Marcello Abbondanza admitted that the current Bulgarian women's national team is still far from the level of the team he led more than a decade ago. The Italian specialist emphasized that the current squad still needs to gain experience and confidence to develop in the right direction.
The new coach of the 'lionesses' spoke to the media during the open training session at 'Levski Sofia' hall, which is part of the preparation for their participation in the Nations League.
"It's difficult to make comparisons with the team from 13 years ago. Back then, we had a more experienced and more complete squad. Now we have a lot of work to do. This team has girls with great potential, and some of them can reach a very high level, but at the moment, we are at the beginning of a process," Abbondanza stated.
He was also frank about Bulgaria's goals this summer. According to him, the most important thing is for the team to gradually grow, and preserving their place in the Nations League will be a serious challenge.
"It will be difficult because we have absent players and girls who have physical problems. Nevertheless, our main task is to develop the team and move forward," the Italian added.
The coach declined to comment on a possible return of more experienced volleyball players and emphasized that his attention is entirely focused on the current squad.
"I work with the girls who are here. I prefer to talk about them, not about those who are not on the team," Abbondanza added.
He also noted that some of the leading national teams will also use rejuvenated squads at the start of the tournament, but this does not change their high quality.
"Some teams will be without some of their key players, but even the second squads of Italy and Turkey are extremely strong," the coach commented.
Abbondanza did not wish to draw analogies between his work with the women and the successes that the men's national team began to achieve under the leadership of Gianlorenzo Blengini.
"The situation is different. In men's volleyball, many of the players had already accumulated serious international experience. In women's volleyball, we don't have as many players who have played extensively abroad, and the young girls have not yet been leading figures in strong championships. Time is needed," the Italian specialist explained.

During the open training session, it also became clear that libero Zhana Todorova will be Bulgaria's new captain. She takes over the role after Elitsa Vasileva-Atanasijevic and Hristina Vuchkova.
Bulgaria's first tests will be friendly matches against Sweden. A friendly against Argentina follows, after which the 'lionesses' will depart for Brazil, where they will start their participation in the Nations League between June 3 and 7 with matches against Brazil, Turkey, Italy, the Dominican Republic, and the Netherlands.

The national team's staff also confirmed that young prospects Kalina Veneva and Darina Naneva will remain part of the women's national team throughout the summer and will not be released to participate in other youth national squads.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov