Around the Spring Festival, around the eighth day of the first lunar month, the new training squad of the Chinese women's national volleyball team will be announced, and at that time, the identity of the new head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team will become clear!
Can Cai Bin, the former head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team, set a world precedent by renewing his contract without outstanding achievements and coaching the Chinese women's national volleyball team for the third time?
Is this possible? Will it become a reality?
Of course, it is unlikely!
Looking at it from nine aspects:
First, defeat in the Olympic qualifying tournament.
With the advantage of time, place, and strong troops at home, the Chinese women's volleyball team failed to secure an Olympic berth at the first opportunity. In the 2023 Olympic qualifying tournament, the Chinese women's volleyball team performed miserably, suffering three consecutive defeats, failing to directly qualify for the competition, and only managed to enter through their world ranking. This result not only disappointed fans but also exposed Cai Bin's shortcomings in on-site command and strategic deployment.
Second, the Paris Olympic performance fell short of expectations. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team's performance did not meet the general expectations of fans and the media. Although the team had a strong lineup, they ultimately finished only fifth, failing to reach the semifinals. As head coach, Cai Bin must bear responsibility for this outcome. In competitive sports, results are often an important criterion for measuring a coach's level, and Cai Bin's failure to lead the team to a breakthrough at the Olympics naturally became a major obstacle to his renewal.
Third, coaching style under scrutiny.
Cai Bin's coaching style has been controversial during his tenure. Some fans and media believe that his tactics are too conservative, lacking innovation and change. In the increasingly fierce international volleyball competition, such a coaching style is clearly unfavorable for the team's long-term development. Especially in key matches, Cai Bin's tactical choices and player arrangements often fail to achieve ideal results, drawing widespread criticism from fans and the media. This criticism not only affects Cai Bin's reputation but also puts him under greater pressure when renewing his contract.
Fourth, no new talent cultivated!
During Cai Bin's nearly three years of coaching the national team for the second time, he favored the middle generation, relied heavily on veteran players, and completely followed the lineup left by Lang Ping, suppressing potential newcomers like Wu Mengjie, Wang Yizhu, and Chen Peiyuan, failing to effectively cultivate new young players. This has led to a shortage of talent reserves and a lack of fresh blood for the team. For a team that needs continuous development, this is undoubtedly a serious problem. Fans and the media generally hope to see more promising young players emerge in the Chinese women's volleyball team, but Cai Bin falls short in this regard!
Fifth, double standards in treating national team players, affecting team unity. The obvious double standards in treating Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning have affected the Chinese women's national volleyball team's unity, leading to a decline in the team's cohesion and combat effectiveness.
Sixth, inability to build a core team.
During Cai Bin's second stint as head coach of the Chinese women's volleyball team, he never established a clear core team. For Li Yingying, the first spiker of the Chinese women's volleyball team, the most powerful player in the team, and the top scorer of the national team, there has never been a clear position, and she was not established as the core of the national team in a timely and decisive manner like Lang Ping did. After Zhu Ting returned to the national team, Cai Bin consciously or unconsciously downplayed her role. Without a clear core and unclear player positioning, it is objectively impossible to achieve true team unity, and combat effectiveness is weak in critical moments.
Seventh, controversy over tactical choices and player selection
In the Olympic qualifying tournament, the World Women's Volleyball League, and the Paris Olympics, Cai Bin's tactical choices and player arrangements have sparked widespread controversy. Especially in key matches, his decisions often become questionable. For example, in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, the Chinese women's volleyball team narrowly lost 2:3 to Turkey, failing to achieve the goal of standing on the podium. In this match, Cai Bin's tactical choices and player arrangements were widely questioned, considered one of the main reasons for the team's loss. This controversy not only affected Cai Bin's reputation but also posed a greater challenge to his renewal.
Eighth, failure to make the best use of talent, even before the Paris Olympics, the return of core players like Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning should have injected new vitality into the team, but Cai Bin did not make sufficient adjustments in tactics and player selection, failing to fully leverage the roles of Zhu Ting and Zhang Changning, resulting in poor performance in matches. Moreover, facing the new trends and challenges in the international volleyball arena, Cai Bin seemed overwhelmed and unable to lead the team to adapt to these changes in a timely manner.
Ninth, disappointment from the Volleyball Association and fans, Cai Bin loses trust.
One manifestation of losing the trust of the Volleyball Association: Fans complained to the General Administration of Sport, forcing Cai Bin to publicly admit his mistakes and make promises on CCTV.
Another manifestation of losing the trust of the Volleyball Association: The director of the Volleyball Management Center of the General Administration of Sport, Lai Yanwen, personally served as an assistant coach for the Chinese women's national volleyball team, essentially taking charge on the front lines to supervise Cai Bin and the national team coaching staff.
Cai Bin lost the trust of the fans: The president of the Jiangsu women's volleyball team fan association openly called for Cai Bin to step down, fans surrounded the team bus after the Chinese women's national volleyball team's match, chanting for Cai Bin to step down, and even at the match site, there were calls for Cai Bin to step down. This may be the first time in the history of the Chinese women's volleyball team.
Considering the above nine factors, it is unlikely that Cai Bin will renew his contract and become the head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team for the third time! Otherwise, it would set a world precedent!