Cracking fight between Russia and Bulgaria is in offing?
Men’s National Volleyball Team of Bulgaria is set to take on Russia today (Thursday, June 30) in the opening match of sixth week of 2011 FIVB World League. Bulgarian City Varna will host the match, where the ‘Palace of Culture and Sports’ will set up the
field of play. This is extremely important match for Bulgaria as the team is still not guaranteed a ticket to the Final round of the tournament. There are some possibilities that Bulgarian team is looking forward to. If Poland loses to Brazil in Pool A and
Americans beat Puerto Rico, then there will be a chance for the best three second best placed teams to travel to Poland. Bulgaria is in dire need to win against Russia as well, in order to play a further part in the tournament.
This is not easy as it looks like. Russia is the top team of the tournament so far, which has compiled a perfect record of 10-0. They have been quite successful in Pool B and didn’t allow anyone to hinder their performance. Russia is already confirmed for
the Final Round on account of its brilliant performance in the first five weeks of the tournament. Russians are enjoying their top form right now and absolute success in the previous segments of Preliminary round has greatly boosted their morale.
They have strong team-line, which is perfect blend of smart and experienced players. Quite recently, the captain of Russian team Vladimir Alekno shared his thought about next match against Bulgaria. He said that they have already qualified for the final
round and their job is pretty much done. Still they will take on Bulgaria to add another victory to their count.
He said, “We are here to be victorious and nothing can change this.”
Furthermore. he added that Bulgaria is strong team and it will be a great entertainment for volleyball enthusiasts in the coming fixture.
On the other hand, captain of Bulgarian squad Radostin Stoychev didn’t seem satisfied about his side’s performance in the previous matches.
He stated, “We made our job harder than it should be. Now we depend on calculations and other teams. However - we will fight till the end. The boys realize what they have to do.”
He urged his players to bring more discipline in the team and strive for better reputation among the volleyball family.
Bulgarian is second in Pool B but it has lost four matches and the points’ ratio is not very good. They have earned only 18 points, which make it quite difficult for Bulgarians to make it to the finals. Nevertheless, the team is firmly determined to break
the winning streak of Russia. They will be playing at home and support of local crowd will certainly benefit them.
The match has a special feature that President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov will come to watch the match. Likewise, Minister of Sports Svilen Neykov and people like Military Minister Anyu Angelov will also show up at the match venue.
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