27-ABRIL-2012
FLAVIO GULINELLI: "I BELIEVE IN A GOOD PERFORMANCE"

A few days before the Men's Senior National Team returning to work, Flavio Gulinelli, the new national coach, seems aware of what the team will face in the coming months - the first, from May to July, is the World League and then from the 6th to the 16th of September is the Qualification Round for the 2013 European Championship - but he believes that the will to work prevails over all challenges.

He talks about their expectations and traces the lines of work and sets ambitions:
"The first week of work will be dedicated to physical and technical aspects of the athletes. I have a reasonable notion of the value of experienced players, but do not know the specific features of the newest although I have already seen some of the workouts.

I'll also talking with the older players to get in the programme of preparation for the national team all summer, during the World League and before the participation in qualifying for the European Championship.

The fundamentals are important in modern volleyball serve, reception and the pass and, from what I've seen so far, I think the level of serve is not very high, but it is still too early to draw judgments about this selection.
Given the characteristics of the Belgian National Team as well as the fact that we play three friendly matches in a row with the same formula of competition that will be used in the World League, I believe that the Belgians will be a good opponent for this stage of our preparation.

To me, it's a very good opportunity to make an assessment of work done in the next two weeks.
Coaches must always be demanding, but just right, or we must give to receive, on an equitable basis. I think the coach's personal relationship with the athletes is very important, as well as the sharing of responsibilities. My way of being a coach is to monitor closely the players, both in practice and in matches. I like to be not only a friend but also a second father.

Throughout my career I was very lucky to be working with very good coaches and Velasco [Argentina], Bebeto [Brazil], Montali [Italian] and many of the world's best players. I was always learning something from each one. I have a particular model, because I believe that my training of 20 years as a coach is still evolving.

The team for the World League is not yet defined. The main idea would be to close the level of new entered players with the most experienced. And the only way to succeed in doing this is giving the young the opportunity to play, not just train. Then in the second part of summer, we must form the best possible group to play European Championship".

More information: www.fpvoleibol.pt / www.facebook.com/fpvoleibol / www.fivb.org / www.cev.lu