BULGARIA
The
Team
| NAME |
POSITION
|
AGE
|
CLUB |
| |
|
|
|
| Borislav Mihailov |
GK
|
34
|
Slavia Sofia |
| Zdravko Zdravkov |
GK
|
27
|
Istanbulspor |
| Dimitar Popov |
GK
|
27
|
Lokomotiv Sofia |
| |
|
|
|
| Radostin Kishishev |
D
|
23
|
Bursaspor |
| Trifon Ivanov |
D
|
32
|
Austria Vienna |
| Gosho Ginchev |
D
|
28
|
Antalyaspor |
| Milen Petkov |
D
|
23
|
CSKA Sofia |
| Ivailo Petkov |
D
|
21
|
Litex Lovech |
| Adalbert Zafirov |
D
|
29
|
CSKA Sofia |
| |
|
|
|
| Zlatko Yankov |
M
|
31
|
Besiktas |
| Ivailo Yordanov |
M
|
29
|
Sporting Lisbon |
| Iordan Letchkov |
M
|
30
|
Besiktas |
| Krasimir Balakov |
M
|
31
|
VfB Stuttgart |
| Daniel Borimirov |
M
|
27
|
TSV 1860 Munich |
| Anatoli Nankov |
M
|
28
|
Lokomotiv Sofia |
| Ilia Gruev |
M
|
28
|
Neftochimik Bourgas |
| |
|
|
|
| Hristo Stoichkov |
F
|
31
|
Barcelona |
| Emil Kostadinov |
F
|
30
|
UNAM Mexico |
| Lyuboslav Penev |
F
|
31
|
Compostela |
| Ilian Iliev |
F
|
29
|
Slavia Sofia |
| Georgi Ivanov |
F
|
21
|
Levski Sofia |
| Georgi Bachev |
F
|
22
|
Slavia Sofia |
| Hristo Yovov |
F
|
20
|
Levski Sofia |
| Marian Hristov |
F
|
24
|
Kaiserslautern |
| Georgi Donkov |
F
|
27
|
VfL Bochum |
The
Coach
HRISTO BONEV took charge
of the Bulgarian team in August 1996 after they had failed to get past
the first stage of Euro 96. His coaching experience came at Greece's
Panathinaikos and APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus, both of whom he led to titles
although his reputation is based more on his peerless contribution as a
player. A former striker, the 50-year old Bonev is his country's
top scorer with 48 goals and is the second most capped player behind goalkeeper
Borislav Mikhailov with 96-42 as captain. His greatest achievement
in a difficult job has been to diplomatically unite the Bulgarian squad,
virtually putting an end to fractional wrangling and boycotts by players
that traditionally caused huge problems. Intelligent and self-confident,
he has encouraged younger blood in the team but says he intends to stand
by the old guard who brought new respect to the Bulgarian game by reaching
the semifinals of the 1994 World Cup after decades of failure.
How
They Qualified
Europe
Group 5
| Israel - Bulgaria |
2 - 1
|
| Luxembourg - Bulgaria |
1 - 2
|
| Cyprus - Bulgaria |
1 - 3
|
| Bulgaria - Cyprus |
4 - 1
|
| Bulgaria - Luxembourg |
4 - 0
|
| Bulgaria - Israel |
1 - 0
|
| Bulgaria - Russia |
1 - 0
|
| Russia - Bulgaria |
4 - 2
|
Final
Table
|
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
Pts
|
| Bulgaria |
8
|
6
|
0
|
2
|
18
|
9
|
18
|
| Russia |
8
|
5
|
2
|
1
|
19
|
5
|
17
|
| Israel |
8
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
9
|
7
|
13
|
| Cyprus |
8
|
3
|
1
|
4
|
10
|
15
|
10
|
| Luxembourg |
8
|
0
|
0
|
8
|
2
|
22
|
0
|
World
Cup Record
|
1962
|
1st Round
|
|
1966
|
1st Round
|
|
1970
|
1st Round
|
|
1974
|
1st Round
|
|
1986
|
1st Round
|
|
1994
|
Fourth Place
|