2024-07-21 18:55:29
The coach of the men’s volleyball champion “Levski” Nikolay Zhelyazkov believes that the draw that brought his team together in the first round in an eternal derby with the vice-champion CSKA is very good.
“I think it’s a wonderful draw for us from the point of view that last year we finished against a CSKA team and played great finals. There’s no better way to start than against a very strong team. So I’m happy with the draw The lineups will be different – both ours and CSKA’s. We have many young boys from the club’s academy who will certainly be given a chance.
Among the new names we can distinguish the experienced Todor Skrimov – an outstanding volleyball player, athlete and person. One of the two foreigners is Livan Osorio – a former national of Cuba. He played in France, in the Czech Republic. An extremely interesting player, I think he will fit well into our lineup.
The next one I know well is the Slovakian international Julius Firkal, who played for me at Neftokhimik. I think he’s slotted in really well – he can play both as a receiver and a diagonal spreader. “Extremely powerful and aggressive striker”, commented the specialist to the website of the “blues”.
“Veni Antov, Vladi Garkov, Damian Kolev – Levski players who debuted this summer for Bulgaria, did not get much field for appearing in the national team. I expected them to get more. Last year in Levski, we became champions with these guys. Winning one such a trophy gives confidence, you already know how to play in such matches – you already have experience in such matches. We are going to look to build on their game – individually, technically, tactically and physically. We have a lot to build on in the new season. I think a lot about this topic, what needs to be done – both individually, as a team, and as a style of play,” Zhelyazkov also said.
“I feel ready to start, I’m full of energy and I’m looking forward to the start of training. We start on August 12 and I hope we’ll be healthy and prepare well,” revealed Zhelyazkov.
“Regarding the draw for the Champions League groups – definitely “Jastrzembski” is the favorite and the most titled team. The teams “Lüneburg” and “Chaumont” are two extremely classy teams, but somehow I think that against them we have chances and opportunities. We we have our merits and we will do our best to perform in the best way. My dream is to get out of the groups and if we can, it will be an incredible success!” concluded the champions coach.