With the start of the new season in Serie A1 – Men's SuperLega, Bulgaria marks a significant presence in one of the strongest volleyball championships in the world. After three Bulgarian volleyball players defended the colors of elite teams during the 2024/2025 campaign – Alex Nikolov, Matey Kaziyski (currently without a team) and Georgi Tatarov – their number now increases to five.
To the familiar names of the two national players - Nikolov and Tatarov, three more debutants in the Italian elite join:
Boris Nachev – A 21-year-old promising middle blocker, who has defended the jersey of Cherno More BASK
Iliya Petkov – A solid middle blocker who impressed with his performances in the French League A, as well as with a prominent presence in the Bulgarian national team
Zhasmin Velichkov – One of the promising young talents of Bulgarian volleyball, who came out of the Stara Zagora "Beroe" academy and established himself with strong performances in junior categories.
Thus, Bulgaria occupies an increasingly noticeable place among the foreign presence in the SuperLega, and this is undoubtedly a good sign for the level and reputation of Bulgarian volleyball.
The 81st season of the Italian Men's Volleyball SuperLega promises to be one of the most interesting in recent years, not only because of the increased Bulgarian presence, but also because of serious changes in both the coaching and playing staff of most teams.
Before the start of the championship, four teams took an important step in re-adjusting their ambitions by changing their head coach – these are Trento (Marcelo Mendez), Piacenza (Dante Boninfante), Verona (Fabio Soli) and Cisterna (Daniele Morato). In most cases, this is accompanied by a partial or almost complete change in the teams' rosters. In fact, there is not a single elite team that has not made changes to its roster.
The most conservative on the transfer market was the Italian Cup winner – Lube Civitanova, who added only three new players to its well-oiled squad. Champion Trento, despite the coaching change, will rely on four new players – a clear sign of confidence in the core that brought the title in the 2024/25 season.
At the other end of the spectrum is newcomer Cuneo, who will attack the elite with a total of 11 new additions – practically an entirely new team. Following them are the ambitious teams of Milano and Monza, which are also restructuring with 9 new players each, and Piacenza is not far behind with 8 new names.
The teams of Verona, Padova, Cisterna and Grottazzolina have updated their squads with 7 new volleyball players each, and Modena chose a more moderate approach with 6 new additions. Eurochampion Perugia also kept its core, adding 5 new players.
The following is a complete overview of the rosters of all 12 teams in the SuperLega for the 2025/2026 season:
🟡Itas Trentino
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Sbertoli, Acquarone
Opposites: For (new), Gabi Garcia
Outside Hitters: Micheletto, Lavia, Ramon (new), Bristot
Middle Blockers: Flavio, Barta, Torvie (new), Sandu (new)
Liberos: Laurenzano, Pesaresi
Coach: Marcelo Mendez (new)
🔴 Cucine Lube Civitanova
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Boninfante, Orduna
Opposite Hitters: Kukartsev (new)
Outside hitters: Aleksandar Nikolov, Botolo, Loeppky, Porya, Duflo-Rossi (new)
Middle Blockers: Gargiulo, D'Heer (new), Podrascanin, Tenorio
Liberos: Balaso, Bisotto
Coach: Giampaolo Medei
🟢 Sir Susa Vim Perugia
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Giannelli, Archilagos (new)
Opposite Hitters: Ben Tara, Zwanziger (new)
Outside Hitters: Plotnytskyi, Ishikawa, Semeniuk, Zhavoronok (new)
Middle Blockers: Loser, Russo, Sol
Hé, Crozat (new)
Libero: Gaggini (new), Colaci
Coach: Angelo Lorenzetti
🟣Rana Verona
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Christensen (new), Planinsic (new)
Opposites: Darlan (new), Gironi (new)
Outside Hitters: Keita, Mozic, Sani, Glatz (new)
Middle Blockers: Cortesia, Valbusa (new), Zingel, Vitelli
Liberos: D'Amico, Bonisoli
Coach: Fabio Soli (new)
🔵 Gas Sales Bluenergy Piacenza
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: P. Porro (new), Travica (new)
Opposites: Bovolenta, Leon (new)
Outside Hitters: Bergmann (new), Gutierrez (new), Mandiraci, Andringa
Middle Blockers: Galassi, Simon, Comparoni (new), Seddik (new)
Libero: Pace (new), Loreti
Coach: Dante Boninfante (new)
⚫Allianz Milano
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Kreling (new), Barbanti (new)
Opposites: Reggers, Lindqvist (new)
Outside Hitters: Recine (new), Otsuka, Roti (new), Ichino (new), Argano (new)
Middle Blockers: Di Martino (new), Caneschi, Benacchio (new)
Libero: Catania, Staffolini
Coach: Roberto Piazza
🟠Modena Volley
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Tizi-Oualou (new), Giraudo (new)
Opposites: Buschegger, Meijs
Outside Hitters: L. Poro (new), Davyskiba, Bento (new), Massari
Middle Blockers: Anzani, Sanguinetti, Matti, Tauleta (new)
Libero: Peri (new), Federici
Coach: Alberto Giuliani
⚪Verona Volley
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Christensen (new), Planinsic (new)
Opposites: Darlan (new), Gironi (new)
Outside Hitters: Keita, Mozic, Sani, Glatz (new)
Middle Blockers: Cortesia, Valbusa (new), Zingel, Vitelli
Liberos: D'Amico, Bonisoli
Coach: Fabio Soli (new)
🟤Pallavolo Padova
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Todorovic (new), Zoppellari (new)
Opposites: Masulovic, Stefani
Outside Hitters: Held (new), Gardini (new), Orioli, Bergamasco (new)
Middle Blockers: Polo, Truocchio,Boris Nachev(new), McRaven (new)
Liberos: Dies, Toscani
Coach: Jacopo Cuttini
🟢 Cisterna
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Fanizza, Salsi (new)
Opposite hitters: Barotto (new), Guzzo (new)
Outside hitters: Bayram, Lanza (new), Muniz (new), Tarumi
Middle blockers: Plak (new), Diamantini, Mazzone, Tosti
Liberos: Finauuri, Curry (new)
Coach: Daniele Morato (new)
🟡 Yuasa Battery Grottazzolina
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Falaschi (new), Marchiani
Opposite hitters: Petkovic, Golzadeh (new)
Outside hitters: Georgi Tatarov, Koprivica (new), Fedrizzi, Magalini (new)
Middle blockers: Iliya Petkov (new), Stankovic (new), Pellacani (new), Cubito
Libero: Marchisio, Vecchi
Coach: Massimiliano Ortenzi
🔴 Monza Volley
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Zimmermann (new), Kneipp (new)
Opposites: Padar (new), Frascio
Outside Hitters: Rohrs, Marttila, Hofer (new), Zhasmin Velichkov(new)
Middle Blockers: Larizza (new), Mosca, Beretta, Ciampi (new)
Liberos: Scanferla (new), Pisoni (new)
Coach: Massimo Eccheli
🔵 Cuneo - promoted
ROSTER 2025/2026
Setters: Baranowicz (new), Bonomi (new)
Opposites: Ferral (new), Sala (new)
Outside Hitters: Zaytsev (new), Sedlacek (new), Gergely (new), Cattaneo (new)
Middle Blockers: Stefanovic (new), Copelli (new), Codarin, Colasanti (new)
Libero: Cavaccini, Oberto
Coach: Matteo Batocchio
