Levski claim Bulgarian men’s national league to secure spot in Champions League group stage
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This past weekend, Levski SOFIA were crowned champions of Bulgaria after defeating their ‘eternal opponents’ of CSKA SOFIA. In front of a full house at Levski Sofia Sports Hall, the players coached by Nikolay Zhelyazkov beat CSKA 3-1 in a spectacular third clash between the two teams, thus putting an end to the championship series in the elite division of the Bulgarian national league for the 2023/2024 season.
Fans of quality Volleyball in the Balkan country enjoyed high-class battles on the court in the so called ‘Eternal Derby of Bulgaria’ as the two sides had last locked horns at this very final stage of the national championship back in 2010. In 2023/2024, Levski proved to be the better team, winning the series in three matches. This is the second success for the Blues during the season, after they won the Bulgarian Super Cup back in October 2023.
The title this year holds even more significance for the Bulgarian champions, as in 2024/2025, the trophy holders in the Bulgarian league will feature in the group stage of the elite CEV Champions League Volley.
Vladimir Garkov was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the final series, whereas for the player of the audience the fans voted for Simeon Nikolov from Levski as well.
Statistically, the Blues finished with 66 successful attacks (vs 58), four aces (to one) and seven blocks (vs 10). Strahinja Brzakovic of CSKA became top scorer of the last matchup with 24 points (55% success rate in attack). His teammate, Todor Valchev added 20 points to the count. For the winners, Kristian Titriyski topped the charts with 18 points (75% success in attack). Garkov contributed with 17 points to his side’s victory.
Nikolay Zhelyazkov“It is always a great feeling to become champion. The satisfaction is huge because with these young boys, we have been building the team in the past years, and now we see the results. Building competitors and winning a title, I can only be extremely satisfied with that. I trained both stars and young boys in this process. The pleasure for me is always the same, so I will wait for the management’s decision on what players we will have for next year."
Head coach of Levski SOFIA
“I congratulate Levski on what they do, they have a big team and find time for the important things - they create a volleyball school, and it is quite natural that they become champions. Silver is not any sort of comfort for us, since losing the finale is the hardest thing. The boys were trying hard, but we had problems in the training process, and still they fought. I am sorry we failed. We have time now, and we will think about organising the next season. We will see what will happen, but I am confident that we will do our best,” Alexander Popov, head coach of CSKA commented.
Simeon Nikolov“The feeling is incredible. We fought for everyone here in the hall and I want to thank them for supporting us all season. Levski in recent years has been the better team. I try not to think about the achievements of my father [Vladimir Nikolov] and my brother [Aleksandar Nikolov] - whom I am expected to outweigh. I just try to play my own game, and right now it is not my brother, but me who is the Bulgarian champion. Thank you to everyone in the hall, without the fans the motivation would be much smaller."
Player of Levski SOFIA
During a spectacular prize ceremony, the members of the Dream Team for the regular season were presented with their awards, while the sportsmanship awards were given to Fahry Putratama and Anton Stanchev, who had the highest number of green cards during the season.
Kristiyan Hristov, winner of the 2023/2024 FantasyVolley - a new digital challenge run by the Bulgarian National Volleyball League for the fans of the game – also received his prize for being the best FantasyVolley coach in the past season.
