The 'Roosters' deservedly triumphed in their third consecutive continental championship for juniors.
The Bulgarian national team won silver medals at the European Men's U20 Volleyball Championship in Greece and Serbia.
The nationals lost to France 1:3 (25:22, 18:25, 16:25, 26:28) in the final, played in the Serbian resort of Vrnjacka Banja. The Bulgarians took a 1:0 lead in sets but allowed a comeback, and the French celebrated with the gold medals, finishing the Euro Championship undefeated. Bulgaria finished with seven wins and two losses.
The moment was historic for Bulgarian volleyball, as the match in Vrnjacka Banja was the first final for a team in this age group in the men's category in 14 years. Most recently, a Bulgarian U20 team fought for a title in 2010 when they lost the final 1:3 to Russia.
The nationals enjoyed significant support for the second consecutive day in the hall in Serbia. Chants of 'Bulgarians, heroes' did not cease throughout the match, and in the stands were the president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, Lyubomir Ganev, vice-president David Davidov, and board member Borislav Kyosev.
Head coach Miroslav Zhivkov opted for a starting lineup of Simeon Nikolov, Zhasmin Velichkov, Kostadin Kozelov, Stiliyan Delibosov, Kristiyan Titriyski, Aleksandar Kandev, and libero Konstantin Chipev.
The start of the match was contested and even, before the French pulled ahead at 14:10 and 16:12. The Bulgarians narrowed the gap to 16:18 and equalized at 20:20. More strong moments followed for the nationals, who took a 23:20 lead after a series of six unanswered points, and then closed the set at 25:22.
France had the upper hand at the beginning of the second set and took a 10:5 lead. The difference became 8 points at 16:8, and shortly after, the 'Roosters' pulled ahead 20:10 and subsequently closed the set at 25:18.
The French started the third set more confidently, leading 8:3 and 10:5. The Bulgarians narrowed the gap to just one point at 12:13 and were only 2 points behind at 15:17, but a 7:0 run followed for the opponent, who pulled away to 24:15 and won the set 25:16.
A tough fourth set followed, in which the nationals led 12:8 and 16:13, but France equalized at 16:16. The game continued point for point, and at 24:23, the Bulgarian volleyball players had a set point, as well as two more times, but the 'Roosters' equalized – 26:26. The French took a step forward and reached match point at 27:26, capitalizing on it to finish the match 28:26 and 3:1 in sets.
Kristiyan Titriyski was the top scorer for Bulgaria with 13 points.
Aleksandar Kandev scored 11, and Stiliyan Delibosov scored 8 points.
To our great regret, Bulgaria once again remained at the foot of first place, but nevertheless, our boys deserve congratulations for their play throughout the tournament.
In August, again in Vrnjacka Banja, the Bulgarian men's U20 national team won the Balkan Championship.
France has become an absolute hegemon this summer, as their men's team defended their Olympic title from Tokyo in Paris, and in the youth categories, they clinched all three continental cups – U18, U20, and U22. This demonstrates excellent and perfect cooperation between the local federation and volleyball clubs in the country – France is a benchmark for the development of volleyball!
Photos: Nikolay Varadinov
