s goal is to win. The 2008-09 season was the last time they won the V-League. Heungkuk Life Insurance, who regained first place by defeating Pepper Savings Bank on the 15th, scored 66 points with a reverse win on the 19th, taking a step further from the pursuit of second place Hyundai Engineering & Construction (62 points). Kim Yeon-kyung said, “It would be a lie if I said I didn’t care about Hyundai E&C. My goal is to finish the remaining 7 games well and keep first place.”
Kim Yeon-kyung revealed that he was contemplating his retirement after the end of the Pepper Savings Bank on the 15th. He laughed and said, “Director Abondanza didn’t ask me to stay.