On October 14, 2015, at "Arena Armeec" in Sofia, the Bulgarian national volleyball team defeated Germany 3-0 in a quarter-final match of the European Championship. This remains, to this day, Bulgaria's last victory over Germany in which Georg Grozer – the great star of the German team – was part of the squad.

Almost ten years have passed since then, during which the German team recorded a number of victories over Bulgaria in official tournaments, including the Nations League and Olympic qualifiers. Grozer, who at one point retired from the national team, returned to play for Germany and in 2025 is once again part of the squad for the tournamentSilesia Cupin Poland.

The Bulgarian team, led by Italian specialist Gianlorenzo Blengini, will try to break the negative streak (six years since the last victory over Germany) and achieve a new success against one of its strong rivals, even with the presence of the well-known veteran on the other side of the net. The clash between the two teams is eagerly anticipated, as Bulgaria's young hopes, led by the tandem of Aleksandar and Moni Nikolov, will face the experienced tandem Grozer–Zimmermann in the German squad.

Silesia Cup 2025provides an excellent opportunity for the Bulgarian team to demonstrate progress in building a new generation and to regain a psychological advantage against Germany – something that has been missing for almost a decade.

Head Coach:Gianlorenzo Blengini

Squad:

• 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

Note:Alex Grozdanov (captain) and Boris Nachev miss the tournament due to injuries.

🇩🇪 Germany Men's National Team

Head Coach:Michal Winiarski
Assistant coach:Thomas Ranner

Squad (selected from an extended squad of 30):

• Setters:Jan Zimmermann, Fabian Hosch, Johannes Tille, Eric Burggräf, Anselm Rein, Artur Weber

• Opposite Hitters:Georg Grozer, Daniel Malescha, Philipp John, Jan Böhme, Lovis Homberger

• Outside Hitters:Tobias Brand, Erik Röhrs, Tim Peter, Simon Gallas, Max Schulz, Theo Mohwinkel, Leon Meier, Jannes Wiesner

• Middle Blockers:Tobias Krick, Lukas Maase, Joscha Kunstmann, Florian Krage, Simon Torwie, Yannick Goralik, Bastian Korreck, Karl Möller

• Liberos:Leonard Graven, Moritz Eckardt, Maximilian Tröster

🏐 Predicted starting lineups (Bulgaria - Germany)

Bulgaria - expected starting lineup:

• Setter: Simeon Nikolov

• Opposite Hitter: Dimitar Dimitrov

• Outside Hitters: Aleksandar Nikolov, Asparuh Asparuhov (Georgi Tatarov)

• Middle Blockers: Iliya Petkov, Krasimir Georgiev

• Libero: Martin Bozhilov

Germany - expected starting lineup:

• Setter: Jan Zimmermann

• Opposite: Georg Grozer

• Outside Hitters: Tobias Brand, Erik Röhrs

• Middle Blockers: Tobias Krick, Lukas Maase

• Libero: Leonard Graven