Bulgaria men's national volleyball team
 | ||||
| Association | Bulgarian Volleyball Federation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | CEV | |||
| Head coach | Silvano Prandi | |||
| FIVB ranking | 20 (as of 2 December 2023) | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
| ||||
| Summer Olympics | ||||
| Appearances | 8 (First in 1964) | |||
| Best result |  (1980) | |||
| World Championship | ||||
| Appearances | 18 (First in 1949) | |||
| Best result |  (1970) | |||
| World Cup | ||||
| Appearances | 4 (First in 1965) | |||
| Best result |  (2007) | |||
| European Championship | ||||
| Appearances | 28 (First in 1950) | |||
| Best result |  (1951) | |||
| www.volleyball.bg (in Bulgarian) | ||||
The Bulgaria men's national volleyball team is controlled by the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, which represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches.
History
The team's achievements include winning the Balkan Championships in 1980, Runners-Up (1970) and Third Place (1949, 1952, 1986, 2006) at the World Championship. At the European Championships Bulgaria has one Runners-Up (1951) and four Third Place (1955, 1981, 1983, 2009) finishes. Bulgaria has also achieved Runners-Up at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. The team has one third place at the World Cup (2007) and five Semi-Final appearances in the World League (1994, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2013). The team's most significant recent results include earning Third Place at the 2006 World Championship, the 2007 World Cup and 2009 European Championship as well as achieving Runners-Up at the first European Games in 2015.
Bulgaria first took part in the World League in 1994. During the debut season in the tournament, the team went all the way to the Semi-Finals; led by players like Lubo Ganev, Dimo Tonev, Martin Stoev, etc. In the next four editions, Bulgaria took part but did not manage to surpass its prior performance by reaching fifth in 1995, eight in 1996, sixth in 1997, and seventh in 1998. Under the guidance of Milorad Kijac, the new wave of players including Teodor Salparov, Danial Mihaylov, etc. mixed well with the more experienced Evgeni Ivanov, Plamen Konstantinov, Nikolay Ivanov, Vladimir Nikolov, Hristo Tsvetanov to result in the fifth-place rank in 2003. The next year, once again under Kijac, the team played some impressive games and succeeded to tie its best performance of reaching the Semi-Finals. The team included more players from the Under-21 team that the previous year won a medal at the World Championships, such as Matey Kaziyski and Milushev. In 2005 with a new coach, Martin Stoev, the team finished as the fifth rank, followed by another tied best-ever performance of reaching the Semi-Finals in 2006, and another fifth rank in 2007. In 2011 Bulgaria qualified for first time in the Final Round after four years, they finished as the fifth rank. The 2012 Final Round was held in the newly opened Armeets Arena in Sofia, and the host reached the Semi-Finals once again.
Statistics
Olympic Games
1972 Munich — 4th place
1980 Moscow — 
Silver medal
2012 London — 4th place
- G. Bratoev, Skrimov, Dimitrov, V. Bratoev, V. Nikolov (C), Yosifov, Salparov, Todorov, Aleksiev, Penchev, N. Nikolov, Sokolov. Head coach: Naydenov
World Championship
1949 Czechoslovakia — 
Bronze medal- 1952 Soviet Union — Bronze medal
- 1962 Soviet Union — 4th place
1970 Bulgaria — Silver medal
1986 France — Bronze medal
2006 Japan — Bronze medal
2010 Italy — 7th place
2014 Poland — 13th place- 2018 Italy/Bulgaria — 11th place
World Cup
1969 East Germany — 4th place- 2007 Japan — Bronze medal
European Championship
- 1950 Bulgaria — 4th place
- 1951 France — Silver medal
1955 Romania — Bronze medal- 1958 Czechoslovakia — 4th place
- 1963 Romania — 4th place
1981 Bulgaria — Bronze medal- 1983 East Germany — Bronze medal
1995 Greece — 4th place
2009 Turkey — Bronze medal
2013 Denmark/Poland — 4th place- 2015 Bulgaria/Italy — 4th place
- 2017 Poland — 6th place
World League
- 1994 — 4th place
1995 — 5th place
1996 — 8th place
1997 — 6th place- 1998 Milan — 7th place
2003 Madrid — 5th place- 2004 Rome — 4th place
2005 Belgrade — 5th place- 2006 Moscow — 4th place
- 2007 Katowice — 5th place
- 2008 Rio de Janeiro — 7th place
2009 Belgrade — 10th place
2010 Córdoba — 7th place- 2011 Gdańsk — 5th place
- 2012 Sofia — 4th place
- 2013 Mar del Plata — 4th place
- 2014 Florence — 8th place
- 2015 Rio de Janeiro — 10th place
- 2016 Kraków — 11th place
- 2017 Curitiba — 9th place
Nations League
- 2018 Lille — 11th place
2019 Chicago — 12th place
European Games
2015 Baku — Silver medal
Universiade
- 1961 Sofia — Silver medal
- 1977 Sofia —
Gold medal
Team
Current squad
The following is the Bulgarian roster in the 2019 Volleyball Men's Nations League.[1]
Head coach: Silvano Prandi
| No. | Name | Date of birth | Height | Weight | Spike | Block | 2018–19 club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgi Bratoev | 21 October 1987 | 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) | 98 kg (216 lb) | 340 cm (130 in) | 325 cm (128 in) |  Neftohimik
|
| 2 | Krasimir Georgiev | 13 February 1995 | 195 cm (6 ft 5 in) | 95 kg (209 lb) | 350 cm (140 in) | 330 cm (130 in) |  Rennes
|
| 2 | Chono Penchev | 11 December 1994 | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 78 kg (172 lb) | 350 cm (140 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | Pirin Razlog
|
| 4 | Martin Atanasov | 27 September 1996 | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 80 kg (180 lb) | 350 cm (140 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | Chaumont
|
| 5 | Gotsev Svetoslav | 31 August 1990 | 205 cm (6 ft 9 in) | 97 kg (214 lb) | 358 cm (141 in) | 335 cm (132 in) |  Dinamo Leningrad
|
| 6 | Rozalin Penchev | 11 December 1994 | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 79 kg (174 lb) | 337 cm (133 in) | 327 cm (129 in) |  Bolívar
|
| 7 | Nikolay Uchikov | 13 April 1986 | 207 cm (6 ft 9 in) | 110 kg (240 lb) | 355 cm (140 in) | 330 cm (130 in) | Neftohimik
|
| 8 | Todor Skrimov | 9 January 1990 | 197 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 348 cm (137 in) | 330 cm (130 in) |  Vibo Valentia
|
| 9 | Georgi Seganov | 10 June 1993 | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 83 kg (183 lb) | 355 cm (140 in) | 325 cm (128 in) |  Maliye Milli Pyango
|
| 10 | Valentin Bratoev | 21 October 1987 | 203 m (666 ft 0 in) | 92 kg (203 lb) | 347 cm (137 in) | 337 cm (133 in) |  JTEKT Stings
|
| 11 | Velizar Chernokozhev | 23 April 1995 | 212 cm (6 ft 11 in) | 108 kg (238 lb) | 350 cm (140 in) | 335 cm (132 in) | Diobrudzha 07
|
| 13 | Teodor Salparov | 16 August 1982 | 187 m (613 ft 6 in) | 77 kg (170 lb) | 320 cm (130 in) | 305 cm (120 in) | Neftohimik
|
| 14 | Teodor Todorov | 1 September 1989 | 208 m (682 ft 5 in) | 108 kg (238 lb) | 365 cm (144 in) | 345 cm (136 in) | Neftohimik
|
| 16 | Vladislav Ivanov | 14 March 1987 | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | 80 kg (180 lb) | 320 cm (130 in) | 310 cm (120 in) | |
| 17 | Nikolay Penchev | 22 May 1992 | 197 m (646 ft 4 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 341 cm (134 in) | 335 cm (132 in) |  ONIKO
|
| 18 | Nikolay Nikolov | 29 July 1986 | 206 m (675 ft 10 in) | 97 kg (214 lb) | 350 cm (140 in) | 332 cm (131 in) |  Sporting Lisboa
|
| 19 | Tsvetan Sokolov | 31 December 1989 | 206 m (675 ft 10 in) | 100 kg (220 lb) | 370 cm (150 in) | 350 cm (140 in) | VC Zenit-Kazan
|
| 20 | Aleks Grozdanov | 27 September 1996 | 206 cm (6 ft 9 in) | 86 kg (190 lb) | 355 cm (140 in) | 334 cm (131 in) |  Greenyard Maaseik
|
| 21 | Petar Karakashev | 11 February 1991 | 184 m (603 ft 8 in) | 77 kg (170 lb) | 326 cm (128 in) | 308 cm (121 in) | VC Hebar
|
| 22 | Vladimir Stankov | 8 September 1996 | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | 80 kg (180 lb) | 325 cm (128 in) | 320 cm (130 in) | VC CSKA Sofia
|
| 23 | Martin Ivanov | 2 April 1992 | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) | 78 kg (172 lb) | 320 cm (130 in) | 310 cm (120 in) | Neftohimik
|
| 25 | Radoslav Parapunov | 19 June 1997 | 205 cm (6 ft 9 in) | 87 kg (192 lb) | 346 cm (136 in) | 327 cm (129 in) |  Rainbow Warriors
|
| 26 | Plamen Shekerdezhiev | 21 May 1998 | 198 cm (6 ft 6 in) | 83 kg (183 lb) | 345 cm (136 in) | 328 cm (129 in) | VC CSKA Sofia
|
| 26 | Nikolay Kolev | 16 December 1997 | 204 cm (6 ft 8 in) | 86 kg (190 lb) | 355 cm (140 in) | 340 cm (130 in) | Cherno more BASK
|
Tsvetan Sokolov missed out on the first 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's Nations League and the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship as he went on a knee surgery[2][3]. However, he had recovered and participated in his club tournaments.[4][5][6]
Head coaches
|
Kit providers
The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Bulgaria national volleyball team.
| Period | Kit provider |
|---|---|
| 2002– | Asics |
Sponsorship
The main sponsor of the national team is the Bulgarian betting company Efbet, while Asics, Mikasa and Lidl are secondary sponsors.[7]
References
- ^ https://www.volleyball.world/en/vnl/2019/men/teams/bul%20bulgaria/players.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ https://volleymob.com/tsvetan-solokov-underwent-knee-surgery-on-june-4-2018/
- ^ https://volleymob.com/lubes-tsvetan-sokolov-sit-next-20-days-injury/
- ^ https://www.flovolleyball.tv/articles/6274625-semifinalists-determined-reigning-champ-gone-at-world-club-championships
- ^ https://www.flovolleyball.tv/articles/6276940-trentino-wins-fifth-fivb-world-club-gold-medal
- ^ https://volleymob.com/sokolov-is-back-training-with-lube-video/
- ^ http://www.volleyball.bg/
External links
| |