"Korean players should go overseas and gain various experiences."

Ogiino Masaji, the first Japanese coach in the men's V-League of professional volleyball, stressed the urgent need for Korean players to advance overseas to develop Korean volleyball. 토토사이트 순위

In an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo at The K Hotel Seoul in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 8th, Coach Ogiino said, "The Korean players I played with when I was active not only had good defense but never dropped the ball to the ground," adding, "It was somewhat different from now."

Up until the 1970s and 1980s, Korean volleyball was in the top 10 at world events such as the Olympics and the World Cup, but it began to falter in the late 1990s when many Korean volleyball teams were disbanded due to the financial crisis. Meanwhile, teams that were lagging behind Korea have improved their skills and surpassed Korean volleyball one by one. Japanese volleyball is one of them.

Korean volleyball was ahead of Japanese volleyball when coach Ogiino was a professional Japanese player, but now it is the opposite. Japanese volleyball ranks fourth and ninth respectively in the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), while Korean volleyball ranks 28th and 40th respectively.

Japanese volleyball also had a period of stagnation, but it broke through with overseas expansion, coach Ogiino said. "Players who have various experiences in high-level overseas leagues returned to the national team or the Japanese professional league and delivered good culture and technical capabilities, which was a great help to the growth of Japanese volleyball."

He stressed that Korean players should also actively advance overseas. "Korean players are only playing volleyball in Korea," Ogiino said. "Foreign players come to the team and compete together, but that alone has limitations." He added, "It is regrettable that not many players have experienced different environments as there are very few players going to foreign leagues."

In fact, it is very rare that they have actually advanced overseas, such as when Kim Ho-chul, the head coach of IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, and Kim Yeon-kyung (Heungkuk Life Insurance), and Moon Sung-min (Hyundai Capital). "It has been pointed out for a long time that professional players should be active in overseas expansion, but it is not easy," a volleyball official said. "I don't think I can find a reason to go abroad to challenge because I am receiving abundant support and high salary from domestic clubs."