At this point, we don’t think we’d ever see Matey playing for Bulgaria EVER again.
In recent days, there’s this rumor that he is in talks with the Bulgarian Federation to come back for the upcoming World Championship which Bulgaria is co-hosting with Italy. Sadly, these reports are just false and the 33 year old has finally decided to shut down these rumors.
In an article released by sportal.bg & translated by Volleymob:
“A dialogue about a possible return of mine is not real. First, I am not ready. Now I’m on holidays and I have quite a few personal commitments. I’m in playing shape, and it would take me a lot of time to get into it. I did not have meetings and talks in this direction, and I do not see a real opportunity to do so. I have no desire nor have I changed my position in any way. Even if I did return, progress would be slow. When it comes to high-level sports, there is need for training, preparation, work and other factors that influence results.”
In the same article, the 2008 Olympian also criticizes the FIVB Volleyball Nations League which he thinks is the root of a lot of injuries.
“Professional sports are no longer healthy. This is evident in our national team, with the many injury problems it is facing. The load is just too great on athletes when it comes to elite sports. VNL’s new format is a problem. The trips are hard to bear. Although we are young athletes, it’s not easy to travel so much and play. In my opinion, trips are unequally distributed. Not all teams have as many trips as we do. Taking into account that there is travelling to Asia, then returning to Europe and flying again to Asia all within three weeks, is just too much for the body. Add to that the fact that you have to play at a high level, and that’s just too difficult. In my opinion, this format is not thought of in terms of the health of athletes. The tendency is for things to get worse and worse, I personally do not like it. Obviously, people who are involved in programming these things think only from a marketing point of view, but they do not take into account the fact that people are playing and they need to be recovered and prepared for these games. Instead, athletes have to clench their teeth and play anyway. This further aggravates the situation.
Do you agree with Matey?