Modena officially presented its new coach Julio Velasco to the press and fans this week. The transfer can be considered the deal of the season in the Italian league, as Modena seemed to be out of choices after a power struggle within the team saw it lose coach Radostin Stoytchev, and stars Earvin Ngapeth and Bruninho. In addition, Velasco agreed to forego the last 2 years of his contract with the Argentinian national team to close the deal with the club. Here are his first few words at the helm of the team:
“First of all I want to thank Catia Pedrini, and also the President of the Argentine Federation, who gave me the chance to come here. If I could not have interrupted my contract, as I still had two years on it, this would not have been possible. Modena is a team with a great history, it’s my home, and I’ve never hidden from anyone that I am a fan of this team. I am very happy to be here, to have Cantagalli as an assistant and Sartoretti as director, I am sure that we will work together very well. We do not make promises, they are useless, we will play to win because Modena always plays to win. We must play with a Modena mentality, from those who are not afraid of anyone and have a well-defined game system.”
Velasco is an icon of Italian volleyball. As Modena’s coach in the 80’s, he led the team to 4 Italian Championships (1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, and 1988-89) in addition to leading Italy’s national team to 2 World Championships (1990 and 1994) and 5 World Leagues (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 1995). This year, he’ll partner up with Team USA’s Micah Christenson and Max Holt. With his expertise and a super team at hand, how car can this Modena team go?
Si comincia! 💪💛💙 #NSLS pic.twitter.com/dd3qzWA6jc
— MODENA VOLLEY (@modenavolley) October 1, 2018
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