Porto San Giorgio.The Bulgarian national team won the bronze medals at the European Championship for U18 boys in Italy. In the small final, Miroslav Zhivkov's proteges decisively outplayed the host Italy 3:0 (25:19, 25:19, 25:23) and deservedly stepped onto the European podium.
The young Bulgarian volleyball players played an exceptionally strong match and imposed their will from the very beginning. Bulgaria convincingly won the first two sets 25:19 each, and in the third, withstood the hosts' attempt to get back into the game, closing the match at 25:23.

The match was watched by the head coach of Lube Civitanova, who joked that he wasn't there to look for Bulgarian recruits for the academy, as he already had enough Bulgarians in his squad, referring to the Nikolov brothers.
The main weapon of the Bulgarian team was the block. Our players literally crushed Italy in this element, scoring an impressive 18 points against only 3 for the 'Azzurri'. The huge difference at the net proved decisive and prevented the hosts from finding their rhythm in attack.
Bulgaria was also more effective in attack – 43% success rate against 33% for Italy. Nevertheless, the Italians finished with one more direct point in attack – 36 against 35, but the immense superiority of the Bulgarian block completely compensated for this minimal difference.
Nikola Gradinarov became the top scorer for Bulgaria with 17 points. Pavel Dzhenev added another 13 points to the victory. For Italy, not a single volleyball player managed to reach double-digit points.
The hosts had an advantage in positive reception – 65% against 52% for Bulgaria, as well as in direct points from service – 2 aces against 1. The Bulgarian team committed 12 service errors, while Italy committed 13. The hosts also received 21 points from opponent errors against 20 for Bulgaria.
There were also controversial refereeing moments. The Bulgarian staff won all requested video challenges, with each one leading to a change in the head referee's initial decision. This created a serious feeling of refereeing comfort in favor of the hosts, but even that did not help Italy. The Bulgarian volleyball players were clearly the better team and left no doubt as to who deserved the bronze medals.
The bronze is another strong achievement for Bulgarian volleyball in this age group. Miroslav Zhivkov's team demonstrated character, excellent defensive organization, and a deadly block, and in their most important match of the tournament, left no chance for the hosts and deservedly stepped onto the podium.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov