Woori Card’s foreign duo is adjusting to life in a foreign land, South Korea.
Woori Card signed Slovenia’s Matej Kok as a foreign player and Japan’s Issei Otake as an Asian quarterback ahead of the 2023-2024 season. Both players are new to Korea. Matej is the only foreign player this season with no V-League experience. Issei is also one of the main characters of the Asian Quarter, which is being introduced for the first time this year. Woori Card head coach Shin Young-cheol plans to utilize Matei as an outside spiker and Issei as a middle blocker.
According to a WooriKad official, the two have already become “best friends”. They have become so close that they spend a lot of time commuting to and from the training center together. Matei was born in 1996 and Issei was born in 1995, making them close in age. Due to the time of their arrival in Korea and the fact that it was their first time in a foreign country, they are already attracting great expectations as the ‘combo’ of Woori Card.
The two players, who met at the Danyang preseason tournament on the 19th, agreed. Matei said, “I got to know Issei quickly. When we talked, we realized that we had a lot of overlapping friends. It was easy to talk to him and get close to him. The people around us also had a lot of good things to say about Issei. I realized that she was a good influence on the team.” Issei also said, “We got along quickly because I speak a little English. We often talk about training and matches. We have a lot of similar ideas, so I think we help each other. It helps me to adapt to Korea and the team.”
Both players put in their resumes to come to Korea and were selected by Woori Card. They are enjoying their new life in Korea, even though it is unfamiliar to them. Matej says, “The environment is very different from Europe, especially the food. But the club takes care of me a lot. I’m also happy with the training environment. I didn’t know much about Korean volleyball, but the level is much higher than I thought.” Issei added, “There are many Korean restaurants in Japan. So I’m familiar with it. In fact, I can’t name a single dish on the menu, so I like Korean food and eat it well. I don’t have any problems. As Matei said, the volleyball environment in Korea is really good. I think it’s a very competitive place,” she said.메이저사이트
The motivation is there. Matei is the only “new face” this season, so she’s attracting more attention. It’s still hard to predict, so Chomi is interested to see how she performs. “I know a lot of people are watching,” he said, “and I know our card has done well in recent years. We have a lot of responsibility. I’ll do my best to make sure we can do that again this season. Our team has potential. I will do my best to lead the way to achieve good results.” Issei added, “I think we need to do better because it’s the first year for the Asian quota. I think all the Asian Quarter players from other teams are my rivals.” “I’m preparing well for the season with my coach. It helps that he gives us a lot of orders in training. I will prepare better for the rest of the season and hope to do well when the season starts.”
“Don’t get injured, rest well, and be strong,” they both said to each other as they prepare for the new season.
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