New piece in the control room. Here comes Konstantin Abaev, born in 1999, 198 centimeters tall, setter. After standing out as one of the best performers in his role in the Russian championship with Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, Abaev is ready to compete in the Super League for the first time.
Born in Kaliningrad on 17 June 1999, the Russian director has grown in Lokomotiv’s own nursery since 2021. During his time in the youth sector he won three international championships of the Russian Railways JSC “Lokovoley” and a Youth League Cup, before permanently joining the first team a few years later.
In 2017, as soon as he turned 18, he decided to leave the national borders to move to Bulgaria and defend the colors of Montana Volleyball, with which he won a silver in the national cup. In the following season he flew to France to play for Stade Poitevin Volley and in 2019 he returned to Lokomotiv with which he won a championship in 2020, achieved a second place the following year, and also silver in the Russian Super Cup. Protagonist with the various youth selections of his national team, his trophy case also boasts a U21 European Championship and a silver in the U19 World Cup. Abaev is the second athlete of Russian nationality to wear the Verona shirt after the opposite Maksim Sapozhkov.
These are Abaev’s first words: “I chose Verona because I believe it is a place that can allow me to grow a lot, with an ambitious project that convinced me immediately. I have always watched the Italian championship with great attention, where high-level volleyball is played with a style that fascinates me a lot and is not surprisingly considered the most important at an international level. I am happy to have arrived here and I thank the entire Club and Coach Stoytchev for the trust and the opportunity received. I can’t wait to meet my new teammates and start this new important experience.”
“Konstantin is a player we have followed with great attention in recent times – declared Rana Verona sporting director Gian Andrea Marchesi – And we believed he represented the ideal profile for our roster. In the Russian championship he demonstrated excellent qualities in his role and although he is still very young he has already been able to gain important experience abroad. We are certain that Abaev will be able to best fit into our team and offer his contribution to the growth of the group. On behalf of the Club I extend a warm welcome to Konstantin in Verona.”
