Bulgarian national middle blocker Boris Nachev will leave Italian Padova, learnedvolleyweek.bg. The volleyball player had the option to extend his contract for another year, but he preferred to seek new career development.

For now, Nachev's attention is entirely focused on the upcoming playoffs for fifth place in the Italian SuperLega, which will feature the teams that finished 9th and 10th in the regular season (Padova and Cisterna), as well as the four teams that will be eliminated in the quarterfinals for the title.

Nachev missed the first week of the Nations League last year due to an injury sustained during the summer. Subsequently, he participated in some of the national team's matches, including the World Championship in Manila, where Bulgaria reached the silver medals.

After his transfer to Italy, however, the middle blocker was again plagued by problems – this time a shoulder injury. The injury kept him out of play for an extended period and delayed his adaptation to the SuperLega.

Nachev appeared for a longer period in play in the last two rounds of the regular season. In the penultimate round, he remained on the court for the entire match during Padova's prestigious away victory against Cuneo with a score of 3:2 (21:25, 25:17, 22:25, 25:21, 16:14).

The Bulgarian's full match in this encounter was a clear signal that his physical problems were now under control.

Boris Nachev's Statistics – Serie A1 (regular season 2025/2026)

The numbers clearly show the impact of the injury on his season – participation in 6 matches and 13 sets is a limited volume for a middle blocker in Serie A1. At the same time, 44% attack efficiency is a solid indicator for a player returning after a long period off the court.

The three blocks in a relatively small game volume suggest that his main element – blocking – remains at a good level, and the single ace completes the positive picture.
It remains to be seen where the talent from Varna will continue his career.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov