Men's Volleyball Rising Star Lee Woo-jin Signs with Italy's Monza, Becoming First High School Player to Play Directly in Europe

Lee Woo-jin (18-Gyeongbuk, Korea) signs with Vero Vali Monza of the Italian professional volleyball league.

Men's volleyball standout Lee Woo-jin (18, Gyeongbuk, Korea) is set to enter the Italian professional volleyball first division.

The Italian club Vero Bali Monza announced on its website on the 7th (local time) that it has signed an internship contract with 195-centimeter outside hitter Lee Woo-jin.

The Italian league prohibits foreign players under the age of 19 from playing in official matches. Therefore, Lee will first sign an internship contract and then sign a formal contract in February next year. Terms such as salary have already been agreed upon.

Lee played at the Under-19 World Volleyball Championship in Argentina this August. South Korea finished third in the tournament for the first time in 30 years, and Lee made a name for herself by being named Best Offensive Player and Best 7.

After considering the possibility of playing professional volleyball in Korea and attending college, Lee turned his attention overseas after receiving an offer from Monza.

He became the first player to play in a European league straight out of high school.

In the past, Korean volleyball has seen the likes of Park Ki-won, the current head coach of the Thai National Team, Cho Hye-jung, the former head coach of GS Caltex, and Kim Ho-cheol, the current head coach of IBK, make it to Europe after playing for unemployed teams.

After 2005, when professional volleyball was established, men's player Moon Sung-min (Hyundai Capital) made it to the German league before graduating from Kyungpook National University in 2008.

In the women's game, Kim Yeon-kyung (Heungkuk Life) played in the V-League before moving to the Japanese League on loan and then to the Turkkiye League.

19가이드03; https://www.19guide03.com