Tommy of Korean Air, who opened up the ‘dynasty’ with three consecutive victories in the men’s division of the professional volleyball V-League The purpose of coach Tillikainen (36, photo) participating in the 2023 Asian Men’s Club Championship held in Manama, Bahrain is clear. It is the growth of promising players who will become the driving force of the future. It would be icing on the cake if they achieved Asian dominance, but the main point is to provide young players with experience and a platform for growth.
On the 13th (local time), the day before the opening of the tournament, head coach Tillikainen said, “Among the key members of our team, setter Han, middle blocker Kim Gyu-min, and apositive spiker Lincoln are not registered on the roster for this tournament. It will be a big challenge for our team,” he said. “The reason I came to this competition is clear. I want to envision the future of our team.”
The schedule for this event is very tight. Starting on the 14th, after three consecutive days of group play, they have to take a day off and play the ranking game. Coach Tillikainen said, “The schedule for this tournament is too tight. All 14 registered players must be evenly appointed.”
The vacant position of player Han will be shared by veteran Kwang-woo Yoo and rookie Jin-hyeok Jeong, who is in his second year. Kwang-Woo Yoo, who led the Samsung Fire Dynasty in the past, has proven his performance, but he cannot play all games because of his chronic ankle disease. For Korean Air to advance to the quarterfinals, Jung Jin-hyeok needs to show performance comparable to that of Yoo Kwang-woo. Coach Tillikainen said, “Jeong Jin-hyeok is a setter who has been practicing hard in silence behind Player Han and Kwang-woo Yoo. He expressed his desire, saying, “I am looking forward to seeing how much he will show that achievement in the real world.” 바카라사이트
In the V-League, the official ball of the star is played, but in this tournament, the official ball of the international competition, Mikasa, is played. Coach Tillikainen said, “From my experience and feeling, the Mikasa ball has little advantage when hitting a spike serve. Poison to spike servers, benefit to receivers. On the other hand, the floater serve has more shake, which is helpful for servers and difficult for receivers to catch. We will make it possible to play well with the characteristics of the Mikasa official ball,” he explained.
Tillikainen began coaching the Asian team at the Asian Club Championships six years ago, coaching Japan’s Toyota Kosei (now Wolfdogs Nagoya). Tillikainen said, “At that time, we played 8 games in 10 days and went to the final. He said, “I have memories of losing the final to the Iranian team,” and “I will try to incorporate the experience of that time into this tournament.”
Tillikainen, who has been coaching in the Japanese league for three years, has a chance of meeting the Suntory Sunbirds, played by Dmitri Mushalski, who is considered the world’s best middle blocker, if he advances to the quarterfinals or higher. He said, “I dealt with Mushalski a lot when I was a manager in the Japanese league. He also has coping tactics against him.” “Of course, he is a player that is hard to stop even though he knows it,” he laughed.