The Bulgarian tricolor flag continues to wave in a hall of the Italian Serie A2 for more than three years. The curious detail was noticed by VolleyWeek during a review of the video highlights from Rinascita Lagonegro's last match. Even more interesting is that two Bulgarian volleyball players, who participated in the event for which our country's flag was placed, are about to play in the same hall again.
It all started with Lagonegro's home victory over Union Napoli with 3:0 (25:20, 26:24, 25:17) on November 8 in the fourth round of the Italian Serie A2.
While reviewing the video highlights from the match published on the official website of the Italian Volleyball League, our attention was drawn to the Bulgarian flag, hung directly under the wooden roof of the "Villa d'Agri" hall in Marsicovetere.
Next to it are the flags of Bulgaria, Italy, Luxembourg, and Montenegro, as well as the emblem of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) and the Italian Volleyball Federation (FIPAV).
A subsequent check by VolleyWeek revealed a curious story. It turned out that between July 21 and 23, 2023, the same hall hosted a qualification tournament for the 2024 European Men's U22 Championship, in which exactly these four countries participated.
We also found an official photograph from the tournament, published by CEV. A comparison with the footage from the Lagonegro – Napoli match in November 2026 showed something surprising:not only are the flags the same, but their arrangement is completely identical.

More than three years and three months later, the Bulgarian tricolor continues to hang in the same place.
But the story has an even more interesting continuation. Upon checking the official CEV protocols, we found that two of the Bulgarian volleyball players who participated in the qualifications in 2023 are now playing in the Italian Serie A2 and are scheduled to visit this very hall this season.
Stoil Palev, who in 2023 was part of the national team led by Andrea Burattini, is now the setter for Essens Hotels Fano. His team is scheduled to visit Lagonegro on January 6, 2027.
Vladimir Garkov, who was also among the participants in the European qualifiers and captain of our national team, now wears the jersey of Gioia del Colle. According to the schedule, his visit to Marsicovetere is set for March 27, 2027.

Thus, the two Bulgarians will have the opportunity to step onto the court again, where more than three years ago they defended the national jersey. And if by then the hosts do not "realize" and do not take down the flags, Palev and Garkov will see above their heads the exact same arrangement that greeted them in July 2023. As if they had arrived in Marsicovetere again for European qualifiers with the Bulgarian national team.
Interestingly, there is also a connection to the 2023 qualifiers in the host team's roster.Cosimo Ballestra, who was then part of the Italian U22 national team, now wears the jersey of Lagonegro.

The middle blocker did not play against Bulgaria but participated in the opening match of the tournament against Luxembourg on July 21, starting as a starter with No. 9 and scoring 3 points in Italy's 3:0 (25:12, 25:12, 25:12) victory. Thus, for him too, the flags above the court are a memory of a tournament in which he personally participated more than three years ago.

Why the organizers or hosts decided to keep this decoration for so long is unknown. What is certain is that more than three years after the qualification tournament, the Bulgarian flag continues to be part of the atmosphere of Lagonegro's home matches.
And for VolleyWeek, it all started with a seemingly insignificant detail in a few-minute video highlight from the Italian Serie A2.

photos:legavolley.it and cev.eu