The national coach of the Bulgarian men's volleyball team, Gianlorenzo Blengini, expressed satisfaction with his players' performance in the first tournament of the Nations League (VNL), held in Quebec, Canada. Upon the team's arrival at 'Vasil Levski' airport in Sofia, the Italian specialist gave an extensive comment to the media.

Good performance and fighting spirit

Bulgaria recorded two wins and two losses, placing them tenth in the provisional standings with 5 points. According to Blengini, the team is moving in the right direction.

"My personal feeling is that we played four matches in which the guys competed with their opponents, fought to the end... We showed a very good level. In the last match, we lacked a bit from a psychological point of view," he said and added:
"Against Canada, we lacked a bit more consistency."

Focus on development, not on specific results

Blengini once again emphasized that his main goal is not pre-set results, but sustainable progress:

"I had not made initial plans for specific results... My main goal is to improve our game, to be able to win more matches and to get closer to the leading teams."

The next challenge \u2013 hosting in Burgas

The Italian announced that the team would depart for the next VNL tournament tomorrow evening with a group of 16 players. However, the final squad of 14 will be determined just before the matches. Hopes are linked to the recovery of captain Alex Grozdanov, who did not travel to Canada due to an injury.

"Our main wish is for our captain Alex Grozdanov to return to the squad... We will see what his condition is."

According to him, hosting in Burgas is an additional stimulus:

"The players must go out with a clear mindset about this added value that the tournament has because it will be played in front of Bulgarian fans."

The goal \u2013 Los Angeles 2028

In the long term, the team has one main goal \u2013 participation in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. To achieve this, a systematic accumulation of points in the world ranking is necessary:

"We have slowly started to achieve this... Every match gives points, so our goal is to win the maximum number of matches to climb up... I am optimistic and believe that we are moving in the right direction."

photos: Nikolay Varadinov