Thanks for everything Korea: between important evaluations and new experiences, the prestigious Asian tour of Vero Volley Monza has ended, which saw the first men’s team of the Consortium engaged from Tuesday 3rd to today, Monday 9th September, with the return flight to program from Seoul and return in the evening.
The promotional tour, organized on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Italy and the celebration of the 20th year of the foundation of professional volleyball in Korea, in collaboration also with KOVO – the Korean Volleyball Federation – and with KBSN – a company cable television -, had great visibility and as well as being a great experience for all the people and structures involved, it also represented an opportunity to test the condition of the first men’s team of the Consortium in view of the Italian Super Cup, the first official match of the season scheduled for Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September, and the imminent start of the SuperLega championship.
The two matches played against the home teams, the Korean Air Jumbos and the KOVO All Star Team, despite the result (two defeats against the Brianza team) were fundamental for an initial evaluation of the performance of the group, which is not yet complete due to the absence of Leandro Mosca. Beretta and his teammates, after only two weeks of training together, still showed good intensity and pace of play throughout the matches, also highlighting the elements that still needed to be worked on, as was normal with so little preparation time behind them .
The tour, however, did not only offer an important opportunity for on-field preparation; in fact, it also included several moments to discover Korea, its world and its volleyball, as well as leisure and entertainment, useful for remaining fascinated by local culture and traditions. The team was able to explore the city, walking through the streets of Suwon, on the ancient walls and visiting the King’s Palace also thanks to a truly exceptional guide, its young “home” athlete Woo-Jin Lee.
Then, on the occasion of Sport IT Day, Friday 6 September, captain Thomas Beretta together with the Sports Director of the Vero Volley Consortium, Claudio Bonati, were invited to the Italian embassy in Seoul, thus meeting the ambassador , Emilia Gatto. An interesting morning on the theme of sport, friendship and passion in which the national star Kim Yeon-koung and the Italian coach Marcello Abbondanza also took part, since 2022 on the bench of the Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders.
