The third domino has fallen. Gianlorenzo Blengini is officially the new head coach of Vero Volley Milano.
The Italian powerhouse confirmed the appointment of the 54-year-old coach of the Bulgarian men's national team just hours after parting ways with Stefano Lavarini.

Thus, the coaching puzzle, which started with Fenerbahçe's interest in Lavarini, is now almost completely solved.
First, Milano officially parted ways with Lavarini. Then Fenerbahçe announced the end of its relationship with Marcello Abbondanza. And now Milano has made Blengini official as Lavarini's successor.
The last expected confirmation remains – Fenerbahçe to announce Stefano Lavarini as the new head coach, which will finalize the entire operation.

"Hello everyone! I am very happy to announce that I will be the new coach of Vero Volley Milano. First of all, I want to thank the management for this great opportunity and for the trust placed in me. We have a long season ahead, full of new incentives and great challenges, but I am sure that our girls will play a leading role. I send a big greeting to the fans and I look forward to seeing you all in the hall. Ciao!" said Gianlorenzo Blengini in his first video address as Milano's head coach.

Blengini starts after the European Championship

Vero Volley President Alessandra Marzari and Sports Director Claudio Bonati officially welcomed Blengini, who has 11 trophies won in his career with club and national teams.
However, the Italian will not start working with Milano immediately.
The club explicitly stated that the current coach of Bulgaria will join the team after the end of the European Championship in September.
In this way, Blengini will continue the work started with the Bulgarian national team, and after the end of the international season, he will move on to his first challenge as a head coach in women's club volleyball.

We already know the answer to the big question – who is joining his staff?

Upon parting ways with Stefano Lavarini, Milano announced that assistant coach Andrea Mafrici and scoutman Kacper Duda were leaving with him.
This immediately raised the question of who Blengini would build his new technical team with.
The answer is now official.
Massimo Caponeeri and Nicola Daldello will be Blengini's assistant coaches, and Paolo Perrone will serve as scoutman. The composition of the new staff was also confirmed during Blengini's official presentation.
And here appears an extremely curious connection with Bulgaria. Nicola Daldello comes from the staff of the men's team of Milano, and in 2023 he was part of the staff of the Italian women's national team.

Blengini attracted the man who was on the other side of the net in the World Championship final

Massimo Caponeeri's name deserves special attention.
The 64-year-old Italian has vast experience as an assistant coach and in recent years was one of the closest people to Ferdinando De Giorgi in the Italian national team.
In 2025, Caponeri was officially the second coach of the "Azzurri".
It was from this position that he experienced the World Championship final in the Philippines against... Gianlorenzo Blengini's Bulgaria.
On September 28, 2025, Italy defeated Bulgaria 3:1 (25:21, 25:17, 17:25, 25:10) and became world champions for the second consecutive time. Blengini was on one side of the net, and Caponeri was part of his opponent's technical staff.

Less than a year later, the two will already be working together in Milan.
And this makes Blengini's choice even more interesting.

Who is Massimo Caponeri?

Caponeri was born on May 22, 1964, in Chianciano Terme and has a long career as both an assistant and head coach.
His official biography in the Italian Lega Pallavolo shows 14 seasons in Serie A1 and A2, having worked in Perugia, Macerata, San Giustino, and Siena. He was assistant coach for Lube Banca Marche Macerata for four consecutive seasons between 2006 and 2010.
Caponeri also has experience as a head coach. In the 2005/2006 season, he took over Perugia, and in 2015/2016, he led Emma Villas Siena in Serie A2.
His career also extends outside Italy.
In the 2013/2014 season, Caponeri worked as an assistant to Lorenzo Bernardi at Jastrzębski Węgiel, and subsequently, the two continued their collaboration at the Turkish Halkbank Ankara. Later, Caponeri was again part of Bernardi's team in Perugia, including when they won the league title and the Italian Cup in 2018.

Two-time world champion with Italy

However, Caponeri's most significant successes in recent years have been with the Italian national team.
As De Giorgi's assistant coach, he was part of the team that won the World Championship in 2022. In 2025, Italy became world champions again, this time after a final precisely against Bulgaria.
Thus, Blengini brings into his first staff in women's club volleyball a specialist with experience from the highest level and a person who, just a year ago, was part of the technical team of Bulgaria's biggest rival in the historic final in Manila.

So, within a single day, Milan not only closed the "Lavarinini era" and opened Blengini's.
The club also laid the first foundations of the new technical team.
Blengini is in Milan. Caponeri is by his side. And the man who less than a year ago helped Italy defeat Bulgaria in the World Championship final will now work side-by-side with Bulgaria's national team coach.

collage and photos: volleyweek.bg