The Italian coach, who worked in the period 2011-2013 with the Polish national team, joined the team from Gdansk before the season and a little bit unexpectedly brought them to the third position before the playoffs. Before the last game of regular season in Warszawa, Anastasi signed the new contract and kept himself in Gdansk for another two years.
Anna Wiecek: You have made your minds about your future very quickly.
Andrea Anastasi: I have a very clear vision of my work and of what I want to achieve. The idea seems to be the same with the project of the club. I didn’t want to wait until the end of the season with my decision, because Plus Liga this year is very long and if we end up playing until the middle of may, for me it is too late to decide what I want to do after.
– What was the main factor to keep you in Gdansk?
– The club believes in my view of this team and how I would like to continue my work. When I think about my work with them, I see improvement, development and a way of raising and not only the level of the team but also the club. We have here not only the men section of volleyball but also women team and a great basketball team. I found the development project of this club very interesting.
– You signed the contract for another 2 years, but the way you are explaining the project, sounds like a much longer process.
– I want to invest my time and experience in this team. I want that in the future it will be a club like now Skra Belchatow or Asseco Resovia Rzeszow. I want them to be well known in Europe. Of course it needs time and I have to be honest, we will not build a team to win Plus Liga in one year. It is impossible. But it doesn’t change the fact, that step by step we can improve us and hopefully this will lead to the better future.
– To improve the team you will definitely need bigger budget.
– That’s clear. Everybody knows that Gdansk doesn’t have the budget of Skra, Resovia or Kedzierzyn. But to get close to it in the future, we not only have to play better but also sell our team in the right way. Marketing is an essential factor to go further and is very important part of the project.
– So we are not talking about great money that kept you in Gdansk then?
– I have already received two offers from Russia and another polish club, much better money wise than that one from Gdansk. And we are probably talking like double better. But I am in this part of my life that I really don’t have to follow the money. If I did, I would be working in Katar right now. I follow what makes me happy and gives the greatest satisfaction. And this is what I found in Gdansk.
– Does it mean you gave up on working with the national teams?
– In this moment yes. I am not saying that something will not change in the future. All great national teams have in this moment very good coaches. Those that need one, aren’t interesting enough for me. I need to believe in the team I am working with. Jose Mourinho said once that he doesn’t want to take the national team because there is never enough time to improve the team the way he wants. After one year of me working in Gdansk, I agree with him totally. After 9 years of work with the National Teams, I want to concentrate on something different.
