"Murad's skills are lacking" Korean Air signs Russian national teamer Maksim
The Korean Air Jumbos volleyball team, which is looking to win its fourth consecutive title, has made another move.
Korean Air announced on Wednesday that it will replace current foreign player Murad Khan with Russian national Maksim Zhigalov (real name: Maksim), who plays for Police Union in the Qatar League.
Maksim, born in 1989, is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound left-handed apogee spiker who is a former Russian national team member who won the 2015 and 2017 European Championships.
In addition to his home league in Russia, he has played in various overseas leagues such as Poland and the UAE, and is currently playing in the Qatar League, where he ranked first in the league in scoring and second in serving with his excellent offense and technique.
Maksim arrived at Incheon International Airport on Dec. 22 after the last game of the Qatar League.
Once the transfer process is completed, he is expected to be available for the first leg of the championship match.
Murad, the current foreign player, was selected as a substitute after an injury to his predecessor Lincoln and helped the team to the top of the 토토 regular season. However, due to his up-and-down performances and lack of individual skills, the team decided to make a drastic change ahead of the championship match.
Korean Air clinched the regular season title on Nov. 16. Woori Card lost to Samsung Fire in a full-set thriller to finish with 23 wins, 13 losses and 70 points. They were unable to overturn Korean Air's (23-13, 71 points) score, and Korean Air was able to miraculously 'sit back' and clinch the title.
If Korean Air wins the championship, they will become the first team in the V-League to win four consecutive titles. Korean Air made a last-minute move to replace the underutilized Murad with Maksim, who has a solid attacking presence.
"We will spare no effort to help Maksim adapt to the team as quickly as possible, and we will challenge for the first time in professional volleyball's history to win four consecutive championships by signing a foreign player with more stable and powerful offense," Korean Air said.