The World Championship silver medal now puts Bulgaria in a different position – opponents view the team differently, expectations are higher, and the next step in development becomes increasingly difficult. This is one of the main highlights in an exclusive interview with head coach Gianlorenzo Blengini for the Italian website La Gazzetta del Volley on the eve of EuroVolley 2026.
Blengini talks about the change that occurred after the silver medal at the 2025 World Championship, and about the new challenge facing the young Bulgarian team – not just to achieve a great result once, but to establish itself at that level.
"It is always harder to establish yourself than to achieve a great result for the first time. It is often said that winning again is much harder than winning once," says Blengini.
In Bulgaria's case, it's not about defending a world title, but according to the Italian specialist, in the last two years, the national team has made a huge step not only in the world rankings but also in its standing in major international competitions.
And the higher a team goes, the harder the next step becomes.
"The higher the level already is, the more complicated it becomes to refine something further to raise it even more. This is the difference between learning and improving, and then between improving and perfecting. With each subsequent step, the coefficient of difficulty increases," explains the coach.
The silver medal has also changed the way other teams perceive Bulgaria. Blengini emphasizes that the more good results you achieve, the more differently opponents start to greet you, and the higher the expectations around the team become.
For a young squad like Bulgaria's, one of the main challenges remains consistency. According to Blengini, the reasons cannot be reduced solely to technical or psychological factors – it's a combination of experience and mental resilience.
"The Bulgaria I want to see on the court is a team that doesn't give up, that is humble and goes against every opponent with the awareness that it must play its best volleyball," says the Italian.
Blengini is also firm in his assessment of Bulgaria's path at EuroVolley. According to him, Group B, in which our nationals are together with Poland, Ukraine, Portugal, Israel, and North Macedonia, is among the toughest in the championship.
"I think I can say that our group, if not the toughest, is not far from it. It's a very competitive group, and this side of the bracket is at a very high level," comments Blengini.
The reason is that Bulgaria's path intersects with Group D, where France, Turkey, Germany, Romania, Switzerland, and Latvia are. Blengini specifically points out Olympic champion France, Germany, and Turkey, which reached the Nations League finals this summer.
His answer regarding the expectations of the Bulgarian public is particularly interesting. After the world silver, the question of a new medal inevitably stands before the team.
Blengini does not see this as excessive expectation, but as recognition of Bulgaria's growth.
"I think it's normal and a source of pride to know that this is expected of us, because it means that we are recognized for a quality that allows us to dream."
However, the coach immediately distinguishes between the right to dream and the status of a favorite.
"We know it's really very difficult. There are other teams that are favorites at the European Championship, and I'm not saying it. The ranking says it."
Blengini names Italy, Poland, France, and Slovenia. According to him, the difference is not only in their current place in the world rankings but in the consistency of these national teams and their volleyball systems in recent years.
The coach defines hosting in Sofia primarily as a privilege, not as additional pressure.
"Playing at home is, above all, a huge emotion and at the same time a great privilege, especially because of the love that the Bulgarian people have shown us, the team, and the boys over the past year."
Thus, in Blengini's words to the Italian media, Bulgaria's big challenge at EuroVolley is not simply to repeat a specific result. After the World Championship silver, the national team must now also deal with the consequences of its own success – higher expectations, a different attitude from opponents, and an ever-decreasing tolerance for fluctuations in performance.
And after a major breakthrough, as Blengini himself emphasizes, the next step is always the harder one.