Nikolay Karpol, head coach of the Russian women's volleyball
team, said on Saturday that he would call it quits after the Athens
Olympics.
The ill-tempered guru coach said that it was the time to say
goodbye to volleyball.
"A lot of time has passed and indeed I believe it is the right
time for me to finish my active career of coaching," he said.
Karpol initially coached former Soviet Union women's team
between 1979 and 1982. After three years as Croatia coach, he came
back in 1988 to coach former Soviet Union and later Russia for 16
years.
"Behind me there are quite a lot of years of work as a
volleyball coach," said the 66-year-old. "I had five Olympic finals
and I got two gold medals and three silvers."
???
The Russian team squandered a two-set lead to lose to China in
the five-set final Saturday night.
"There was a time when China learned from former Soviet Union,"
said Karpol. "Now comes another time that Russia and other
countries learn from China."
But Karpol refused to disclose who would be his successor, only
saying the new coach would be decided soon.
"This issue has not been decided yet, but you will know in
upcoming six months," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2004)