Bulgaria’s volleyball champions Levski Sofia will begin their campaign in the qualifying rounds for the group stage of Europe’s most prestigious club tournament. In the first match of the second qualifying round, the “Blues” will visit Croatian champions Mladost Zagreb. The match is scheduled for today, November 4, at 20:00 at Bojan Stranic Hall in the Croatian capital.
The upcoming participation is of particular importance to the hosts. Mladost hope to return to the Champions League group stage for the first time in 27 years.
Levski enter the European challenge in good form, sitting top of the domestic league with a maximum of six points after two wins.
The Croatian side have also made a strong start to the season, recording three consecutive victories in the domestic Super League. The team coached by Toni Kovacevic have already come through the first qualifying round of the Champions League, eliminating Cypriot side Kuutio Homes Pafiakos. Mladost recorded two 3:1 victories.
The Zagreb team’s squad includes several foreign players. Among them are Japanese libero Amane Kumagai, Slovenian outside hitter Jan Pokeršnik and Montenegrin middle blocker Nikola Djurovic.
Stipe Peric is a particularly familiar name to Bulgarian volleyball fans. The 204-centimetre middle blocker has experience in the domestic league, having represented Deja Sport (Burgas) during the 2021/2022 season. With the Burgas team, he finished fourth in the Super Volley League.