Volleyball: Daniel Castellani will be the new coach of the Panteras

A legend of Argentine volleyball will lead Las Panteras. Daniel Castellania member of the teams that won the bronze medals at the 1982 World Cup in Argentina and the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he will be the new coach of the women’s team.

The coach is currently in Turkey, where he coaches the team of Fenerbahce IDH Sigorta, which contests that country’s Men’s League. His contract with that club expires in April, after which he will take over full time of selected blue and white. will replace Ernan Ferrarowho decided to leave the team for personal reasons after the World Cups in Poland and Holland which were played between 23 September and 15 October.

“I am happy and honoured. Being a Las Panteras coach is a unique opportunity and a great challenge.. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Thanks to FeVA, the Sports Secretariat and ENARD for trusting me”, commented Castellani, in communication via Zoom, during the presentation made by the Argentine Volleyball Federation (FeVA) at CeNARD.

Present at the brief event were Juan Sardo, president of FeVA, Inés Arrondo, Secretary of Sport of the Nation, Mario Moccia, president of the Argentine Olympic Committee, and Olympian Emilce “Mimi” Sosa representing the team.

“When the Volleyball Federation communicated to raise this possibility and Daniel’s interest return to work in the country, we thought their return was very importantto continue promoting women’s volleyball, as it is a very community sport present in thousands of clubs in our country”, analyzed Arrondo.

Juan Sardo, president of FeVA, concluded: “This contract is the best response we can give to the growth, drive and strength of women’s volleyball. Castellani comes to do a complete job, to bring his knowledge and experience, but also to collaborate in creating a sustainable basis for the continuous improvement of the entire discipline, we are delighted”.

The contract agreed between Castellani and FEVA is for dedication full time (12 months a year) since the objective is that the coach, in addition to managing Las Panteras, coordinates the work in the basic teams and interacts with the federative volleyballdeepening the growth highlighted in recent years.

The first major sporting challenge for the team, with Castellani on the bench, will be the Pan American Games to be held in Santiago de Chile from 20 October to 5 November of the following year.

During the presentation of the new coach, the FEVA and COA authorities highlighted the great work done by Ferraro during his cycle at the helm of the team. At that time, The Panthers They qualified for the Olympic Games for the second time (Tokyo 2020) and managed to pass, also for the first time, the initial phase of a World Cup, in that tournament which ended up marking their farewell.

Castellani managed our country’s men’s team from 1993 to 1999, and was also the head coach of the national teams of Poland (2009/2010) and Finland (2012).

At club level, he was multiple champions with Bolívar in Argentina and experiences added in Turkey, Brazil, Poland, Belgium and Italy.