-
Charrúan+2
.User deleted
BULGARIA 1994
COACH: Dimitar PENEV
GOALKEEPERS:
1 Borislav MIKHAILOV (c) -
Mulhouse
12 Plamen NIKOLOV -
Levski Sofia
DEFENDERS:
2 Emil KREMENLIEV - Levski Sofia
3 Trifon IVANOV -
Neuchâtel
4 Tsanko TSVETANOV - Levski Sofia
5 Petar HOUBCHEV -
Hamburg
15 Nikolay ILIEV - Rennes
16 Ilian KIRIAKOV -
Merida
MIDFIELDERS:
6 Zlatko YANKOV - Levski Sofia
9 Yordan LETCHKOV - Hamburg
11 Daniel BORIMIROV - Levski Sofia
13 Ivaylo YORDANOV -
Sporting CP
14 Boncho GENCHEV -
Ipswich Town
19 Georgi GEORGIEV - Mulhouse
20 Krassimir BALAKOV - Sporting CP
FORWARDS:
7 Emil KOSTADINOV - Porto
8 Hristo STOICHKOV - Barcelona
10 Nasko SIRAKOV - Levski Sofia
17 Petar MIHTARSKI - Pirin Blagoevgrad
18 Petar ALEKSANDROV - Aarau
21 Velko YOTOV - Espanyol
22 Ivaylo ANDONOV - CSKA Sofia
INFO:
Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is 17 November 1993, a date where Emil Kostadinov scored two goals to beat France in Paris, allowing Bulgaria to qualify for the World Cup in the United States in 1994. Under the management of Dimitar Penev, the Bulgarians, led by players such as 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 hadn't won a single match in five World Cup finals appearances. The first match ended with a 3–0 defeat by Nigeria. Despite the bad start, the team won 4–0 against World Cup-debuting featherweights Greece and 2–0 against Argentina. Argentina had actually been winning the group going into injury-time. A 91st minute strike from Nasko Sirakov, however, meant that they dropped two places and finished third. Bulgaria continued to the next round, where they faced Mexico. The match ended 1–1 and after no goals were scored in extra time, penalties would decide which team would go through. Team captain Borislav Mihaylov made a good performance saving the first three 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 Matthäus scored from a penalty. The Bulgarians, however, managed to turn the game over with two goals by Hristo Stoichkov and Yordan Lechkov, giving them a 2–1 win and recording one of the most memorable wins for the team. Millions of Bulgarians celebrated this win in the Bulgarian capital city of 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 2–1 to Italy and were eventually given the bronze medals. Hristo Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the tournament with six goals. Krasimir Balakov was named in the all-star team along with Stoichkov. Starting 11: GK-Mihaylov(c); RB-Kiryakov/Kremenliev, CB/SW-Hubchev, CB-Ivanov, LB-Tsvetanov; DM-Yankov, CM-Lechkov, CM-Balakov, AM/CF-Sirakov/Borimirov; CF/RW-Kostadinov, CF/LW-Stoichkov.
MORE INFO:
http://expertfootball.com/history/bul_1994.php
VIDEOS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=szjMN6cdoJY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=15TBCg3XX5Q
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qEMWzwXHXs&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dchm60W6ciw
.
Bulgaria 1994 |
