Trento, 04 July 2023

Kozamernik: "I’ve always wanted to come back and restart from where I left in 2018"

Jan Kozamernik’s first interview as a Trentino Volley player, 27-year-old Slovenian middle blocker, confirmed today.

Welcome back to Trento, Jan!
"Thank you! It has been a long period of absence in which, however, I have never stopped following, with affection, sympathy and curiosity, the events of Trentino Volley, a society I owe a lot to. I always hoped to be able to return one day and so now I am very happy. It is true that the shortlist has completely changed compared to that season (the 2017/18, ed.) but I already know many players of the group like Podrascanin, Michieletto, who at the time had done the pre-season preparation with us, and especially Sbertoli, with whom I played for three years in Milan and with whom I have already established a good harmony, off and on the court."
What has changed since 2017/18 season and how you changed?
“Trentino Volley has remained an iconic volleyball club and has continued to be competitive on all sides. I am definitely more mature, more convinced of my own means but also more rational, more aware and more relaxed. Qualities that are acquired over time, by being on court."
Are serve and block still your trademarks?
"These two fundamentals remain my main strengths, as they were in 2017, although now I feel much improved in attack as well, and with Sbertoli everything will be easier for me. The thing that objectively gives me the most satisfaction, is definitely making a winning block; I live this kind of situation as a constant challenge with the opposite attacker."
Throughout the season, you will have many occasions to show how much you’ve grown in the last years…
"Between Champions League, league and Super Cup, we won't get bored at all; the schedule will be very busy, but players like me who wear the national team jersey are used to these rhythms. I am happy to play so many events and the goal always remains one: to win!"
What did you keep of Trento in your previous experience?
"This environment was the first one in which I played far from my hometown; before 2017 I had never lived outside Slovenia, and of course Trentino holds a special place in my heart. In particular, living in the mountains will still give me great excitement and peace of mind. And then there are the fans, whom I already know well and have come to appreciate more in the years I played elsewhere. They always support the team with great warmth and enthusiasm; it doesn't always happen that way in other cities, but it's nice that it’s always like this here."
Did you follow the Scudetto Final against Civitanova?
“Of course I did, and at that time me and Sbertoli texted each other a lot. I rooted for Itas Trentino also at distance; there was pain, but in the end, I think the deserving team won, and I am even happier with that success because it is nice to be able to wear the jersey with the tricolor stitched on it. It will give me more responsibility to try to make sure I continue to keep it, even for the following season. Expectations are high."
The regular sextet will change for a third: advantage or disadvantage?
" It will be even younger compared to the recent past and there will be more room for improvement; in perspective it can be stronger than it currently is on paper. There are many players who have potential that is not fully expressed yet. It will be good to grow together and be aware of what we are."
What are your goals now that you’re back?
“I want to win wearing the Trento jersey and prove that I deserve being in this Club in every match I play. In 2017/18 we didn’t win anything, but almost qualified for the Scudetto Final; I want to restart from where I left”.

Trentino Volley Srl
Press Office