Ansan Okman appoint Masaji Ogino as new head coach

Masaji Ogino poses for a photo in front of the Ansan OK Financial Group Okman logo on Monday. [YONHAP]

Ansan OK Financial Group Okman appointed Masaji Ogino of Japan as the club's new head coach on Monday.

The appointment makes Ogino the first-ever foreign coach in the Okman's 10-year history and the first-ever Japanese coach in the men’s V League.

“We considered appointing a foreign coach as a way to get back to basics since it is the 10th anniversary of the club's foundation,” the club said in a statement on Monday. “We interviewed outstanding candidates from countries like Brazil, France, Russia, Italy and Japan, and conducted written interviews.”

Ogino, 53, is a Japanese volleyball legend, having played as an opposite hitter from 1988 to 2010, during which he won the Japanese volleyball league seven times with the Suntory Sunbirds.

He also competed in the Olympics twice — the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics — and the FIVB World Championship three times in 1990, 1998 and 2006.

Following his retirement in 2010, Ogino immediately returned to the court as the Sunbirds head coach and led the team for two years, before taking charge again from 2017 to 2019.

“I know Korean volleyball well, and I’m familiar with it,” Ogino was quoted as saying by local media on Monday.

Ogino still keeps in touch with the Korean players he competed against when he was a player.

“I am happy that I can embark on a new challenge,” Ogino said. “I will reinforce the defense that is core to the team and create a system in which all attacking options are available.”

Okman finished in fifth place on the seven-team table in the 2022-23 season, missing a chance to play in the postseason for the second year in a row.

The Ansan side have never won the league title, although they have managed the championship twice in 2015 and 2016 after finishing the regular season as runners-up.

Okman's recent title drought is typical of the entire league, with the Incheon Korean Air Jumbos sweeping both trophies for the last three years.

The Jumbos even won absolutely everything available last season — the league title, the Korea Volleyball Federation Cup and championship — for the first time in the club’s history.

Ogino has plenty of time to work with his new club and put together a plan to challenge the Jumbos, as the 2023-24 season does not start until Oct. 14.

Ogino will first train with the Okman squad in Korea ahead of the upcoming season after his work visa is approved.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]