Sokolov making dreams come true

Over the past decade, Tsvetan Sokolov has established himself not only as the big star and the true leader of the Bulgarian national team, but also as one of the most successful club players in the world with an impressive resume featuring numerous international and national honours.

“The last 10 years in volleyball were something indescribable for me. Volleyball built me as a human being and as a person. It taught me how to fight and to pursue my goals; it taught me to fight for every ball and for everything that I want to achieve. Over the years, I have experienced a lot of positive emotions in volleyball, I have made many of my dreams come true, but I also hope more of them will come true in the future,” Sokolov told Volleyball World.

Born on the last day of 1989, young Tsetso received his first call to the men’s national team when he was only 15. When he was 19, he was part of the squad that claimed bronze at the 2009 CEV Volleyball European Championship, but his biggest success as a member of the Bulgarian Lions came in 2012, when they reached the semifinals of the London Olympic Games. He scored the match high of 22 points in the three sets of the quarterfinal against Germany.

“I will never forget the victory over Germany at the Games in London, with which we qualified for the semis. This was an unforgettable match for me. My first Olympics were an amazing experience that I sincerely hope to live through again. Like all athletes, my biggest dream is to win the Olympic title and I hope it happens one day,” Sokolov said.

Unfortunately for him and his teammates, Bulgaria will not appear at Tokyo 2020. Despite being just one rally away from qualifying in the summer of 2019, they never managed to convert the match point they had in the third set of the deciding game against Brazil and conceded after five sets. This undoubtedly was another unforgettable match for Sokolov, be it in the negative sense.

“Despite our good performance in that game with Brazil, the bitter taste of not qualifying for the Olympics still prevails, because for every athlete this is the most important competition he or she aspires to. It is really difficult to forget this game. I’m still thinking about it, because it was so painful. Matches like that, when you get very close, but not close enough, are unforgettable in the sense that they teach you a valuable lesson to remember for life,” said the 2.06m-tall opposite.

“But most unforgettable are the matches in which the team wins and proves that there comes a time when the long trainings, the efforts and the desire to win pay off. And then you feel the satisfaction after the many hardships you have gone through.”

And the Bulgarian star has certainly had many of those moments, especially in his club career. He has become a real legend in the history of the FIVB Volleyball Club World Championships, where he participated eight times, triumphed with the title three times towards a total of seven podiums, and was three times named on the Dream Team.

From his native club in Bulgaria, Marek Union Ivkoni Dupnitsa, he moved straight to one of the world’s top teams at the time, Trentino Volley Trento, and almost immediately won gold at the 2009 Club World Championship, the first of three world titles with the Italian powerhouse.

“Winning my first Club World Championship in Doha was a moment I will never forget, because it was my first gold medal at an international level. I can't say that there is a medal, an award or a victory that can be forgotten at all, but this was the first one and it showed me that I can fight for all the goals I have in front of me,” Sokolov continued.

With Trentino, Sokolov won the club world title again at the following two editions and a bronze in 2013. He returned to the Club World championship podium in 2017 when he claimed silver with another Italian team, Cucine Lube Civitanova. He repeated that achievement with the same club in 2018, and in 2019 he took bronze, this time as a player of Russia’s Zenit Kazan. On three occasions, in 2013, 2017 and 2018, the Bulgarian athlete was named Best Opposite and honoured on the Dream Team of the tournament, but he tends to downplay the importance of his individual achievements.

“In a collective game like volleyball, the team and the common goals are most important. There are no individual achievements in team sports, in my opinion. Every victory and each individual award mirror the teamwork, so I think all my individual recognitions are due to the team and the guys I trained and worked with on a daily basis. I can say that I am lucky to have had the opportunity to play alongside some of the most talented volleyballers of the decade,” said Sokolov.

Sokolov’s showcase also boasts seven medals from the CEV Champions League, including the most recent continental title with Lube, and numerous domestic trophies and medals in Italy, Turkey and Russia. As of this season, at the turn of the new decade, the talented opposite competes with the Dinamo Moscow jersey.

“In my opinion, all volleyball elements have changed a lot in the last 10 years. The game has become much more of a power sport. The strength of the teams in the world rankings is very balanced. The level of the game is constantly rising and no player has the right to underestimate the capabilities of his opponents. You have to go out there, play and give 110% if you want to win. And everyone is striving for victory!”

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