27/02/2020 15:00
Fernando Muñoz takes over reins of Belgium’s Red Dragons
News from the National Federations
Brussels, Belgium, February 27, 2020. Volley Belgium have announced the appointment of 49-year-old Fernando Muñoz as the new head coach of their men’s senior national team. Muñoz signed a contract until 2024 with as key goals performing well at the 2021 and 2023 editions of EuroVolley and qualification for the 2022 World Championship.
Muñoz was at the helm of the Spanish team from 2011 until 2019. In that period, he claimed a number of medals from the European League and qualified for the last two editions of EuroVolley. He played the Belgian team during EuroVolley 2019 in Antwerp. As a club coach, Muñoz secured the Greek national league and the Greek Cup titles in 2018 and 2019. Moreover, he claimed the 2009 edition of the CEV Challenge Cup with Arkas IZMIR and has a number of titles from Spanish and Turkish domestic competitions on his resume as well.
The Belgian Federation is confident Muñoz will bring the Red Dragons to a higher level. He is very experienced in coaching top-level international teams in countries as diverse as Spain, Italy, Turkey and Greece. Besides that, he has experience in working on long-term projects with a defined vision. Muñoz is a professional coach, with the ability to work with and to motivate both young and experienced players. All these elements and some more convinced the Royal Belgian Volleyball Federation that Muñoz is the right man in the right place.
Muñoz’s first reaction: “For me it is a great honour to have the opportunity to work in Belgium with the Red Dragons. I would like to thank Jean-Paul De Buysscher and Koenraad Hoeyberghs for the trust they have showed in my abilities to pull this project together. The targets in a short, middle and longer time are very important, very motivating for each one of us. I am eager to start and have the first contact with this fantastic group of players, I hope and wish that all our fans will have much joy while following the team achieving the goals that we have set.”
His debut, quite interestingly, with the Red Dragons will be on May 30 during a European Golden League home match against Spain.
The staff includes assistant coach Christophe Achten, and an assistant coach and scouter TBA, medical staff Stijn Bogaerts, Styn Vereecken and Linde Hervent from SMAC UZ Leuven and physical trainers Fons Vranken and Steven Opsteijn.
Former Red Dragons head coach, Dominique Baeyens, will coordinate a talent team programme during the same 2020-2024 period to grow younger players and supervise their transition to the senior national team.
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