One of the heartwarming scenes from the 2022-2023 season V-League awards ceremony held on the 10th is the awarding of the Director Award. When Korean Air coach Tommy Tillikainen (Finland) was announced as the winner, Hyundai Capital coach Choi Tae-woong went up to the podium and handed a bouquet of flowers. Then he lightly hugged him and patted him on the shoulder. He congratulated them heartily.
Korean Air and Hyundai Capital were contenders for the men’s championship this season. The two teams battled for the top spot throughout the season. In the end, with Korean Air winning the championship match, the victory and defeat ended the season so amicably.
The competition for pride between domestic and foreign commanders is on the rise.
The men’s division has already been occupied by Gentile’s command tower. Ahead of the 2020-2021 season, Korean Air had fun entrusting the baton to director Roberto Santili (Italy), the first foreign commander in the men’s division. After that, coach Tillikainen continued to win the combined championship for three consecutive seasons. Through this, concerns about foreign directors were completely washed away. On the contrary, positive factors were highlighted.
Coach Choi risked the pride of a domestic leader and set up a multiple base. He openly issued a challenge, saying that it would be difficult to recover his pride if he could not surpass Korean Air. However, he showed limitations in the regular league as well as in the championship game.
Coach Tillikainen said, “Volleyball never stops. There will be other opportunities and new opponents,” he said, confident of winning the unified championship for four consecutive seasons. On the other hand, coach Choi said, “The era of Hyundai Capital, which has completed a generational change, will come,” and said, “The next season will come.”
In the case of the women’s division, the first place in the regular league was taken by Heungkuk Life Insurance coach Marcello Abondanza (Italy). Fans were very interested in the title of ‘World Master Chief’, and he tasted first place in 6 games after debuting in the V-League. The combined victory also looked like a solid road. He crossed the 9th division ridge by taking the 1st and 2nd rounds of the champ.
However, Korea Expressway Corporation was not an easy opponent. After paying back the 2 losses suffered on the road at home, they succeeded in reversing after a bloody battle of 158 minutes, the longest time in the postseason, in the final 5th game away. Road Corporation coach Kim Jong-min, who led the team to win the first ever ‘reverse sweep’, confessed his hardships, saying, “Only in the women’s team, there were quite a few coaches who wanted a team led by a domestic coach to win.” “I wasn’t prepared enough,” Abondanza said.토스카지노 I will think more about what kind of volleyball to show,” he said, promising the next season.
The competition in good faith between the command towers is a box office factor. Regardless of who is in charge, it is important to improve tactical perfection and achieve results. Bench’s battle of resourcefulness toward the championship next season is expected to heat up even more.