The Bulgarian squad for the World Cup finals consists of the following 22 players: BULGARIA 1 Zdravko ZDRAVKOV 04/10/70 Istanbulspor (GK) 2 Radostin KISHISHEV 30/07/74 Bursaspor 3 Trifon IVANOV 27/07/65 CSKA Sofia 4 Ivailo PETKOV 24/03/76 Litex Lovetch 5 Ivailo YORDANOV 22/04/68 Sporting Lisbon 6 Zlatko YANKOV 07/06/66 Besiktas 7 Emil KOSTADINOV 12/08/67 CSKA Sofia 8 Hristo STOICHKOV 08/02/66 CSKA Sofia 9 Lyuboslav PENEV 31/08/66 Compostela 10 Krassimir BALAKOV 29/03/66 VfB Stuttgart 11 Ilian ILIEV 02/07/68 Bursaspor 12 Borislav MIHAILOV 12/02/63 Slavia Sofia (GK) 13 Gosho GINCHEV 02/12/69 Antalya 14 Marian HRISTOV 29/07/73 Kaiserslautern 15 Adalbert ZAFIROV 29/09/69 Arminia Bielefeld 16 Anatoli NANKOV 15/07/69 Locomotiv Sofia 17 Stoicho STOILOV 15/10/71 Litex Lovetch 18 Daniel BORIMIROV 15/01/70 TSV 1860 Munich 19 Georgi BACHEV 18/04/77 Slavia Sofia 20 Georgi IVANOV 02/07/76 Levski Sofia 21 Rosen KIRILOV 04/01/73 Litex Lovetch 22 Milen PETKOV 12/01/74 CSKA Sofia Trainer: Hristo BONEV In detail: Goalkeepers: 1. Zdravko Zdravkov (Istanbulspor, Turkey), age 27, 15 caps. A reliable keeper who played in six of the eight qualifiers to establish himself as first-choice. Previously played for Slavia and Levski Sofia. 2. Borislav Mihailov (Slavia Sofia) 36, 101 caps. The first Bulgarian to earn a century of caps. Captained his country 60 times, another record, but has suffered a string of injuries recently and lost his place. Previous clubs include English club Reading and French side Mulhouse. Wears a wig. Defenders: 3. Radostin Kishishev (Litex Lovech) 23, 22 caps. Gifted youngster who has been unsettled by controversy surrounding his move from Turkey's Bursaspor to Litex. Made his international debut three years ago. Combines good technical skill with energy and creativity. 4. Trifon Ivanov (CSKA Sofia) 32, 72 caps. Swarthy hardman who captained the side in qualifying and weighed in with six goals, including the header against Russia which clinched qualification. Has invaluable experience having played with for Spain's Real Betis, Swiss side Xamax Neuchatel, Austria Vienna and Rapid Vienna. Returned to CSKA on loan from Austria in February to prepare for France but has been embroiled in row over payments that saw him dropped from the national squad. 5. Gosho Ginchev (Antalyaspor, Turkey) 29, 14 caps. Shows good fighting spirit and man-marks well. Can also join in attacks. Previously with Levski Sofia and Denizlispor in Turkey. 6. Adalbert Zafirov (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany) 29, 4 caps. Physically imposing defender who only made one appearance in qualifying. 7. Milen Petkov (CSKA Sofia) 24, 6 caps. A fast, dynamic left-back who can join attacks effectively. Has struggled with injuries of late. 8. Ivailo Petkov (Litex Lovech) 22, 9 caps. One of the few young talents to have broken through into the first team. Has a dangerous left-foot shot and has impressed since making his debut against Saudi Arabia in 1996. 9. Rossen Kirilov (Litex Lovetch) Midfielders: 10. Zlatko Yankov (Besiktas, Turkey) 31 (32 on June 7), 66 caps. A defensive midfielder who can drop into the back line. Played in all but one game at USA 94 and is a vital cog in the Bulgarian team. Played in Spain with Valladolid and in Germany with Bayer Uerdingen. 11. Ivailo Yordanov (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal) 30, 36 caps. Experienced player who has fought his way back into the team despite being diagnosed as suffering from multiple sclerosis last October. Also suffered injuries in a car crash in 1995. 12. Krassimir Balakov (VfB Stuttgart, Germany) 32, 65 caps. One of the best overseas players in the Bundesliga, he has been with Stuttgart since 1995. Has great technical skill and ball control and is the team's chief playmaker. Deadly from free-kicks. 13. Anatoli Nankov (Lokomotiv Sofia) 28, 11 caps. Hardworking midfielder who helped CSKA Sofia to three titles before switching to Lokomotiv. Likes to go forward. 14. Daniel Borimirov (TSV 1860 Munich, Germany) 28, 36 caps. Fast, aggressive player formerly with Levski Sofia. Has an eye for goal. 15. Ilian Iliev (Bursaspor, Turkey) 29 (30 on July 2), 14 caps. Energetic player who buzzes around the opposition penalty area keeping defenders on their toes. Previously with Portuguese side Benfica and Levski Sofia. 16. Stoicho Stoilov (Litex Lovetch), 17, 1 cap. Forwards: 17. Hristo Stoichkov (CSKA Sofia) 32, 70 caps. Joint top scorer at USA 94 with six goals and the 1994 European footballer of the year. Out of form after being sacked by Barcelona in March but is still the inspiration behind the national side. A free-kick specialist, he combines great dribbling skills and a scorching left-foot shot with a hot temper. Has scored 35 goals for Bulgaria. 18. Emil Kostadinov (CSKA Sofia) 30, 66 caps. Has scored 25 goals for the national side, including the memorable last-minute winner against France in 1993 which sent Bulgaria to the 1994 World Cup finals. A former striker with Portuguese side Porto and Bayern Munich in Germany, he returned home on loan from UNAM Mexico to prepare for France. Like Ivanov he was left out of the squad for the recent friendly against Morocco because of his row with CSKA over money. 19. Lyuboslav Penev (Compostela, Spain) 31, 59 caps. Missed the 1994 World Cup finals due to treatment for cancerous tumour. Has played in Spain since 1989, representing Valencia and Atletico Madrid before moving to Compostela. Strong on the ball and powerful in the air. 20. Marian Hristov (Kaiserslautern, Germany) 24, 10 caps. A creative midfielder who impressed last season for Levski. Has also done well this season in the Bundesliga and has a bright international future. 21. Georgi Bachev (Slavia Sofia) 23, 4 caps. Left winger with a strong shot who has put together a string of impressive performances in the Bulgarian first division this season. 22. Georgi Ivanov (FC Levski Sofia), 21, 2 caps. ------------------------- Previous potential squad: ------------------------- Guide to the players likely to be in contention for a place in the Bulgarian squad for the World Cup finals next year: Abbreviations: P - position, C - Total caps, A - qualifying competition appearances, G - qualifying competition goals. Name P Age Club C A G ------------------------------------------------------------ Borislav Mihailov GK 34 Slavia Sofia 101 3 0 Zdravko Zdravkov GK 27 Istanbulspor 12 6 0 Dimitar Popov GK 27 Lokomotiv Sofia 14 0 0 Radostin Kishishev D 23 Bursaspor 19 7 0 Trifon Ivanov D 32 Austria Vienna 71 8 1 Gosho Ginchev D 28 Antalyaspor 13 5 0 Milen Petkov D 23 CSKA Sofia 6 1 0 Ivailo Petkov D 21 Litex Lovech 6 4 0 Adalbert Zafirov D 29 CSKA Sofia 2 1 0 Zlatko Yankov M 31 Besiktas 64 7 0 Ivailo Yordanov M 29 Sporting Lisbon 35 5 1 Yordan Lechkov M 30 Besiktas 44 6 1 Krasimir Balakov M 31 VfB Stuttgart 63 7 5 Daniel Borimirov M 27 TSV 1860 Munich 35 7 1 Anatoli Nankov M 28 Lokomotiv Sofia 9 4 0 Ilia Gruev M 28 Neftochimik Bourgas 1 1 1 Hristo Stoichkov F 31 Barcelona 68 4 1 Emil Kostadinov F 30 UNAM Mexico 65 8 5 Lyuboslav Penev F 31 Compostela 56 4 1 Ilian Iliev F 29 Slavia Sofia 12 6 1 Georgi Ivanov F 21 Levski Sofia 2 1 0 Georgi Bachev F 22 Slavia Sofia 3 0 0 Hristo Yovov F 20 Levski Sofia 0 0 0 Marian Hristov F 24 Kaiserslautern 7 1 0 Georgi Donkov F 27 VfL Bochum 7 3 0

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