The Olympic champion with "Sbornaya" from London in 2012 may play for "Zenit" Saint Petersburg at the invitation of Vladimir Alekno.

Former coach of "Belogorie" Belgorod - the 40-year-old legend Alexander Volkov, is preparing to resume his competitive career in the "Zenit" Saint Petersburg team, according to the Russian sports portal BO Sport, with the news subsequently announced by the Italian daily ivolleymagazine.net. According to "Start" commentator Alexander Usmanov, the club failed to sign central blocker Vitaly Dikarev from "Fakel". Given this situation, "Zenit"'s coach - the legendary Russian national team coach Vladimir Alekno, has offered Volkov to join the team as a player, with the prospect of becoming part of the coaching staff. "Zenit" Saint Petersburg already has central blockers such as Maxim Kosmin, Denis Chereysky, Andrey Ananyev, and Vasily Tarasenko. According to BO Sport, however, Alekno intends to adopt a strategy similar to the one he used in Kazan under Alexei Verbov, where the libero was also a coach, leading the team in some matches against weaker opponents. If Dikarev's transfer does not materialize, Volkov could become the fourth central blocker, replacing young Tarasenko, who is currently not among the main choices of the coaching staff.

In 2023, Volkov retired from playing to become coach of "Belogorie" Belgorod, leading them to two consecutive bronze medals in the Russian championship. Prior to that, he played for "Zenit" Saint Petersburg (2017–2019), with the club winning silver in the Superleague in its debut. The legendary Olympic champion from London 2012 has also competed for "Dynamo" Moscow, "Cuneo" (Italy), "Zenit" Kazan, "Ural" Ufa, "Gazprom-Yugra" Surgut, and "Dynamo-LO" Sosnovy Bor. Volkov played 172 matches for the Russian national team, winning Olympic gold in 2012, bronze in 2008 in Beijing, the World Cup in 2011 in Tokyo, and the World League in the same year in Poland.

Photo: ivolleymagazine.net