After it became clear that Ventsislav Simeonov has been appointed as the coach for the U20 men's teamvolleyweek.bgcontacted him:
- Mr. Simeonov, to what extent is this generation ready for the battle to qualify for the European Championship?
- I don't know all the boys in detail yet. I have seen those who play in the senior age group, I went to watch a few matches. This is the next generation that can take a step forward. Physically, most of the players are very well built. We need to work, and I think we will have enough time to cope and qualify.
- How will the preparation be organized, given the numerous national squads?
- All this was done because I will also be the coach of the B national team. This was clarified last year. This B team will consist of boys that Blengini gave me - those who need to maintain their form, because from an expanded squad of 18-20 people for the Nations League, 14 travel. They will be supplemented with the most promising players from the 2008 cohort, who currently do not have official competitions, and with boys from 2009, as well as some players who drop out of the U22 team. Thus, we will have 12-14 people who will train without interruption throughout the summer. This way, the U20 team will have more time for preparation and cohesion.
- Isn't there a risk of overtraining with such a long preparation period?
- We will start in early June, so there will be time for rest. I will give them about 10 days during the European Championship for the younger age groups, led by Miroslav Zhivkov, after which we will continue preparations in Sofia. We will have about 40 days of focused work before the Balkan Championship. This is the first qualification, there is another one next year, and then the European Championship. We should not overlook the increasingly frequent information about Russia's return to these formations on the international stage.
- Will you have a staff and who will be part of it?
- Yes, of course. Also part of the staff will beFrancesco Mollo, who led the B national team last year. We will continue to work together, and from then on, we will clarify the other details - fitness coaches, physiotherapists, etc.
- Is it an advantage that you have already worked with players from lower age groups?
- Naturally. I know most of the boys. Almost all of them are in the reserves of the men's teams - there are players from Levski, CSKA, Lyulin, and other clubs. But first, we need to see what will come from the men's national team to build the squad correctly.
- What type of team do you want to see - more physicality or more game discipline?
- The two go hand in hand. If you have discipline but no physicality - it won't work. The physicality is there, so we will focus on the game. We are working with the men's national team using one methodology, and the idea is for these boys, who are the new hopes to fill the roster of the representative team, to be ready when they get a chance with the seniors.
