France coach Laurent Tillie is satisfied with his young players' performance in recent tournament as he sees a bright future for the team
Lausanne, Switzerland, May 31, 2017 – France coach Laurent Tillie and his players are determined to play FIVB Volleyball World League with a lot of ambition.
“We will go there with the ambition to play all the matches at a high level,” Tillie said. “When you play like that, you do not want to go down. In fact, it is fun to play well.
“We are targeting the podiums. Now we know we’re in a tough pool because we’re going to play Russia, Bulgaria and Argentina. Then we go back to France, where we play the United States, Russia and Italy, then we go back to Belgium.”
Tillie was delighted by France's victory over Germany in the qualification tournament for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship. The French coach is thrilled with the potential of his team, and foresees a very bright future.
“You cannot imagine my satisfaction because when we saw the draw, we thought it was impossible, as we were in a difficult pool with Germany,” Tillie said. “We had many injured players plus the departure of players from the team, so we were worried. So having a great result is such a big satisfaction for me.
“The average age of my players is 24, so we can look ahead to 2020 and 2024, it’s fantastic. When I took over as coach of the team, we were not qualified for anything, but we have now qualified for tournaments until 2019. Now there is only the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games left, so we have a great campaign to lead.”
Tillie is satisfied with the great things that have happened to France and with the great future that lies ahead for his team.
“I am happy because I see the qualification, I see the programming, and I see the backbone of this team as always so solid as well as the young players that have joined like Boyer, Chninenyeze, Bultor and Brizard. I also see Clevenot who did not play much last year but is shining today. Julien Lyneel who had injuries last year played a very good tournament. I have eyes that shine to see all this potential.”
Tillie said the atmosphere in the team was also part of the success of the programme.
“It’s primordial, it’s true that when we talk about high-level sport, we talk about physical ability, technique, mental strength and tactics,” Tillie said. “But there is also the social dimension of the team, which is very important because my senior players welcome the younger players so easily.”