Ahead of the first leg of the championship match, the Korean Air made an extremely strong attempt to replace a foreign player. Will Korean Air's chances work.
Korean Air, led by head coach Tommy Tilikainen, announced the replacement of foreigners on the afternoon of the 23rd. Korean Air said, "Instead of Murad Khan registered name Murad, we will replace him with Russian national Maxim Zigalov registered name Maxim, who is active in the Police Union in the Qatar League."
Korean Air said, "Murad, a current foreign player, was selected as a substitute due to the injury of his predecessor Lincoln Williams registered name Lincoln and contributed to his team's rise to the top of the regular league, but he decided to make a drastic replacement ahead of the championship game because he was judged to lack some ups and downs performance and personal skills."
Born in 1989, Maksim, a left-handed apogit spiker weighing 203 cm and weighing 92 kg, is a former Russian national team player who won the 2015 and 2017 European competitions.
After playing in overseas leagues such as Poland and the UAE, he is currently active in the Qatar League, ranking first in scorers and second in serves. Although he is in his mid-30s, he has shown performance in the Russian league and has played in China, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. He does not need to adapt himself to Asian volleyball.
Korean Air had 71 points 23 wins and 13 losses, beating second-ranked Woori Card 70 points, 23 wins and 13 losses by one point, and dramatically winning its fourth consecutive regular season title. Korean Air is aiming for its fourth consecutive win in a row for the first time in the V-League.
In fact, there were many twists and turns before coming here. The first place was not decided until the final regular league match. If Woori Card had won against Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Korean Air might have been playing in the playoffs in second place. In any case, the first gateway to the first integrated four-game losing streak in the V-League has passed, so now we have to pass the final gateway.
There are now three foreigners who joined Korean Air this season. The first foreign player was Lincoln. Lincoln, who played as the main catcher of Korean Air in the past two seasons, but his injury hampered him. Back injury was a problem.
In the 2021-22 season, when Lincoln made his V-League debut, he recorded 659 points in 34 games with 54.03 percent of attack success rate and 0.380 of serve per set. In the championship game with KB Insurance, he also recorded an attack success rate of 54.29 percent with 88 points in three games. In the third and final game, he scored 34 points and 48.21 percent of attack success rate, further strengthening his team's overall winning streak. He was named the MVP of the championship.
In the 2022-23 season, the second season after renewing his contract with Korean Air, he played in 31 games, recording a success rate of 55.09 percent for 599 points on offense. On the stage of the championship, he displayed an 86-point attack success rate of 53.47 percent in three games, helping Korean Air achieve its first treble regular league-champ match-cup competition.
Despite back pain this season, he worked hard with a success rate of 51.41% with 147 points in 12 games, but he was unable to continue his company in the end.
Korean Air replaced Lincoln with Murad from Pakistan. Murad was a temporary replacement for Lincoln in December last year, and he was a foreign player. As Lincoln couldn't play due to chronic back pain, Korean Air hired Murad as a temporary replacement.
Murad showed an "insane" performance in the match against Hyundai Capital on January 12, with 52 points and a 72.23% attack success rate. Although there were ups and downs after that, Korean Air was chosen in place of Lincoln, who is concerned about a recurrence of back injuries.
However, Murad did not show much performance. More days were spent as substitute, rather than starting player. He recorded 21 points against Woori Card in the fifth round, 23 points against Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in the sixth round, and 22 points against KEPCO in the sixth round, but his performance was regrettable afterward. One point against KB Insurance in the sixth round became Murad's last match against Korean Air. The season's final score was 246 points and 54.55 percent in 19 matches.
Maxim arrived at Incheon International Airport on the 22nd after the last match of the Qatar League on the 20th. Once the transfer process is completed, he will be able to play from the first round of the championship game.
In order to achieve its dream of winning the V-League's first four consecutive championships in a row, Korean Air has made an extraordinary effort to replace foreign players with less than a week left before the first round match of the championship game. Will Korean Air be able to take on the risk. 토토사이트
Korean Air said, "We will spare no support to help Maxim adapt to the team as soon as possible, and we will challenge to win the first four consecutive integrated championships in professional volleyball by recruiting foreign players with more stable and strong attack."