Bulgaria's national volleyball team starts 2025 without its captain
Bulgaria's men's national volleyball team will begin its 2025 campaign
without one of its most key players - captain Alex Grozdanov. The middle blocker suffered an unfortunate injury during the penultimate practice before departing for Poland. Medical examinations revealed a fracture of the little finger on his right hand, which will keep him out of play for at least ten days.
The 208-centimeter Polish champion will not participate in the team's first matches, but the staff hopes he will recover in time for the start of the first Nations League tournament in Canada.
Besides Grozdanov, head coach Gian Lorenzo Blengini will not be able to rely on another middle blocker - Boris Nachev, about whom we reported yesterday. He is recovering from an ankle sprain but is already training with Group 'B' in Samokov and is expected to be fully ready by the end of the week.
The Italian coach of the 'lions' announced the squad for the tournament in Katowice and Gliwice, which includes several new faces. Kiril Kolev, who impressed with his performances for Lokomotiv Avia last season, will make his debut. Preslav Petkov also returns to the squad; last year, he played his first matches in the national jersey in friendlies against Finland.
Bulgaria's squad for the tournament in Poland:
Setters: Simeon Nikolov, Stoil Palev
Opposite hitters: Dimitar Dimitrov, Venislav Antov
Outside hitters: Aleksandar Nikolov, Asparuh Asparuhov, Georgi Tatarov, Rusi Zhelev, Samuil Valchinov
Middle blockers: Iliya Petkov, Krasimir Georgiev, Preslav Petkov, Kiril Kolev
Libero: Martin Bozhilov
The Bulgarian nationals will seek a successful start to the new season, despite the personnel problems. All eyes will be on the performance of the young players who are getting a chance to prove themselves at the highest level.
