Bulgaria national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Лъвовете (The Lions) Трикольорите (The Tricolours) |
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| Association | Bulgarian Football Union | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach |  Stanimir Stoilov |
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| Asst coach | Krasimir Bezinski Tsanko Tsvetanov |
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| Captain | Dimitar Berbatov | ||
| Most caps | Borislav Mihaylov (102) | ||
| Top scorer | Dimitar Berbatov (48) | ||
| Home stadium | Vasil Levski National Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | BUL | ||
| FIFA ranking | 23 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 8 (June 1995) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 58 (August 2002) | ||
| Elo ranking | 22 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 7 (August 1969) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 63 (Oct 1953, Aug 1954) | ||
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| First international | |||
 Austria 6 – 0 Bulgaria (Vienna, Austria; 21 May 1924) |
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| Biggest win | |||
 Bulgaria 10 – 0 Ghana  (Leon, Mexico; 2 October, 1968 (friendly) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
 Spain 13 – 0 Bulgaria (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933) |
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| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 7 (First in 1962) | ||
| Best result | Fourth place, 1994 | ||
| European Championship | |||
| Appearances | 2 (First in 1996) | ||
| Best result | Round 1, 1996 and 2004 | ||
| Olympic medal record | ||
| Men’s Football | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 1956 Melbourne | Team |
| Silver | 1968 Mexico City | Team |
The Bulgaria national football team is the national football team of Bulgaria and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. Bulgaria's best World Cup performance was in the 1994 World Cup in USA, where they beat defending champions Germany to reach the semi-finals, losing to Italy, and finishing in fourth place after a defeat to Sweden in the third place play-off.
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[edit] History
Bulgaria's first appearance in a World Cup was the 1962 World Cup in Chile, but failed to progress to the knockout stages. The same happened in England in 1966, Mexico in 1970, and West Germany in 1974. They progressed from the first round in Mexico 1986 but were beaten by the hosts in the round of 16.
[edit] 60's and 70's
In the 60's and 70's Bulgaria qualified for four straight World Cup tournaments. In 1962 (their first time), 1966, 1970 and 1974, but without any successful performances. They also won the Balkan Cup in 1976 by beating Romania in the two legged final 1:0, 2:3. In the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico they won a silver medal. They finished first in group D by beating Thailand 7-0, Guatemala 2-1 and a 2-2 draw against Czechoslovakia. They passed the quarter finals by beating Israel and the semi finals by beating Olympic hosts Mexico. In the final they lost 1-4 to Hungary, giving the Bulgarians the silver Olympic medals. They also recorded their biggest win in history 10 days before the Olympics versus Ghana in a friendly match that ended 10-0.
[edit] World Cup 1986
Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup in Mexico by finishing second in Group 4 behind France with 11 points but worse goal difference, ahead of the teams of Yugoslavia, East Germany and Luxembourg. This was their 5th World Cup appearance. They were drawn in Group A with Italy, Argentina and South Korea. In the opening match of the World Cup, the Bulgarians held the defending champions Italy to a 1-1 draw. Alessandro Altobelli gave the Italians the lead, but a 85th minute equalizer by Nasko Sirakov gave the Bulgarians the point. The next match was another 1-1 draw versus the team of South Korea with the goal for Bulgaria coming from Plamen Getov in the 11th minute. They lost the final match of the group 0-2 against Argentina (which won the World Cup that year). Despite not recording a win, the Bulgarians advanced to the knockout stage by being the 3rd best third placed team. That way Bulgaria and also Uruguay became the first nations to qualify for the knockout stage without winning a game in the first round. In the Round of 16 they faced World Cup hosts Mexico and lost the match 0-2. Ivan Vutsov was the manager of the team.
[edit] World Cup 1994
Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is November 17, 1993, when Emil Kostadinov scored two goals to beat France in Paris, allowing Bulgaria to qualify for the World Cup in the USA in 1994. Under the management of Dimitar Penev, the Bulgarians, led by players like Hristo Stoichkov, Yordan Lechkov and Krasimir Balakov (along with a multitude of other talented players remembered in Bulgaria as the "Golden Generation"), made a strong impression by reaching the semi finals. They entered group D with Argentina, Nigeria and Greece. Before that the Bulgarians haven't won match in the World Cup competitions. The first match ended with a 0-3 defeat by Nigeria. Despite the bad start, the team won 4-0 against Greece and 2-0 against Argentina. Argentina had actually been winning the group going into injury-time, however a 91st minute strike from Nasko Sirakov meant that they dropped two places and finished 3rd. Bulgaria continued to the next round where they faced Mexico. The match ended 1-1 and after no goals were scored in the extra time, penalties would decide which team would go through. Team captain Borislav Mihaylov made a good performance saving the first 3 penalty kicks. Bulgaria won 3-1 on penalties with Mihaylov becoming the hero for the Bulgarian team. In the quarter-finals Bulgaria faced the then defending World Cup champions Germany. Lothar Matthaeus scored from a penalty, however the Bulgarians managed to turn the game over with two goals by Hristo Stoichkov and Yordan Lechkov, giving them the 2-1 win and recording one of the most memorable wins for the team. Millions of Bulgarians celebrated this win in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities. Having reached the semi-finals, this was the best Bulgarian performance in the World Cup. In the semi-finals they lost 1-2 to Italy and 0-4 to Sweden in the third place match. Hristo Stoichkov won the Golden Boot as a joint top scorer in the tournament with six goals (Russia's Oleg Salenko was the other winner). Krasimir Balakov was named in the all-star team along with Stoichkov.
[edit] Euro 1996
In 1996, the team qualified for the European Football Championship for the first time, after some good results in the qualifying group, including a 3-2 turnover win against future Euro 1996 champions Germany. They were drawn in group B with France, Spain and Romania. Bulgaria started with a 1-1 draw against Spain (a Stoichkov goal was disallowed), followed by a 1-0 win against Romania. In the final group match they suffered a 1-3 defeat by France. At the same time Spain defeated Romania 2-1 with the winner coming in the 84th minute and thus the Bulgarians were eliminated from the competition and sent home. Hristo Stoichkov was selected in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.
[edit] World Cup 1998
Bulgaria qualified for the World Cup in France by finishing first in the group 5, followed by Russia. They entered the competition with a new manager Hristo Bonev, since Dimitar Penev was sacked after Euro 1996. Bulgaria drew Spain, Nigeria and Paraguay in group D. The first match ended in a 0-0 goalless draw against Paraguay. In the second match the Bulgarians lost 0-1 for a second straight World cup to Nigeria. The final match ended with a disappointing 1-6 defeat to Spain. Following the bad results, Bulgaria finished 4th in the group with only 1 point and didn't go through the next round despite the good form they were in. This was the last major international tournament that the first Bulgarian Golden Generation participated in.
[edit] Euro 2000
Bulgaria was drawn in a tough qualifying group with teams like England, Sweden and Poland. The campaign started bad with two defeats by Poland and Sweden. The most memorable match for Bulgaria in the group was the 1-1 draw against England, which was also the last one for Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov before his international retirement. Bulgaria finished 4th with 8 points and failed to make the Euro 2000.
[edit] World Cup 2002
Group 3 had Bulgaria, Denmark and Czech Republic amongst the main contenders for the qualifying spots. Bulgaria won the matches against the weaker teams, but lost 0-2 to Denmark and both matches with Czech Republic, including a disappointing 0-6 defeat. That way Bulgaria finished 3rd with 17 points and 3 points behind second placed Czech Republic and failed to make the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
[edit] Euro 2004
Bulgaria managed to qualify for the Euro 2004 in Portugal by finishing first in the group ahead of teams like Croatia and Belgium with 17 points and just one defeat. They drew Sweden, Italy and Denmark in group C. They started very disappointing with a 0-5 defeat by Sweden, followed by a 0-2 defeat by Denmark. The last match against Italy was 1-2 defeat. The match was ending 1-1 after goals from Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov and Simone Perrotta, but a last minute goal by Antonio Cassano gave the Italians the win. They finished 4th with no points and were sent home without reaching the knockout round. After the disappointing performance the manager Plamen Markov was sacked.
[edit] World Cup 2006
Bulgaria failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany after a run of poor results, finishing third in group 8, behind Sweden and Croatia with 15 points.
[edit] Euro 2008
Group G had Netherlands, Romania and Bulgaria as the main contestants for a qualifying spot for the Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria. Bulgaria performed good, but failed to qualify, after a run of good results from Romania that gave them the first place. The Bulgarians finished 3rd with 25 points, 1 point behind Romania and Netherlands with only one lost match against the Dutch.
[edit] World Cup 2010
Bulgaria were drawn against Italy and Republic of Ireland in qualifying Group 8. Bulgaria started the campaign with a series of draws in the 2010 qualifiers. After the unconvincing start, the manager Plamen Markov was sacked and replaced by Stanimir Stoilov in January 2009. The Bulgarians then recorded their first win in the group against Cyprus and also won against Montenegro and Georgia. They finished in third place in the group with 14 points, therefore failing to qualify directly or for a play-off place.
[edit] Stadium
Normally, the Bulgarian national football team's home stadium is the "Vasil Levski". It has a capacity of 43 632. Vasil Levski National Stadium was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002. It is currently eligible to host UEFA Cup final matches. During the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League the stadium was used for the games of FC Levski Sofia with FC Barcelona , Chelsea F.C. and Werder Bremen. The Bulgaria national football team's home matches and the Bulgarian Cup finals are held at the venue, as well as athletics competitions.
The stadium also offers judo, artistic gymnastics, basketball, boxing, aerobics, fencing and table tennis halls, as well as a general physical training hall, two conference halls and three restaurants.
[edit] Competitive record
[edit] World Cup record
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1930 |
Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1934 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1938 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1950 |
Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1954 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1958 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1962 |
Round 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
 1966 |
Round 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
 1970 |
Round 1 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
 1974 |
Round 1 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
 1978 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1982 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 |
Round of 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
 1990 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1994 |
Fourth place | 4 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 12 |
| 1998 |
Round 1 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
  2002 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2010 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 7/19 | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 25 | 54 |
[edit] European Championship record
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960-1992 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1996 |
Round 1 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 2000 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 2004 |
Round 1 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 2008 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 2/13 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
[edit] 2010 FIFA World Cup
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[edit] Fixtures and results
The representatives of the six federations met in Sofia on 15 January 2008 to decide on a fixture calendar.
| 2008-09-06 2:00 UTC+2 |
Montenegro  |
2 – 2 | Bulgaria |
Pod Goricom, Podgorica Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Oleh Oriekhov (Ukraine) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vučinić  62' (pen.)Jovetić 83' |
Report | S.Petrov 11' Georgiev 90' |
| 2008-10-11 21:15 UTC+3 |
Bulgaria |
0 – 0 | Italy |
Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Stephane Lannoy (France) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report |
| 2008-10-15 20:30 UTC+4 |
Georgia  |
0 – 0 | Bulgaria |
Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report |
| 2009-03-28 19:45 UTC+0 |
Republic of Ireland  |
1 – 1 | Bulgaria |
Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 59,000 Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunne 1' |
Report | St.Petrov 74' |
| 2009-04-01 18:00 UTC+3 |
Bulgaria |
2 – 0 |  Cyprus |
Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Martin Ingvarsson (Sweden) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popov 8' Makriev 90' |
Report |
| 2009-06-06 20:00 UTC+3 |
Bulgaria |
1 – 1 | Republic of Ireland |
Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Claus Bo Larsen (Denmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telkiyski 29' |
Dunne 24' |
| 2009-09-05 20:30 UTC+3 |
Bulgaria |
4 – 1 | Montenegro |
Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Referee: Tony Asumaa (Finland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kishishev 45' Telkiyski 49'Berbatov 85' (pen.)Domovchiyski 90' |
Report | Jovetic 9' |
| 2009-09-09 20:50 UTC+2 |
Italy |
2 – 0 | Bulgaria |
Stadio Olimpico, Turin Attendance: 20,760 Referee: Florian Meyer (Germany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grosso 11' Iaquinta 40' |
Report |
| 10 October 2009 20:00 UTC+3 |
Cyprus |
4 – 1 | Bulgaria |
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca Attendance: 3,700 Referee: Paul Allaerts (Belgium) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charalambides 11', 20' Konstantinou 58'Aloneftis 78' |
Report | Berbatov 44' |
| 14 October 2009 21:00 UTC+3 |
Bulgaria |
6 – 2 | Georgia |
Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia Referee: Kristinn Jakobsson (Iceland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berbatov 6', 23', 38' M. Petrov 13', 44'Angelov 35' |
Dvalishvili 36' Kobiashvili 51' (pen.) |
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
Caps are correct as of 18 November 2009, following the completion of the match against Malta.[1]
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- Note 1: Called up, but will only take part in the match against Malta, due to pending issues pertaining to recovery from injury.
withdrew due to injury
suspended for the next game due to accumulated yellow cards
[edit] Recent callups
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[edit] Previous squads
- FIFA World Cup squads
- 1962 FIFA World Cup squad
- 1966 FIFA World Cup squad
- 1970 FIFA World Cup squad
- 1974 FIFA World Cup squad
- 1986 FIFA World Cup squad
- 1994 FIFA World Cup squad
- 1998 FIFA World Cup squad
- UEFA European Football Championship squads
[edit] Player records
As of match played 18 November 2009. Players in bold are still currently playing for the national team.
[edit] Most appearances
| # | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Borislav Mihaylov | 1983–1998 | 102 | 0 |
| 2 | Hristo Bonev | 1967–1979 | 96 | 47 |
| 3 | Krasimir Balakov | 1988–2003 | 92 | 16 |
| 4 | Stiliyan Petrov | 1998– | 91 | 8 |
| 5 | Dimitar Penev | 1965–1974 | 90 | 2 |
| 6 | Radostin Kishishev | 1996– | 88 | 1 |
| 7 | Hristo Stoichkov | 1986–1999 | 83 | 37 |
| 8 | Nasko Sirakov | 1983–1996 | 81 | 23 |
| 9 | Zlatko Yankov | 1989–1999 | 80 | 4 |
| 10 | Ayan Sadakov | 1981–1991 | 79 | 9 |
[edit] Most goals
| # | Player | Career | Goals | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dimitar Berbatov | 1999– | 48 | 74 |
| 2 | Hristo Bonev | 1967–1979 | 47 | 96 |
| 3 | Hristo Stoichkov | 1987–1999 | 37 | 83 |
| 4 | Emil Kostadinov | 1988–1998 | 26 | 70 |
| 5 | Petar Zhekov | 1963–1972 | 25 | 44 |
| 6 | Ivan Kolev | 1950–1963 | 25 | 75 |
| 7 | Nasko Sirakov | 1983–1997 | 23 | 81 |
| 8 | Dimitar Milanov | 1948–1959 | 20 | 39 |
| 9 | Georgi Asparuhov | 1962–1970 | 19 | 50 |
| 9 | Dinko Dermendzhiev | 1966–1977 | 19 | 58 |
| 9 | Martin Petrov | 1999- | 19 | 77 |
[edit] Coaches
- Pavel Grozdanov 1927–1930
- Pavel Grozdanov 1932–1934
Károly Fogl 1934–1935
Stanislav Toms 1937–1938- Stefan Bozhkov 1967–1970
- Vasil Spasov 1970–1972
- Hristo Mladenov 1972–1974
- Atanas Purzhelov 1980–1982
- Ivan Vutsov 1982–1986
- Hristo Mladenov 1986–1987
- Boris Angelov 1988–1989
- Ivan Vutsov 1989–1991
- Krasimir Borisov 1991
- Dimitar Penev 1991–1996
- Hristo Bonev 1996–1998
- Dimitar Dimitrov 1998–2000
- Stoycho Mladenov 2000–2002
- Plamen Markov 2002–2004
- Hristo Stoichkov 2004–2007
- Stanimir Stoilov 2007 (caretaker)
- Dimitar Penev 2007
- Plamen Markov 2008
- Stanimir Stoilov 2009–
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Bulgarian football - history, teams, stadiums, fan clubs
- RSSSF archive of results 1924-
- RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
- Bulgarian football legends
- Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup
- Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup
- Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers
[edit] Sources
- ^ www.bfunion.bg
