Paris (AFP)
Laurent Tillie is "on track" to lead the French volleyball team at the Olympic Games in the summer of 2021 in Tokyo, when he was supposed to leave the Blues in 2020 to coach the Japanese club Osaka.
"I have an agreement with the Japanese (to assume the two roles). They talk to the bosses of Panasonic (the sponsor, editor's note) and are very enthusiastic. The president Eric Tanguy was very clear and gave me the agreement of the federation (FFVB) to continue. We must finalize it anyway, "said the coach on Wednesday.
The Japanese season ends in early May. "Even if I go all the way with the club, I will be able to continue on to the League of Nations and the Olympic Games," he said.
Tillie, 56, at the head of the French team since 2012, said she was "struck" at first by the postponement of one year of the Games, originally scheduled from July 24 to August 9, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"For an event that you have been waiting for four years, when you know the importance of the Games for an athlete, the announcement cuts you a dream, even if the decision is logical and unavoidable. What made me bounce back was was that it was only a postponement of a year. It would have been impossible with a two-year delay. There, it is a continuity, "he explained.
© 2020 AFP