The official presentation of Gianlorenzo Blengini as coach of the Bulgarian national team took place on May 2nd. During the press conference, the Turin coach said he was surprised and disappointed by the rejections he received when calling up his squad:
“Our main goal is to build a mentality in training and matches. Above all, it must be clear that we have two main objectives: to play the Nations League and then have a camp to try to involve other young players in the project. The team we will use in the Nations League will be built with players from last year’s Olympic qualifier. The most important thing for me and for the federation is that the people who join the national team want to suffer and sacrifice themselves. We know they might lose some games, but this is the way to achieve the big goal.
I was surprised that when we started making the list for the VNL, there were some who didn’t want to play for the national team. And we’re not talking about those who are at the end of their careers. I understand those who are 34-35 years old and don’t look that far ahead. I see people who are in their prime and have a horizon for such a cycle. For me it is unacceptable. I do not understand! They refuse the invitation that perhaps will involve them next year. I firmly believe that we need people who work hard. We must get involved and believe that the goal is achievable. I will only work with people like this. We are looking for athletes who don’t worry about being technically good or not, but who are responsible. May they carry the flag of Bulgaria with honor and pride. Let them think like the Bulgarians! As a staff we will try to change the mentality of the players.
I have a lot of work ahead of me, but not just me! I’m just one piece of the puzzle. I want players to ask for what is asked of them and do it right away. I don’t want anyone to come to me with stipulations and negotiations to decide which tournament to participate in or not.
The results of recent years have put the team in a not very good situation in terms of ranking. I want to change this situation. I can’t promise that the team will qualify for the Olympics, but I will give my all to make it happen. I made room for a tattoo of the Los Angeles Games logo.
Achieving the end goal doesn’t happen by itself. It’s a series of others. Our immediate goal in the Nations League is to build a balanced and competitive team. Some refused to play, others ended their careers. There are also injury problems. Alexander Nikolov is out of the Nations League because he will have surgery. In the tournament we will meet the best teams who have qualified for Paris 2024. And those who want to make it. The second phase of our work in the summer is to create training sessions and checks that build the team. Whoever refused to come has decided that he cannot commit. So their names are not important. I’m focused on what we have.”
“I will say the names so that there is no speculation,” Ljubomir Ganev added immediately afterwards. – These are Georgi Seganov, Rozalin Penchev, Vladimir Stankov and Branimir Grozdanov. They will not be part of this team that will work for the next five years.”
THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF GIANLORENZO BLENGINI (who speaks in Italian)
Photo: bvf.bg
