The coaches of the six teams in Matsumoto pose for a picture at a press conference on Friday
Matsumoto, Japan, August 21, 2015 – The FIVB World Cup will get under way in Tokyo and Matsumoto on Saturday. Algeria, China, Korea, Peru, Serbia and USA will play each other in Matsumoto. Ahead of the action, the coaches gave their thoughts at a press conference at the team hotel in Matsumoto.
USA coach Karch Kiraly: We’re honoured to be here in this great competition with these phenomenal teams. It’s a beautiful test in a tournament where every team must play every opponent. Our team’s excited and healthy, and our goal is to try as hard as we can to win the next point. We think all the other teams are really strong, but we’re more concerned with what we are doing on our side of the net. Every team is trying to learn and get better and that’s what we’re doing, too.
Korea coach Lee Jungchul: We are very happy to be able to take part in this competition. We have some new members from a new generation. Last time, we finished ninth in the tournament and our goal this time is to be at least sixth. Some of our players have injuries, but they are young and energetic and today we had a good practice. Tomorrow, we have a match against a very, very strong team, USA, so I’m hoping we will be able to do our best.
Serbia coach Zoran Terzic: We are very proud and honoured to be in the World Cup. Unfortunately, I’m not so sure about my team’s condition because in the last month we didn’t play any games. But we’ll see tomorrow. Our target, like every time, is to try and win every game. Of course, it will be very difficult as we will play against the best teams in the world, but this is our target.
China coach Lang Ping: I’d like to thank the organisers for providing a wonderful environment at this World Cup. One of our players is injured and in the end two players weren’t able to take part in this competition. Instead, some young players joined the team and we are hoping to do our best.
Peru coach Mauro Marasciulo: We are very happy to be taking part in the World Cup. Our team are young and I am happy for them to be able to take part in such a big tournament. Our condition is good and we are at a high level. We had a good result in the South American Championship, so I hope we can keep a high level in this tournament as well.
Algeria Henni Abdelhalim: We are here with a young team. As the African Games are taking place at the same time, our federation had to produce two teams. For the team in this tournament, our goal is to get the maximum experience.