Bulgaria @ EURO 2004

[albionroad]

Coach Plamen Markov has announced his squad for Portugal. It's always possible there could be a change because of injury before it starts, but this is what was announced yesterday...


Goalkeepers
Zdravko Zdravkov (PFC Litex Lovech)
Dimitar Ivankov (PFC Levski Sofia)
Stoyan Kolev (PFC CSKA Sofia)

Defenders
Vladimir Ivanov (PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv)
Rosen Kirilov (PFC Litex Lovech)
Kiril Kotev (PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv)
Ivailo Petkov (Fenerbahçe SK)
Predrag Pazin (FC Shakhtar Donetsk)
Ilian Stoyanov (PFC Levski Sofia)
Zlatomir Zagorcic (PFC Litex Lovech)

Midfielders
Daniel Borimirov (Levski Sofia)
Velizar Dimitrov (PFC CSKA Sofia)
Marian Hristov (1. FC Kaiserslautern)
Martin Petrov (VfL Wolfsburg)
Stilian Petrov (Celtic FC)
Georgi Peev (FC Dynamo Kyiv)
Milen Petkov (AEK Athens FC)

Forwards
Dimitar Berbatov (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Valeri Bojinov (US Lecce)
Georgi Chilikov (PFC Levski Sofia)
Zoran Jankovic (Dalian Shide)
Zdravko Lazarov (Gaziantepspor)
Vladimir Manchev (Lille OSC)


Comments - Biggest names missing out are Radostin Kishishev (Charlton), Martin Kamburov (Loko Plovdiv) and Svetoslav Todorov (Portsmouth). Valeri Bojinov is only 18 years old and hasn't played for Bulgaria yet. He may simply be in the team for the experience and may not actually play, but there are high expectations for his future.

[albionroad]

First Round Schedule
June 14 - Sweden
June 18 - Denmark
June 22 - Italy


Qualifying Results
07.09.2002 @ Belgium 2-0
12.10.2002 v Croatia 2-0
16.10.2002 v Andorra 2-1
02.04.2003 @ Estonia 0-0
07.06.2003 v Belgium 2-2
06.09.2003 v Estonia 2-0
10.09.2003 @ Andorra 3-0
11.10.2003 @ Croatia 0-1

[albionroad]

Bulgaria in the European Championship

1960 - 1/8 final
1964 - 1/8 final
1968 - 1/4 final
1972 - Qualifying round
1976 - Qualifying round
1980 - Qualifying round
1984 - Qualifying round
1988 - Qualifying round
1992 - Qualifying round
1996 - Finals, first round
2000 - Qualifying round

[Vinícius]

Hey, Albionroad!

Do you know where I can find this list with the birthday and positions of the convocated players? I ve been looking for this information since the Markov announced that.

What do you think about Valeri Bojinov ? Do you really thinkk that he wont play ?

Bulgaria plays with just one striker, isnt it ? Berbatov. In 4-5-1 tactic.

Bye.

[BG_Lion]

Hi 2 all,
So...our chances to continue are small, u know...but I'll be happy if we just show good football, and nice style (something we can do..)

Valeri Bojinov is amazing talent for me...He debuted in Seria A on the age of 15 (it's a record..he's the most youngest player, who has played in the calccio) I have information, that Milan has a serious interest for him . They have offered to him to go with them on some tour this summer..but how u know, Valeri will go with the national team in Portugal .. i hope that Milan, or another big team will get him soon.
I can't tell how much will he play in Portugal...maybe he will play with Berbatov in the atack, why not ? (it will be suprise, but won't be unlogical)

The tactic of the team...one central striker (Berbatov) and usually one left wing - Martin Petrov, or Zdravko Lazarov. Also offensive player on the right side - usually Georgi Peev, or Velizar Dimitrov. One man behind Berbatov...offensive player like Zoran Yankovich, or Velizar Dimitrov again. One deffensive midfielder - Marian Hristov (but in the last game he played more offensive), and the another man in the center - our captain Stilian Petrov.
How u can see, our tactic is really offensive. Something which the fans like.

I think that in the qualifications we played offensive, and nice football, and how i said, i hope that we will continue this in Portugal.

The birthdays and the positions will post to you later, because now i must go :)

[albionroad]

Do you know where I can find this list with the birthday and positions of the convocated players? I ve been looking for this information since the Markov announced that.Hi Vinicius. I can't find a list like this online, but I have it in a newspaper at home. I'll try to bring the paper next time I'm online.
What do you think about Valeri Bojinov ? Do you really thinkk that he wont play ?I've only seen Bojinov once or twice with Lecce. He's a good player with a bright future. If *I* was the coach, I don't think I would depend on a player who's never played a minute for the national team, but maybe Markov will.

[albionroad]

Bulgaria Team for Portugal 2004

Goalkeeper
Zdravo Zdravkov - 04.10.1970 - Litex
Dimitar Ivankov - 30.10.1975 - Levski
Stoyan Kolev - 03.02.1976 - CSKA

Defender
Vladimir Ivanov - 06.02.1973 - Loko Pd
Rosen Kirilov - 04.01.1973 - Litex
Predrag Pazhin - 14.03.1973 - Shaktyor Donetsk
Kiril Kotev - 18.04.1982 - Loko Pd
Zlatomir Zagorchich - 15.06.1971 - Litex
Ivailo Petkov - 24.03.1976 - Fenerbahce
Ilian Stoyanov - 25.11.1977 - Levski

Midfielder
Stilian Petrov - 05.07.1979 - Celtic
Milen Petkov - 12.01.1974 - AEK Athens
Georgi Peev - 11.03.1979 - Dinamo Kiev
Daniel Boromirov - 15.01.1970 - Levski
Marian Hristov - 29.07.1973 - Kaiserslautern
Velizar Dimitrov - 13.04.1979 - CSKA
Zoran Yankovich - 8.02.1974 - Dalian
Zdravko Lazarov - 20.02.1976 - Gaziantepsor

Forward
Martin Petrov - 15.01.1979 - Wolfsburg
Vladimir Manchev - 06.10.1977 - Lille
Georgi Chilikov - 23.08.1978 - Levski
Valeri Bozhinov - 15.02.1986 - Lecce
Dimitar Berbatov - 30.01.1981 - Bayer Leverkusen


Also, this possible starting eleven was given in Topsport today...

4-2-3-1

Peev, Kirilov, Pazhin, Iv. Petkov; Hristov, St. Petrov; Mahcev, Yankovich, M. Petrov; Berbatov

[Vinícius]

Thanks for these informations. They gonna help me a lot with my research about the bulgarian team.

Hey, Albionroad. I have a doubt about the tactice of the Plamen Markov's team. When they are without the ball, do they come back to a 4-5-1, a more defensive style? See, like these three offensive midfielders back to help the defense. Did you get it?

Does the media still have doubt about the potencial of the coach ? I ve read some articles that say that it took a long time to accept him as the national team coach. Maybe that is because he came from a Second Division team.

George Peev is a defensive midfielder , isnt it? He gonna play as a right defender just because of the retirement of Kishishev.

Also, does the Topsport site hav a like from info in english?

Sorry for so many questions, this is the last one. Can you tell me the name of the bulgarian federation in the local language?

That s it. I want to thank you two again for help me with it. Any information about Brazil, I m able to answer. Dont worry about asking.

[albionroad]

I have a doubt about the tactice of the Plamen Markov's team. When they are without the ball, do they come back to a 4-5-1, a more defensive style? See, like these three offensive midfielders back to help the defense. Did you get it?Presumably the 4-2-3-1 will become a 4-5-1 when they lose the ball. Some of those players play as forwards with their clubs though, so I don't know how effective they really would be as defenders. And then again, I don't know if Topsport's prediction is correct...we will see what actually happens in Portugal.
Does the media still have doubt about the potencial of the coach ?If they do, I can't understand it ;) My Bulgarian isn't too great, so maybe they're writing that in the longer stories that I skip reading. But, considering how well they did in qualifying, he's probably still pretty popular.
George Peev is a defensive midfielder , isnt it? He gonna play as a right defender just because of the retirement of Kishishev.I believe you are correct, I saw one match of Dynamo Kiev this season and that's basically where he played. Also, Kishishev didn't exactly retire, he was just left out of the team because of problems with the manager.
Also, does the Topsport site hav a like from info in english?Unfortunately, no. You might try www.bulgarian-football.com, which doesn't really have updated news but they have a message board where you might be able to get better answers than mine. I haven't really found too many good webpages in English about Bulgarian football.
Sorry for so many questions, this is the last one. Can you tell me the name of the bulgarian federation in the local language?Well, first thing is that Bulgaria uses the Cyrillic alphabet. But I think the typical Latin equivalent is *Bulgarski Futbolen Soyuz*, which means Bulgarian Football Union. Here's their webpage - www.bfunion.bg - unfortunately all in Bulgarian.
That s it. I want to thank you two again for help me with it. Any information about Brazil, I m able to answer. Dont worry about asking.Glad to help. One question - why are you so interested in the Bulgarian team?

[Vinícius]

Hey, Albionroad.

Thanks for the info that again!

Answering your question, I write to a brazilian site called trivela.com, where the international football is the main subject. And we gonna cover the Euro 2004. I was told to make a profile about two teams, Denmark, which I have already done, and Bulgaria. And I have also a column about the Brazilian Second division called Subindo a Ladeira. You can check all of these things out in the site.

There are already another profiles there. Mah Denmark's came out today. I dont no if u can understand portuguese, but, if you can, that s a good suggestion to read that.

Hope that you can understand.

[BG_Lion]

George Peev is a defensive midfielder , isnt it? He gonna play as a right defender just because of the retirement of Kishishev.
Totally wrong.. Georgi Peev is offensive player, and now he's having problems in Dinamo, because the coach wants from him to play as a defender.. I don't get it!
In Portugal as right back probably will play Vladimir Ivanov.. Markov tried many variants for this position, and it seems that Ivanov is the final choice..

[albionroad]

[QUOTE=Vinícius]Answering your question, I write to a brazilian site called trivela.com...[QUOTE]Cool. The page looks really nice. I can understand a little Portuguese, just because it's similar to Spanish and I can understand a little Spanish. Anyway, it's a really nice looking page.

Bulgaria has a friendly this coming wednesday (2 June) at the Czech Republic. I read today that it will not be televised, but there may be a last minute switch.

[Vinícius]

Oh, that might be a nice game to watch. Unfortanelly, I cant watch that because we dont have that channel over here. But, do you know why the Czech team never win a championship ?

I am doing that question because I always listen that they have good players and they are in a good position at the Fifa's ranking. But I havent ever seen a big result from them. Do you think that team that will be in the Euro is the one that gonna play against them?

I heard that there are some players injured and another ones that are tired.

[albionroad]

Oh, that might be a nice game to watch. Unfortanelly, I cant watch that because we dont have that channel over here. But, do you know why the Czech team never win a championship ?

I am doing that question because I always listen that they have good players and they are in a good position at the Fifa's ranking. But I havent ever seen a big result from them. Do you think that team that will be in the Euro is the one that gonna play against them?

I heard that there are some players injured and another ones that are tired.I saw a list of possible starters for tonight's match but I can't find it online. It looked like a first-choice lineup for both teams.

The Czechs actually did win the European Championship in 1976 as Czechoslovakia and were 2nd in 1996 to Germany. They've also reached the World Cup final twice, losing both times. But, I agree, they've recently been a bit disappointing, especially as they haven't even qualified for the World Cup since 1990. I don't really know much about the details. I think they have a very strong team this time, but unfortunately have a tough group along with Germany and Holland.

[albionroad]

Czech Republic 3-1 Bulgaria

Goals: Baros 55, Plashil, Rocicki 85; M. Petkov 90

Bulgarian lineup: Zdravkov (Ivankov 63); Vl. Ivanov, Kirilov, Pazhin (Zagorchich 77), Iv. Petkov (Il. Stoyanov 63); Ct. Petrov, M. Hristov (Borimorov 77), V. Dimitrov (Peev 46), Lazarov (M. Petrov 46); Berbatov (Manchev 77), Yankovich (M. Petkov 71)

[BG_Lion]

14 June
Bulgaria - Sweden

Time to revenge...

[albionroad]

A few items of note...

Per topsport, these are the estimated price tags of the four teams in Group C. (prices are in millions of Euros)

Bulgaria - 48.3 (Berbatov 10, St Petrov 8, Vl Manchev 4)
Denmark - 75.3 (Tomasson 10, Gronkjaer 7, Sand 7)
Sweden - 79.5 (Ibrahimovic 15, Ljunberg 10, Larson 10)
Italy - 294 (!!!) (Totti 35, Buffon 30, Del Piero 25)

--------

Betting coefficients from Evrofootball (Bulgarian betting company/newspaper)

Winning the whole thing:
France 3.5
Italy 4.5
Portugal 6
Bulgaria 70

Winning Group C
Italy 1.5
Sweden 4.0
Denmark 4.5
Bulgaria 9.0

First round matches
Sweden-BULGARIA (2.00/2.90/2.85)
BULGARIA-Denmark (2.85/2.90/2.00)
Italy-BULGARIA (1.55/2.80/5.35)

*the first number is for team 1 to win, second is a tie, third number is team 2 to win. I think this goes without saying, but lower numbers are better.

[albionroad]

Well, I'm sure you all know the result of last night's debacle, but just in case here's the box score...


SWEDEN 5-0 BULGARIA

Scorers: Fredrik Ljungberg 32, Henrik Larsson 57, 58, Zlatan Ibrahimovic 78pen, Marcus Allback 90+1

Halftime: 1-0; Attendance: 52,000

Teams:

Sweden (4-4-2): 1-Andreas Isaksson; 2-Teddy Lucic (21-Christian Wilhelmsson 41), 3-Olof Mellberg (captain), 15-Andreas Jakobsson, 5-Erik Edman; 7-Mikael Nilsson, 6-Tobias Linderoth, 8-Anders Svensson (16-Kim Kallstrom 77), 9-Fredrik Ljungberg; 10-Zlatan Ibrahimovic (20-Marcus Allback 81), 11-Henrik Larsson.

Bulgaria (4-4-1-1): 1-Zdravko Zdravkov; 2-Vladimir Ivanov, 18-Predrag Pazhin, 3-Rosen Kirilov, 4-Ivailo Petkov; 13-Georgi Peev, 15-Marian Hristov, 19-Stilian Petrov (captain), 17-Martin Petrov (11-Zdravko Lazarov 84); 21-Zoran Jankovic (10-Velizar Dimitrov 62); 9-Dimitar Berbatov (16-Vladimir Manchev 76).

Referee: Mike Riley (England)

Linesmen: Philip Sharp (England), Glenn Turner (England)

[albionroad]

Anyone else watch the game? Any opinions? I thought Bulgaria started off quite well and until the 2nd goal the match was very even. Bulgaria came very close 3-4 times and if one had gone in, who knows? But...none did, Sweden's counterattacks were like a sword into the Bulgarian defense and after the second and third goals Bulgaria was destroyed. We'll see what happens in the next game, which Bulgaria obviously MUST win. Denmark is a tough team though, they were even with Italy and they will also have Gronkjaer in the team so...

[albionroad]

And finally...

Stilian Petrov has a player diary running on the uefa.com webpage. Here are the first couple of entries...

http://www.euro2004.com/Features/Kind=1/newsId=188460.html

http://www.euro2004.com/Features/Kind=1/newsId=191119.html