On Sunday, July 21st local time, the Japanese men's volleyball team held an open practice in Gdansk, Poland in place of a friendly match against Serbia, which they were unable to attend due to a global IT system problem.
After practice, I spoke with manager Philippe Blanc.
Toshiki: How are you feeling?
Blanc: We are very happy with our win yesterday. Each team is different in their preparation for the friendly match, but I think it was a positive experience and gave us confidence. I think yesterday's match was good preparation for the Olympics.
Toshiki: You will be playing against Germany in the opening match of the Paris Olympics. What is your impression of the German team?
Blanc: They're a very good team. They've grown a lot in the last few years, and they have a good balance between veterans and young players. They're also very tall, especially their middle blockers. They also have very good serves. I think our serve and serve reception, like yesterday, will probably be very important to win this match. It's going to be a very difficult match.
TOSHIKI: What element in particular would you like to improve in this final week?
Brann: In the last week? (laughs) It's difficult to improve something in a week, but in yesterday's match we had 10 (11 to be exact) block points, compared to Poland's 6. Usually it's the other way around. That means our blocks are improving. But yesterday was not just about that, except for the first set where we lost 5 aces, our serve reception was very good against Poland's strong serves. Therefore, we will continue to move in the same direction to endure in serve reception and get good side outs. These are the foundations of our volleyball.
Toshiki: We also have to prepare for the first match starting at 9am.
Brann: Yes, we're already training at 9am. We don't usually play games that early, so the players need to be used to being prepared for that. We're already working on that.
Toshiki: Finally, please tell us your goals for the Paris Olympics.
Bran: A medal.
Toshiki: Which color is it?
Blanc: Any color is fine. Of course, everyone wants to be the No. 1 color, but any color is great. But first and foremost, I want us to play our best volleyball. We may play against teams that are better than us, but if we play our best volleyball, we will have no regrets. We will do our best. And definitely, winning a medal will make history and make Japanese volleyball great.
Photo: Author
[PR] "ALL for DREAM -Footsteps to Glory- Japan Volleyball National Team Nations League 2024" will be available on U-NEXT from July 27th (Sat.)
A documentary program that closely follows the unknown behind-the-scenes of the "Volleyball Nations League 2024" and traces the fierce battles will be streamed on U-NEXT.
[Distribution date and time]
July 27th (Saturday) 5pm Boys #1 Boys #2
August 3rd (Saturday) 5pm Women's #1
Saturday, August 10th 5pm Women's #2
Saturday, August 24th 5pm Men's #3
Saturday, August 31st 5pm Women's #3
September 7th (Saturday) 5pm Men's #4
Saturday, September 14th 5pm Women's #4
(Quoted from TBS TV release)
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