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Bulgaria is back on the world volleyball map – it is silver again after 55 years!

The Bulgarian team lost the final match to defending world champion Italy in a dramatic match ending 1:3
Photo: FB/volleyBUL.official

Bulgarians made history at the Volleyball World Championship in the Philippines, winning a silver medal from the World Championship for the second time in Bulgarian volleyball history after a 55-year hiatus!


In the battle for the title of the 21st World Volleyball Championship, the Bulgarians lost to the current world champion Italy in a dramatic match with a score of 1:3 (21:25, 17:25, 25:17, 10:25) in front of over 15 thousand spectators in Pasay City.


Until the final match, the Bulgarians were the only undefeated team in the world competition. To reach the final, the Bulgarian team, under the skillful leadership of Italian coach Gianlorenzo Blengini, successively defeated Germany, Slovenia and debutant Chile in the groups, before crushing Portugal on September 22, and then making a phenomenal comeback against the USA in the quarterfinals, after losing 0:2 sets in the start. 

In the penultimate stage, the Bulgarian national team defeated the Czech Republic 3:1. 
Bulgaria achieved its remarkable successes on the way to silver with volleyball players from a new generation of volleyball players, who won the hearts of millions of fans around the world – the Bulgarian team is the youngest at the World Championship in the Philippines.

Bulgaria's national volleyball team scored its best achievement in the 21st century
Gianlorenzo Blengini took over the Bulgarian national men's volleyball team from February 2024. 

"We settled on Gianlorenzo Blengini because we want a coach with authority, a coach who knows how to work with young athletes, a person who has the capacity to do what is necessary for the Bulgarian national team to have a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Gianlorenzo Blengini's qualities are undeniable. His long CV with his successes speaks for them," explained the president of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation Lyubomir Ganev at the time.


During the final battle, all of Bulgaria was thinking volleyball, staring at the television screens, supporting the young Bulgarian lions. In central places in a number of cities in the country, at the initiative of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the local authorities, the match was broadcast on large outdoor screens. 


This is the second time the Bulgarian national volleyball team wins the world silver medal for the second time in history. On October 2, 1970, the Bulgarian team almost touched gold in a heart-stopping final with the team of the German Democratic Republic, but after an incredible turnaround, it was left with silver. 


Bulgaria also has a bronze medal from the championship in 2006, when Vladimir Nikolov - the father of two of the big stars in the Bulgarian team now (Alexander Nikolov and Simeon Nikolov) was in the team, BNT recalls.

Photos: AP/BTA, volleyballworld.com, FB/volleyBUL.official


Edited by Miglena Ivanova
English publication: R. Petkova

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Radio Bulgaria Sport    Alexander Nikolov Alex Grozdanov Bulgarian volleyball team Bulgaria silver medals Bulgaria silver medal World Volleyball Championship Pasay City Philippines silver medalist Bulgaria volleyball

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