With the departure of coach Cai Bin, many people have started paying attention to the replacement of the head coach for the Chinese women's volleyball team. This is especially true as the neighboring American women's volleyball team has also completed a change in leadership with Sullivan taking office, which means that the American team will focus on enhancing their attacking capabilities. The change in the American team's head coach has made many netizens anxious about the future of the Chinese team, hoping that they can quickly determine their own head coach.
In such circumstances, not only has the Chinese team not decided who the head coach will be, but there are also rumors that the director of the Volleyball Management Center, Li Quanqiang, is under investigation, causing concern for the future of the Chinese team. Kong Ning revealed that the current head coach position for the Chinese team has become a hot potato, with no one daring to take it on, as the golden period has been exhausted. The foundation for the next Olympics will definitely not be this group, meaning that the head coach must not only solve the players' strength issues but also screen young talents in training. However, it is unrealistic to expect results at the Los Angeles Olympics while simultaneously selecting from the youth training pool.
Many coaches are well aware that if they really want to cultivate young talents, audiences will not understand the hardships of the coaches and may even continue to cyberbully them when results are poor. Although Cai Bin's abilities were indeed lacking, he can serve as a cautionary tale for other coaches. Therefore, many well-known coaches are not very interested in becoming the head coach of the Chinese team, leading to the current situation where the head coach position has not been determined.
With domestic coaches generally unwilling to coach, the Volleyball Association has considered foreign coaches. However, Kilar signed with the American Volleyball Association and became the head coach of the American men's team, while Guedti's contract ends at the end of 2025, making it unlikely for him to join the Chinese team this year, as he would find it difficult to balance coaching between the club and the national team. In such circumstances, the options for the Chinese team are limited, and the association is likely to target the renowned coach Hernandez, who recently stepped down from coaching a top club.
As a well-known Spanish women's volleyball coach, Hernandez achieved good results while coaching Galatasaray and has a strong ability to cultivate young players, having trained many young talents. With such experience, Hernandez is a suitable candidate for the head coach position of the Chinese team. Moreover, his ability to adapt to changing situations is excellent, often adjusting according to the players' conditions, which is a clear difference compared to Cai Bin. If Hernandez can really join the Chinese team, it might be a good addition for them.
Although the golden period for the Chinese team has passed, becoming the head coach of the Chinese team is also a significant challenge for Hernandez and could add another glorious chapter to his career. First, the Chinese team was once the strongest women's volleyball team in the world. Although their performance has declined, they still hold the fifth place globally. If Hernandez can help the Chinese team overcome the transition period, he will have more confidence in working with top clubs in the future. Furthermore, coaching a national team is a significant challenge. For Hernandez, how to use the vast national resources to help the national team find suitable players is also a considerable issue!