A curious coaching puzzle simultaneously placed the two national coaches of Bulgaria at the center of one of the most interesting transfer stories of the summer. Marcello Abbondanza, who coaches the women's national team, and Gianlorenzo Blengini, who is at the helm of the men's team, found themselves at opposite ends of a possible coaching reshuffle between Fenerbahçe and Milano. According to information from the Italian specialized publication Volleyball.it, the situation starts at Fenerbahçe, where Abbondanza's future remains unclear. The Italian specialist has a contract with the Turkish giant, but the club has not yet definitively decided who will lead one of the strongest women's teams in the world next season. Fenerbahçe has turned its attention to Stefano Lavarini. The current coach of Vero Volley Milano is the main target of the Turkish club, and according to the Italian source, Istanbul is ready to make a serious financial offer. If Lavarini decides to accept the offer and Milano agrees to release him, the next part of the operation will be activated. And that's where Gianlorenzo Blengini's name appears.

Milano targets Blengini

According to Volleyball.it, Milano does not want to be surprised by Lavarini's possible departure and has already identified a top-level coach as his possible successor – Gianlorenzo Blengini. The Italian publication pays special attention to his work at the helm of Bulgaria and the development of the young national team, which reached the world silver medal, with the talent of the Nikolov brothers specifically noted. Here, however, a serious obstacle arises for Milano. Blengini has two more seasons on his contract with the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, and according to Volleyball.it, the current terms stipulate that he works exclusively with the national team. Therefore, a possible return of the Italian to club volleyball would have to go through the BFV.

Lyubomir Ganev and the BFV Board hold the key

The Italian source specifically states that BFV President Lyubomir Ganev and the Federation's Board of Directors could allow Blengini to combine the two positions. Volleyball.it also suggests that in such a scenario, the financial parameters of the Italian's contract for the remaining two seasons could also be reviewed. This is a particularly important detail – it is not claimed that Blengini will leave Bulgaria. The discussed scenario is for him to continue as the coach of our men's national team and at the same time take over Milano.

Blengini could coach Paola Egonu

In the event of an agreement with Milano, Blengini would also do something he has not done before in his coaching career – he would take over a women's team. Milano is once again building its project around one of the biggest stars of world volleyball – Paola Egonu. The Italian publication draws an interesting parallel with Julio Velasco, one of Blengini's mentors, who successfully crossed the boundary between men's and women's volleyball. For Blengini, the situation would be even more curious – he would work in men's volleyball at the national level with Bulgaria and in women's volleyball at the club level with Milano.

Abbondanza and Blengini at opposite ends of the same story

For Bulgarian volleyball, the most curious moment is that at the beginning of the entire coaching domino stands the coach of the Bulgarian women's national team, Marcello Abbondanza, and at its end appears the coach of the men's national team, Gianlorenzo Blengini. Fenerbahçe must first resolve the complex situation around Abbondanza. The next target of the Turkish club is Lavarini. If he leaves Milano, the Italian giant could turn to Blengini. And for that to happen, an agreement would also have to be reached with the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation. Thus, the chain looks like this: Abbondanza → Fenerbahçe → Lavarini → Milano → Blengini → BFV. The two Italians to whom Bulgaria has entrusted its national teams – Abbondanza for women and Blengini for men – find themselves connected in the same extremely complex coaching puzzle. At this stage, there is no deal for Blengini, and Volleyball.it presents the development as a possible scenario. For it to happen, the issue at Fenerbahçe must first be resolved, Lavarini must choose Istanbul, Milano must release him, and then the Italian club must find common ground with the BFV. But if all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, Gianlorenzo Blengini could find himself at the helm of Paola Egonu and Milano, without parting ways with the Bulgarian men's national team.

Graphics and photo: volleyweek.bg and Nikolay Varadinov