Three more serious names from European volleyball are joining the star selection for Teodor Salparov's testimonial match "One Career - One Legend", which will take place on September 5th at 4:30 PM in "Arena 8888" in Sofia.
Olympic champion from London 2012, Alexander Volkov, will be part of the Foreigners' Team. The Russian middle blocker knows Salparov very well, as the two have been teammates in three Russian clubs – Luch, Dynamo (Moscow), and Zenit (Kazan).
Volkov's greatest success with the Russian national team came at the Olympic Games in London in 2012. Back then, the Russians staged one of the most memorable comebacks in volleyball history, after trailing 0:2 sets against Brazil in the final, but reaching a 3:2 victory and the Olympic title.
A year earlier, Volkov won the World Cup and the World League with the Sbornaya. His club resume is also rich. He is a Russian champion with Dynamo (Moscow) in 2006 and 2008, and then triumphed with Zenit (Kazan).
His career also has a Bulgarian connection. Volkov was a teammate of Vladimir Nikolov at Bre Banca Lannutti (Cuneo), with the two winning the Italian Cup and Supercup in 2011.
Nikolay Pavlov is also expected to join the stars for the testimonial. The former opposite of the Russian national team had an exceptional 2013. He led Russia to the World League trophy in Mar del Plata and earned the MVP award for the tournament, subsequently becoming a European champion.
The Serbian presence in "Arena 8888" is also becoming increasingly impressive. Srećko Lisinac – one of the leading Serbian middle blockers of the last decade – confirmed his participation.
Lisinac was part of the Serbian squad that won the country's first and only World League title in Krakow in 2016. Three years later, he became European champion with the "Blues".
At club level, the Serb has championship titles in three of the strongest leagues in Europe – with Berlin Recycling Volleys in Germany in 2014, with SKRA Belchatow in Poland in 2018, and with Trento in Italy in 2023. With the Italian giant, Lisinac also won the Club World Championship in 2018.
The testimonial match "One Career - One Legend" will be Teodor Salparov's last major volleyball spectacle as a player. The event is on September 5th at 4:30 PM in "Arena 8888" and will be broadcast live on bTV.
The match comes just before the start of the Men's European Championship, for which Sofia is among the host cities.
Tickets are on sale throughKupibileti.bgand Eventim, with special VIP passes now also available. Proceeds from them will be donated to the "Sunny Children" foundation, which is working on a project to build a home for children with special needs.
The VIP package includes seats directly next to the court, a limited edition bottle of wine created especially for Salparov's testimonial, as well as access to the official afterparty at Ozone Skybar at Millennium Hotel, where guests and fans will be able to end the evening together with some of the volleyball stars who arrived for the farewell match of the legendary No. 13.
photos: Nikolay Varadinov
