About 11 year after he last played for the Bulgarian national team, the country’s most prominent active star, Matey Kaziyski, is back on the roster! The long list of 28 players, announced by head coach Plamen Konstantinov, who also came back to the helm of the Lions after last leading them at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, is highlighted by a number of other stellar returns like those of Teodor Salparov, the Bratoev twins and Nikolay Penchev.
Kaziyski quit the Bulgarian national team just before the London 2012 Olympic Games because of a conflict with the federation’s president at the time. Even after the current president Lyubomir Ganev took over, the phenomenal outside hitter has declined all invitations to rejoin the Balkan Lions saying he was past his time for playing with the national team.
According to the Bulgarian federation’s press release, 38-year-old Kaziyski will announce his final decision whether to accept Konstantinov’s invitation after he is done with the Italian SuperLega, where his club team Itas Trentino Trento are currently playing in the final playoff against Cucine Lube Civitanova, the club of rising Bulgarian star Aleksandar Nikolov, who is also on the national team list. However, the mere fact that Matey Kaziyski’s name appeared on the roster is already sensational news, and if his final decision is positive, his participation in this summer’s national team season will be a real delight to volleyball fans all over the world.
