The women’s professional volleyball team Heungkuk Saengsaeng has hired two foreign coaching staff members to assist head coach Abondanza. They are coach Farouk Feray and trainer Ivan Bragagni. Feray is also the husband of former V-Leaguer Helen Russo.
Heungkuk Life has completed its coaching staff ahead of the 2023-24 season. The existing coaching staff will remain in place for the new season, with Abondanza taking over the reins at the end of last season. In addition, Coach Perey and Trainer Bragagni from Turkiye and Italy, respectively, will succeed Head Coach Kim Dae-kyung.
A representative from Heungkuk Life said, “All contracts have been finalized. Trainer Bragagni joined us after the end of the season and has already conducted one training session with us. Coach Perey is scheduled to arrive in June.”
Perey, born in 1993, is Rousseau’s husband. Rousseau, a Belgian, played for Hyundai E&C as a foreign player in the 2020-21 season. He will be coaching in the Korean league where his wife played. Feray has been coaching at Turkiye Fenerbahçe since 2014. Since then, he has coached at Chemic Police in Poland (2018), Nilufer in Turkuje (2019), Turkuje Airlines (2019), Stuttgart in Germany (2021-2022), and this year he is starting a new chapter in the Korean V-League.
Trainer Bragagni has a colorful resume. Born in 1972, he worked as an assistant coach and physical coach in Italy between 2003 and 2013. In 2013, he moved to Turkuye, where he spent four seasons with Fenerbahçe. He continued his career as a physical coach at Turkkiye Airlines, where Avondanja was also head coach the previous season. She has also coached the Italian and Bulgarian women’s national teams and the Danish men’s national team.
Both have strong ties to Abondanza. They have coached together at several teams in Italy, the Turkkiye League, and elsewhere.
“In Europe, it is common practice to divide the volleyball and fitness staff into areas to maximize their expertise. We want to incorporate the advanced European system that can improve players’ capabilities by separating training parts in detail. In addition, the addition of a foreign coach will strengthen Coach Abondanza’s plans for the season 스포츠토토.”
Meanwhile, Heungkuk Life held its first training session in early May before holding foreign player tryouts. This was because Abondanza wanted to check on players who hadn’t gotten much playing time. After a one-month break, the team will resume preparations for the season in mid-June.