Philippe Blain

Philippe Blain (born May 20, 1960 in Montpellier) is a retired volleyball player from France. Blain earned a total of 340 caps for the Men's National Team between 1980 and 1991. Later on, he became a coach, guiding the national squad.

Since he began his coaching career in 1991, Blain was in charge of various French and Italian clubs, including AS Cannes, Arego Sets and Alpitour Cuneo. He has been a member of the FIVB Coaching Commission since 1999. Under Blain's guidance France advanced to the FIVB World League 2001 finals for the first time, a result that was again repeated in 2002. At the 2002 World Championship in Argentina, Blain's team pulled off a major surprise after their 3-0 dismissal of reigning Olympic champions Yugoslavia in the bronze medal match.

Blain was a regular member of the French national squad in major international competitions throughout the 1980s. The former receiver-spiker played for his country at two World Championships, four European Championships and at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He was named "Most Valuable Player" at the 1986 World Championship in France.

References

* [http://www.fivb.org/EN/Volleyball/Competitions/WorldCup/2003/men/coaches/Coaches_Profiles.asp#France FIVB Profile]