Yeon-Kyung Kim and Natalia Pereira. FIVB Instagram
A best friend who used to drink soju in another country meets in the semifinals of the Olympics. Kim Yeon-kyung (33, Shanghai), the empress of volleyball and Korea’s captain, and Natalia Pereira (32, Dynamo Moscow), captain of Brazil, are the main characters.
Kim Yeon-kyung and Pereira are best friends.
The two first met in 2005 when they were youth representatives. Since then, they have eaten together in one pot at Fenerbahce and Exashiba in the Turkish leagues. In particular, in 2016, when he was in Fenerbahce, a photo was uploaded on Ferreira’s SNS, with Kim Yeon-kyung, sipping a glass of soju at a Korean restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ferreira said, “I first met Yeon-Kyung Kim at the youth tournament in 2005. He is one of the best players in the world, and I am happy to be able to play for the same team,” said Ferreira. said
When asked to choose the ‘World’s Best 7’, Kim Yeon-kyung also chose Pereira and Zhu Ting (China). It was a question with the assumption that ‘If Kim Yeon-kyung is the director’.
In particular, Ferreira appeared on the YouTube channel ‘Bread Unnie Kim’ run by Yeon-kyung Kim, and domestic volleyball fans gave her the nickname ‘Natty’. Now, although the teams and leagues are different, they are still best friends who exchange greetings with each other.
Kim Yeon-kyung and Natalia Pereira were drinking soju at a Korean restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey in 2016. Natalia Pereira Instagram
The match between the two is also of interest to volleyball fans around the world.
In fact, even when Korea and Brazil faced each other in the group stage, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) said, “Kim Yeon-kyung and Ferreira, who have played in the same club, held the Olympics three times, and the paths crossed as the two countries faced each other.” I wrote an article about friendship.
Even after the group stage match in Korea, Pereira expressed her affection for Kim Yeon-kyung, saying, “I would be happy if Kim Yeon-kyung could play in the Olympics one more time.”
However, there is a possibility that a face-to-face match on the court may not be successful. If Kim Yeon-kyung is the super ace who leads Korea, Pereira is faithful to her role as the captain. In the actual group stage match between Korea and Brazil, Pereira did not step on the court.
Pereira also has a relationship with manager Stefano Lavarini. During the 2018-2019 season, he played with Lavarini in Minas, Brazil.
