Perugia's Ukrainian volleyball player Oleh Plotnytskyi may return to the Ukrainian national team, according toSport.ua. The news gains additional weight given the upcoming European Championship, where Ukraine is among Bulgaria's opponents in Sofia. According to the source, during the Club World Championship, Plotnytskyi held a personal conversation with head coach Raúl Lozano, and both sides reached a preliminary agreement for his return to the team.

Plotnytskyi already has an impressive club record with Perugia – including 12 trophies and a third Club World Championship title – and such a return would change the dynamics of the Ukrainian squad.

We recall that in March this year, Plotnytskyi himself announced that he was ending his career with the national team. At the time, his decision was related to a conflict with the leadership of the Ukrainian Volleyball Federation, but now there seem to be new factors that could bring him back into the squad.

The Bulgarian and Ukrainian men's national volleyball teams played a match in the 2025 Volleyball Nations League, which ended in a 1:3 (25:20, 19:25, 24:26, 22:25) victory for the Ukrainians in a tournament match in Burgas. The Bulgarians convincingly won the first set, but allowed a comeback and lost the match. This proved to be one of the key results in the 'tricolors'' campaign in the Nations League.

This success of Ukraine against Bulgaria in the Nations League further highlights the importance of any potential returning leader to their squad, especially in the context of upcoming European matches.

If Plotnytskyi is indeed persuaded to play for the 'yellow-blue' team, this could prove to be a challenge for Bulgaria in the European Championship clashes, where the ambitions of both teams are high.

photo:volleyballworld.com