Heynen: Never call me ‘normal’

The 52-year-old Belgian has quite a list of coaching achievements, many of which he accomplished with the national team of Poland. When he took the reins of the White and Red team in February 2018, he set clear goals that he graduallypursued. One of them was an Olympic qualification, which his team won in adecisive manner in ERGO ARENA, Gdansk. The next and main step was an Olympic medal. This, however, was not meant to be. Although hopes were highand all odds seemed in Poland’s favour, their quest ended at the quarterfinals against France, who went on to become the new Olympic champions.

Known for getting the teams off the hook and taking them to a higher level of the game, Heynen always stresses that he "builds teams, not individuals". This is confirmed in every match with him atthe side line. After the failure in Japan, this team spirit may prove to be the key to success in theEuroVolley, which gives the reigning World Champions a chance to finish the season on a high noteand in front of the home crowd.

Unconventional approach, the famed ‘silly games’ in training, high rotation of players and no permanent starting line-up in his roster have all been the characteristics of the eccentric Belgian’s coaching style, which led Poland to thethird world championship in history in 2018. There has not been an equally colourful character at the head of the Polish national team in a long time, and many commentators admitted that their study books should now be written from scratch.