Bulgarian Men's Volleyball Team Climbs to World's 8th Strongest

Despite losing the bronze to Italy and ranking 4th at the London Olympics, with their performance the Bulgarian national men volleyball team became a source of pride for all fellow country people. Photo by BGNES

Thanks to its spirited performance at the Olympic Games in London, Bulgaria's men's national volleyball team has been now ranked the eight strongest in the world.

The young Bulgarian team led by coaches Nayden Naydenov finished fourth in the Olympic volleyball tournament, as it lost the bronze medal match 1:3 at the hands of Italy.

The Bulgarian boys now have 152.5 points, moving one position ahead in the FIVB Senior World Ranking.

Brazil tops the ranking with 300 points, followed by Olympic champion Russia and Italy.

After winning the silver in Moscow in 1980 against the USSR, the fourth Olympic ranking is the biggest Bulgarian success along with another 4th place at the Munich Games.

Earlier, the Bulgarian team crushed Italy with 3:0 and Poland with 3:1 during the qualifiers in pool A, where it ranked first. The team then lost against Russia in the semi-finals.

The Bulgarian team has been shaken lately by an acrid scandal with the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation. Popular and successful coach Radostin Stoychev and key player Matey Kaziyski quit the team after a row with federation bosses.

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