The Bulgaria men's national volleyball team, controlled by the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, is one of the leading volleyball teams in Europe and the world.
Its achievements include silver medals (1970) and bronze medals (1949, 1952, 1986, 2006) from the World Championship. At the European Championships Bulgaria has one 2nd (1951) and four 3rd places (1955, 1981, 1983, 2009). Bulgaria has also won the silver medals at the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. The team has one 3rd 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 winning the bronze medals at the 2006 World Championship, the 2007 World Cup and 2009 European Championship as well as getting the silver medals at the first European Games in 2015.
Competition Results
Balkan Championship
| Year |
Rank |
 1980 |
Champions |
Summer Olympics
European Championships
European Games
| Year |
Rank |
 2015 |
Runners-Up |
World Championship
World Cup
World League
Bulgaria in the World League
Bulgaria first took part in the World League in 1994. In its debut season in the tournament, the team managed to go 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 tie or beat its first season performance – the team came 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 fifth 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 of the Under-21 team that the previous year managed to win a medal at the World Championships such as Matey Kaziyski and Milushev. In 2005 with a new coach, Martin Stoev, the team finished fifth, followed by another tied best-ever performance of reaching the semi finals in 2006, and another fifth in 2007. In 2008 the team finished seventh, while in 2009 they finished tenth. In 2010 Bulgaria recorded another seventh place. In 2011 Bulgaria qualified for first time in the Final Round after four years, they finished fifth. The 2012 Final Round was held in the newly opened Armeets Arena in Sofia, and the host reached the semi finals once again.
Current Squad
The following is the Bulgarian roster in the 2015 Men's European Volleyball Championship.[1]
Head coach: Plamen Konstantinov
| Number |
Name |
Date of Birth |
Height |
Weight |
Spike |
Block |
Club 2015 |
| 1 |
Georgi Bratoev |
21 October 1987 |
2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) |
88 kg (194 lb) |
335 cm (132 in) |
318 cm (125 in) |
 Trentino Volley |
| 7 |
Miroslav Gradinarov |
10 February 1985 |
2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) |
91 kg (201 lb) |
350 cm (140 in) |
330 cm (130 in) |
 F.C. Tokyo |
| 8 |
Todor Skrimov |
9 January 1990 |
1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) |
82 kg (181 lb) |
340 cm (130 in) |
310 cm (120 in) |
Power Volley Milano |
| 9 |
Dobromir Dimitrov |
7 July 1991 |
1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) |
81 kg (179 lb) |
342 cm (135 in) |
322 cm (127 in) |
Sir Safety Perugia |
| 10 |
Nikolay Uchikov |
13 April 1986 |
2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) |
110 kg (240 lb) |
355 cm (140 in) |
330 cm (130 in) |
 UPCN Vóley Club |
| 11 |
Vladimir Nikolov Captain |
3 October 1977 |
2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) |
95 kg (209 lb) |
345 cm (136 in) |
325 cm (128 in) |
 ASUL Lyon |
| 12 |
Viktor Yosifov |
16 October 1985 |
2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) |
100 kg (220 lb) |
350 cm (140 in) |
340 cm (130 in) |
Top Volley Latina |
| 13 |
Teodor Salparov |
16 August 1982 |
1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) |
77 kg (170 lb) |
320 cm (130 in) |
305 cm (120 in) |
 Zenit Kazan |
| 14 |
Teodor Todorov |
1 September 1989 |
2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) |
94 kg (207 lb) |
365 cm (144 in) |
345 cm (136 in) |
 PV Lugano |
| 15 |
Todor Aleksiev |
21 April 1983 |
2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) |
105 kg (231 lb) |
355 cm (140 in) |
340 cm (130 in) |
UPCN Vóley Club |
| 16 |
Vladislav Ivanov |
14 March 1987 |
1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
80 kg (180 lb) |
320 cm (130 in) |
305 cm (120 in) |
ASUL Lyon |
| 17 |
Nikolay Penchev |
22 May 1992 |
1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) |
87 kg (192 lb) |
341 cm (134 in) |
335 cm (132 in) |
 Asseco Resovia |
| 18 |
Nikolay Nikolov |
29 July 1986 |
2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) |
97 kg (214 lb) |
344 cm (135 in) |
330 cm (130 in) |
 Paykan Tehran |
| 20 |
Lyubomir Agontsev |
26 July 1987 |
1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
87 kg (192 lb) |
335 cm (132 in) |
318 cm (125 in) |
Top Volley Latin |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
Runners-Up (1980)
Third Place (2007)
1972
1980
2012
1955
1958
1983
1995
2009
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