The captain of the world vice-champion of Bulgaria and the #8 volleyball player in the world, Alex Grozdanov, revealed curious and interesting details from his professional path in a conversation for Michal Winiarczyk's podcast.
The #1 blocker from the 2025 World Championship in the Philippines spoke not only about his performance in Poland. Grozdanov, who turned 28 on March 28, about his first difficult steps in Italy, the huge influence of Nikola Grbic on his development, the school in Bulgaria, the differences between Serie A and Plus Liga
Volleyball is the No. 2 sport in Bulgaria, right after football!
Grozdanov is categorical that in Bulgaria football continues to be the No. 1 sport, but volleyball is steadily taking second place.
“Interest in volleyball in Bulgaria still cannot be compared to the scale in Poland, but in the last 2-3 years there has been a noticeable increase in popularity, largely because of our national team. I fell in love with volleyball because of Matej Kaziyski, Vladimir Nikolov, Tsvetan Sokolov and the rest of this generation. As a central blocker, I learned from Viktor Yosifov, Nikolay Nikolov and Teodor Todorov.
The Bulgarian School
“The club I grew up in - Levski, initially focused on the basic elements - reception, clean touch when distributing, and only then did they move on to attack, run-up and blocking. This gradual development gave results. In Bulgaria, for a long time, there was a lack of a good enough connection between the federation and the clubs at the youth level. I see a very positive change in the last two years and I have the hope that Bulgaria can also get closer to the Polish model with sports schools built specifically for volleyball.”
Persistence and professionalism
Alex Grozdanov was not one of those teenagers who accumulate an impressive number of individual awards at international tournaments.
“I moved from the youth level very early and started playing for the men. At the age of 17, I entered serious men's volleyball in the Dobrudzha 07 (Dobrich) team, with which I became the champion of Bulgaria, and a little later I was already part of the Bulgarian men's national team. It was this early clash with men's sport that was decisive for me. There you don't have ten training sessions to correct a mistake - you have one match and if you don't react quickly, next time you can be left on the bench. The encounter with the professional lifestyle also helped me a lot. With older players, I saw what perseverance means: nutrition, sleep, discipline, attitude to the training process. It is this daily consistency that makes the difference between a promising talent and a true professional for me.”
Italy - the big leap and the big shock
“I went to play in Italy at only 19 years old, when I joined Verona. My mother Emilia asked me if I was ready, and I left with the clear understanding that if I could do it - I would move on, and if not - I would return to Bulgaria. I got my driver's license just two days before leaving for Italy, and only 2 hours after I landed in Italy, the club already gave me the car keys with the words that I could go home alone. So, in parallel with adapting to professional volleyball, I also learned to live independently - to cook, do laundry, maintain a home and cope in a completely new environment. My first year in Italy developed me a lot not only as a player, but also as a person.”
The right person at the right time - Nikola Grbic!
My most emotional highlight at the beginning of my career abroad is related to Nikola Grbic. I did not accept with enthusiasm the prospect of going to Italy as a reserve center, but when I found out that Nikola Grbic was the coach there, I looked at the situation in a completely different way. The Serbian specialist, who in recent years has been excellently leading the Polish national team, taught me an enormous amount about volleyball and professional life. Nikola Grbic is an “incredible person“ and I admit that I felt him “like a big brother”. The common language and the closeness between the two cultures also helped me in our communication.”
Serie A
“My first real touch on the level in Italy was very vivid. Even in pre-season training, I was impressed by the speed and power of the serve. I remember that in a friendly match the ball “flew” over me with such speed that after the game I wondered how it was even possible to hit it that way. It was in Italy that I realized how big the gap is between the young talent and the accomplished professional. It's not just about physics, but about tactical culture, reading the game, understanding the distributor on the other side of the net and details that I had not seen from the outside. The Italian Serie A gave me the first real signals that hard work pays off. In one of my first matches there for Verona, I recorded 8 blocks. It was a moment that brought me great satisfaction and showed me that my place at this level was not accidental.”
Verona, Maaseik, Ravenna and Monza
“In the first 2 years in Verona, they gave me time to refine my technique and smoothly enter the big volleyball. The short period in Belgium, where I went as a medical joker, turned out to be an important transition from the status of a player who mainly stands on the bench to a player who gets back into the rhythm of the matches. There came the Belgian title with Grinyard (Maaseik), strong matches and the feeling that I could carry weight. Then Ravenna gave me confidence above all. It was there that I started to turn the accumulated knowledge into real value on the court. Monza turned out to be an important stage for me personally, because it confronted me with more difficult moments, greater competition and the need to cope mentally when my playing time was not guaranteed. All of this shaped me into a player who was built in a long process of accumulation.”
Working with Radostin Stoychev
“In 2023, I returned to Verona, where the head coach was Radostin Stoychev. He worked in a more old-fashioned, hard and emotional model, which is not easy for every athlete. I had difficult moments and tension, but I am convinced that this stage helped me. Radostin Stoychev is extremely strong in volleyball - tactically, technically and in the training process. Working with him was difficult, but also very useful. We spoke Bulgarian with him and that made our communication much easier.”
Matei Kaziyski
“I understand Matei Kaziyski very well and his long absence from the national team. Kaziyski had a clear idea of what needed to change in the environment around the national team and our federation, and many people needed to be more understanding of that. The conflict had escalated too much on both sides. Matei Kaziyski's refusal to play for the Bulgarian national team probably helped Kaziyski extend his career. The volleyball calendar is merciless, and top-level players often don't have more than a few days of rest between the club and national seasons.”