After the historic victory over Italy, the Bulgarian national team faces a new huge challenge in the Volleyball Nations League. Tonight, Gianlorenzo Blengini's squad will face hosts Slovenia in arguably the most anticipated match of the second tournament in Ljubljana.
The success against the world champions gave a serious boost to the Bulgarian team in the battle for a place in the final tournament, but the upcoming match promises to be even tougher. Not only because of the opponent's class, but also because of the atmosphere that awaits the "lions" in Stozice Hall.
The Slovenians are still hurting from their last match against the "lions".
The two teams have very fresh memories of each other. On September 15 last year, Bulgaria dramatically defeated Slovenia 3:2 in a group stage match of the World Championship in the Philippines. This was the last success of the Bulgarians against the Slovenians and certainly remains a strong motivation for the hosts to seek revenge in front of their home crowd.
The victory on the first day of the tournament in Ljubljana, when they defeated Canada 3:1 and made a successful start in front of their fans, gave the Slovenians additional confidence.
The day when "all" of Slovenia will be in the hall.
The draw decided the match would take place precisely onJune 25– Slovenia's Statehood Day (Dan državnosti). This is one of the most important national holidays in the country and an official non-working day.
Expectations are for Stozice Hall to be filled to capacity, and the atmosphere to resemble a final of a major international tournament.
But this will not be the only reason for emotions to reach their peak.
A historic ceremony right before Bulgaria – Slovenia.
The Slovenian Volleyball Federation chose precisely the match against Bulgaria to organize an event that has never before happened in the history of local volleyball.
For the first time, the Slovenian national team will retire the numbers of its legends.
The jerseys of the following players will be raised to the rafters of Stozice Hall:
Mitja Gasparini– No. 6
Dejan Vinčič– No. 9
The President of the Slovenian Volleyball Federation, Metod Ropret, confirmed the decision during a special press conference.
Already on the second day of the tournament, during the match with Bulgaria, another special event awaits us. For the first time in the history of Slovenian volleyball, we will raise two jerseys under the arena's roof – number 6 for Mitja Gasparini and number 9 for Dejan Vinčič.
The two are among the most iconic figures in the history of the Slovenian national team and were at the core of the generation that transformed the country into one of the constant contenders for medals on the European and world stage.
An interesting detail is that jerseys have already been raised under the roof of 'Stožice', but they belong to legends of Slovenian basketball. Volleyball will get its place in history precisely this evening.
Bulgaria will be part of history.
For Gianlorenzo Blengini's national team, this means they will step onto the court on one of the most emotional evenings Slovenian volleyball has ever organized.
A historic ceremony, a national holiday, a packed 'Stožice', and an opponent seeking revenge for the defeat at the World Championship in the Philippines – all prerequisites are in place for the hosts to be extremely motivated.
For its part, Bulgaria has the opportunity to solidify its impressive performance against Italy and take another big step towards qualifying for the final tournament of the Volleyball Nations League.
If the 'Lions' manage to withstand the pressure and the atmosphere in Ljubljana, a potential second consecutive success against one of the strongest European teams would be further proof that Gianlorenzo Blengini's team is now capable of outplaying any opponent in the world.
