In focus: Martin Atanasov

Can a young but talented player become one of the most prominent players of his club and the national team? Well, this is the case for the Bulgarian outside hitter Martin Atanasov. While Ziraat Bank Ankara will chase for the first #CLVolleyM quarterfinals in their history, Atanasov’s performance will definitely play a key role.

Atanasov started his professional club career in his own country, Dobrudzha 07, and in his first season, he was selected as the MVP of the Bulgarian national league and the domestic cup. Then, he transferred to the Turkish Tokat Belediye Plevnespor, German VfB Friedrichshafen, and French Chaumont Volley-Ball 52, respectively.

After several seasons in different clubs, he joined the Ziraat Bank’s squad for the 2020-2021 season. In his first year, he completed the national league on top and received a gold medal, as well as a silver in the CEV Challenge Cup. Ziraat Bank Ankara also repeated the same success in the Turkish Efeler League last season, and Atanasov was honored with a “Best Outside Hitter” award.

But of course, the most meaningful individual award for him was in the previous edition of the biggest continental volleyball competition: While Ziraat Bank finished the group in second place but could not make it through the quarterfinals, the 200-cm-tall young Bulgarian contributed a lot for his team. In return for his effort, the volleyball spectators made him the “Best Outside Hitter” according to Fan All Star Vote.

Atanasov also continued to play with the Bulgarian national team, and because of his performance, he became an inseparable part of it for years. In the CEV EuroVolley 2021, Atanasov played with a total of 50 points, including ten blocks and five aces.

Ziraat Bank Ankara opened the season with a cup in Türkiye: The club beat the CEV Cup participant Arkas Spor with a clear of 3-0, and Atanasov made up 7 points in three sets with a 50% attack percentage. Showing the same successful performance in reception, he made 42% positive service reception as well.

The goals are clear for Ziraat Bank Ankara for next season: Domestically, they certainly want to maintain their title in the Efeler League, and they also seek to do their best in Pool E of the CEV Champions League Volley, where they meet Sir Sicoma Monini Perugia, ACH Volley Ljubljana, and SWD powervolleys Düren. Of course, thanks to his talent and experience, the expectations will be pretty high for Atanasov, but he will surely continue to shine with his performance and work hard to help his team.

Watch the Champions League live on EuroVolleyTV.