The head coach of the Bulgarian women's national volleyball team, Marcello Abbondanza, has signed a new two-year contract, definitively putting an end to speculation that another Italian specialist, Daniele Santarelli, might be appointed to the position. Turkish media report this.

The decision comes against the backdrop of a strong start to the 2025/2026 season for his club team, Fenerbahçe Medicana. The "yellow-and-navy blues" opened the campaign with a trophy after winning the Turkish Super Cup, and concurrently continue their participation in the league, the Turkish Cup, and European tournaments.

In this context, Fenerbahçe's management decided to extend Abbondanza's contract for another two years. The Italian specialist will lead the team through the 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 seasons, marking his second tenure at the helm of the club after the period from 2013–2017. He returned to Istanbul at the end of last season.

Almost in parallel with his commitments in Turkey, Marcello Abbondanza was recently reappointed as the head coach of the Bulgarian national team. It was this decision that sparked comments and hypotheses about a possible temporary role and the potential recruitment of Daniele Santarelli. However, the new two-year contract clearly indicates that such a scenario is not on the agenda.

Marcello Abbondanza has an exceptionally rich coaching biography. After periods as an assistant coach in Ravenna and Bergamo, he led Mazzano, Pesaro, Pieralisi Volley, Infotel Forlì, Villa Cortese, and Pomì Casalmaggiore. He also worked for Rabita Baku (Azerbaijan), Fenerbahçe and Türk Hava Yolları (Turkey), Chemik Police (Poland), and Incheon Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders (South Korea).

At the national level, the Italian is well-known in Bulgaria – he was the head coach of Bulgaria from 2011–2014, worked with Canada from 2017–2018, and in 2022, he also led the national team of Greece.

Marcello Abbondanza's accolades include two CEV Champions League titles, the CEV Cup, the Challenge Cup, the Balkan Cup, two Turkish Championship titles, two Turkish Cups, and two Super Cups, a title in the Italian Championship, two Italian Cups, and two Italian Super Cups, as well as championship honors in Poland, Azerbaijan, and South Korea.

Marcello Abbondanza's new contract brings clarity and stability at both club and national levels. Speculation surrounding Daniele Santarelli's name is now in the past, and the Bulgarian national team gains an opportunity for calm and consistent work over the next two years.