site.btaPlamen Konstantinov Steps Down as Bulgaria Men's National Volleyball Team Head Coach, Italian Blengini Expected to Take Over

The head coach of the men's volleyball national team, Plamen Konstantinov, who had a contract for one year with the option of one year extension, will not fulfill the extension, it transpired after the Governing Council of the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation (BVF) on Wednesday. Italian Gianlorenzo Blengini was preferred for the post.

Blengini is the head coach of Cucine Lube Civitanova, where Bulgarian Aleksandar Nikolov also plays.

"He will no longer work with the club after his contract with Lube expires in May. His commitments will be entirely to the Bulgarian national team. We don't have a contract yet, but it will happen soon," said BVF president Lyubomir Ganev. He specified that Blengini's contract with the BVF should be until 2026.

Blengini was born on December 29, 1971 in Turin. With him as a head coach, Lube became three times champion of Italy (2017, 2021 and 2022), and won one Italian Cup (2017), Italy's national team won silver medals at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and bronze medals at the European Championships in Bulgaria a year earlier.  

In addition to Blengini, the candidacies of Konstantinov and former national head coach Martin Stoev have also been considered. The Italian candidate received the highest number of votes, with which the board members authorized BVF President Ganev to start negotiations with him.