Yeah I didn't mean Tsvetanov, Ivanov and Gaydarski, they were rather strong and consistent, I was talking about Nikolov and Yosifov. I used to think so because of their technique and modest athletic abilities (compared to Bontje and Kooistra), but they're playing great now. What happened to Gaydarski and Bulgarian NT actually?
Martin Stoev happened. He modified the philosophy of the team into "Keep it Simple, Stupid" - Serve, Spike with the great, MB as a joker. Before him Bulgaria had strong coaches like Milorad Kiatz, who had tactics, but didn't achieve very high results. With Stoev Bulgaria had strong serve and no block (no connection between them!), the defense was matter of personal qualities of Zhekov, Nikolov and Konstantinov, and the spiking was simplified as a strategy. But we won medals