27.12.2002 - Bulgarian footballer of the year
Dimitar Berbatov was officially pronounced Bulgaria’s best footballer of the year 2002 at a ceremony at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. He gained the first place with relatively comfortable margin, gathering 265 points from the votes for him. Stuttgart’s Krasimir Balakov came second with 226 points, narrowly surpassing Celtic midfielder Stilyan Petrov who had 216 points. With his first place Berbatov became the youngest player in the 41-year history of the competition to win it – he turns 22 on the 30th of January.
Those three players left the rest of the packed some way behind – with forth-placed Martin Petrov, playing in German side Wolfsburg gathering only 11 points, while fifth placed Vladimir Manchev ended on 10. A total of 14 players received points for the competitions from the votes of the representatives of the Bulgarian media, with the two Bulgarian players playing in England – Charlton’s Radostin Kishishev and Portsmouth’s Svetoslav Todorov finishing joint 8th place on 4 points together with two more players.
There were also individual awards for best players of the year in the Bulgarian championship by positions. CSKA’s Stoyan Kolev won the award for best goalkeeper, gaining just 4 points more than Cherno more (Varna) and national team first choice keeper Zdravko Zdravkov, and just 5 points more than Levski (Sofia) keeper Georgi Petkov. National team and Litex (Lovech) defender Rosen Kirilov won the award for best defender in a decisive way – gaining 94 points, with second place Iliyan Stoyanov from Levski gathering only 8. CSKA player Velizar Dimitrov was voted best midfielder with 26 points, ahead of Levski (Sofia)’s Sasa Simonovic with 20 and Slavia (Sofia)’s Velimir Ivanovic with 17. Levski (Sofia) forward Georgi Chilikov won the award in the respective position ahead of Velizar Dimitrov, who was nominated in both the best midfielder and forward categories, and Martin Kushev.
The coach of the national team Plamen Markov was voted best coach in a vote in which only the BFU representatives participate.
30.11.2002 – Rilski sportist (SAMOKOV) defeat CSKA
The first legs of the Cup of Bulgaria 1/8 finals were played today, and
surprisingly enough the only two ties that still hold some considerable
amount of uncertainty about their outcome are the ones in which the
first and second placed PPFL teams are.
Without doubt the shocker of the round came in SAMOKOV, where local
Rilski sportist, that ended the PPFL fall season without achieving a
win and second from bottom, achieved what even Blackburn Rovers hadn’t
managed so far and inflicted the first defeat in a competitive match to
PPFL leaders CSKA (Sofia).
Second placed Levski (Sofia) also had quite an embarrassing 1st leg
match as they visited lowly Spartak (Varna). With two Spartak players
sent off by the 38th minute, Levski not only didn’t manage to win, but
had to rely on great heroics by keeper Petkov to hold on to the 0:0 tie
to take to Sofia next week for the second leg.
In what was deemed as the derby of the 1/8 finals Liteks (Lovech)
managed to snatch a 1:0 away win from Cherno more (Varna) and has
almost assured their place in the next round. Another match that caused
interest – the Sofia derby between Slavia and Lokomotiv ended in a
walloping 4:0 defeat for Lokomotiv, who were totally helpless against
their hosts and could have gone home with even more goals, though the
four goal advantage has already sealed Slavia’s path to the 1/4 finals.
One second level side – Vidima-Rakovski (Sevlievo) – also have a very
good prospect of gaining a place at the 1/4 finals after winning their
first leg in home against Chernomorets (Burgas) by a clear two goal
margin. They will almost certainly be joined by another second level
side – Makedonska slava (Simitli) who achieved an easy 3:0 home win
against third level side Botev (Boboshevo). Marek (Dupnitsa) had no
problems dispatching of
Premier League’s bottom side Dobrudzha (Dobrich) with a 4:0 win, while
Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) achieved the biggest win in this round of ties
after putting 6 unanswered goals past third level side Spartak (Sofia),
though Spartak faired quite well for full 30 minutes to keep the score
0:0 before succumbing to their Premier League opponents.
The second legs are to be played next Saturday on the 7th of December
and following these matches the fall season in Bulgaria will officially
end.
:: view all 3rd round results ::.
21.11.2002 – Cup of Bulgaria 1/8 finals draw
The draw for the 1/8 finals of the Cup of Bulgaria was held today. The
full draw provided the possibilities for some fairly interesting
clashes. The two leaders in the championship – CSKA (Sofia) and Levski
(Sofia) – however should be more than happy with their draw as they
will face Premier PFL strugglers Rilski sportist (SAMOKOV) and Spartak
(Varna) respectively. Two of the other favorites for the Cup however –
Liteks (Lovech) and Cherno more (Varna) were drawn together in what is
the most interesting and contested tie of this round. Liteks have the
slight edge in it however as apart form being higher in the table; they
will also be hosts in the second leg. Another interesting tie is
between Slavia (Sofia) and Lokomotiv (Sofia) – the “other” Sofia derby
that usually is left in the shadow of the big Sofia derby between the
eternal rivals. Always hotly contested, this time it looks though that
Slavia are the big favorites in this tie as Lokomotiv are really
struggling with their form right from the start of the season. Another
interesting fact from the draw is that there will be at least one
non-Premier PFL team at the ¼ finals of the competition, since one of
the ties opposed second level side Makedonska slava (Simitli) and third
level side Botev (Boboshevo). The other second level side left in the
competition – Vidima-Rakovski (Sevlievo) also has a good chance of
progress as they will face Chernomorets (Burgas), though the second leg
will be in Burgas. However the team from Sevlievo has already showed
that they are up to the task, as they already eliminated the other
Burgas team – Nafteks – with the second leg also being in Burgas. The
other third level side left in the competition – Spartak (Sofia) have
almost no chance of continuing their cup run as they face one of the
leaders – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv). Marek (Dupnitsa) and Dobrudzha (Dobrich)
form the final tie of the round and though Marek look to be favorites,
the outcome of the tie may depend highly on which of the two teams
chooses to commit more effort in the Cup.
The first legs of the 1/8 finals will be played on 30.11.2002,
Saturday, and the return legs – on 07.12.2002, Saturday.
:: view full 3rd round draw ::.
21.11.2002 – One-goal defeat from Spain
The Bulgarian national conceded a 0:1 defeat from Spain, in a friendly
that played in Granada. Portsmouth’s Svetoslav Todorov wasn’t able to
take part in the match because of food poisoning which also affected
three other members of the national team delegation, including coach
Plamen Markov.
The match, which wasn’t very attractive, was played in front of 25 000
spectators and on a damp pitch, under pouring rain for the most part of
it, which was partly the reason for the many mistakes in both teams’
play.
Spain started the match exerting considerable pressure and our defense
soon gave way to the Spanish attacks, when in the 10th minute Jose Mari
was passed the ball into a clear position and had no problems putting
it past Zdravkov. The Bulgarians managed to create their best chance
for goal in the match only 10 minutes later when following a corner
defender Radostin Kishishev fired in a blazing header from some 10
meters out, which was barely deflected by Casillas, the ball then fell
to Berbatov, who had a chance to direct it into the net from just
inside the penalty area but instead fired it well above the target. By
the end of the first half the Spanish team also missed one great
opportunity for goal, when following a cross from the right in the 44th
minute Guti headed the ball in the right post behind Zdravkov.
The second half didn’t provide any serious threats for goal and was
generally of lower quality than the first, with the ball staying most
of the time in the Bulgaria half, as it was in the first half, though
our team now managed to get quite a bit more possession of the ball
than in the first part of the game.
17.11.2002 - Nafteks and Botev (Pd) eliminated from the Cup
Two teams from the Premier PFL - Botev (Plovdiv) and Nafteks (Burgas) were eliminated from the Cup of Bulgaria at the 1/16 finals stage. 2nd placed First PFL side Makedonska slava (Simitli) eliminated Botev following a 0:0 home draw, and a 3:2 away win in the 1st leg. Though this was expected, the elimination of Nafteks was the sensation of the 1/16 finals - 3rd placed FPFL Vidima-Rakovski (Sevlievo) achieved a surprising 2:2 draw in Burgas, and following a 1:1 draw in the first leg progresses through on the away goals rule. Petar Kanchev was the hero for the Sevlievo team, scoring both goals for Vidima. The draw for the Third phase (1/8 finals) of the Cup of Bulgaria will be held on Thursday, 21.11.2002, at 11:00 h at the Ford Moto-Phoe complex in Sofia. The draw will be full. 11 PPFL, 2 FPFL and 2 amateur teams reached this stage of the competition, with the tie between Levski (Sofia) and Pirin (Blagoevgrad) yet to be decided, since it was postponed because of Levski’s involvement in the UEFA Cup.
15.11.2002 - Plamen Markov has announced the squad for the friendly against Spain
The coach of the Bulgarian national team – Plamen Markov has announced
this morning his squad for the friendly against Spain later this month.
Compared to the last squad for the Euro 2004 qualifiers against Croatia
and Andorra, there are a few expected and a few unexpected changes.
Defender Predrag Pazin and forward Zoran Yankovic who both play in
China aren’t called up for the national team because of the big
distance to China and the fact that the match is only a friendly. Also
expectedly, second keeper Dimitar Ivankov, who had a string of bad
performances for his team Levski (Sofia), which combined with an injury
caused him to lost his spot there to Georgi Petkov for the time being;
is substituted by young keeper Stoyan Kolev, who is one of the best
developing keepers in the country, and has a big role in the
unprecedented unbeaten club of his team. Kolev only became first choice
keeper in CSKA this season, under coach Stoicho Mladenov, and has
thanked him with excellent goalkeeping throughout the season and
keeping his goal clean in the matches against the top-6 teams in the
table. Another change that was also already known is the drop of Georgi
Ivanov, who this time wasn’t called up for the national team. The
Bulgarian footballer of the year had a string of no so convincing
performances for his new French club Rennais, which is the main reason
for this. Coach Plamen Markov has called up forward Svetoslav Todorov
to replace him, with Todorov being one of the major figures behind the
success of First Division side Portsmouth, scoring many crucial goals
for them since the start of the season. The surprise in today’s squad
announced by Plamen Markov is the return of Munich 1860 midfielder
Daniel Borimirov who is called up on the place of captain Krasimir
Balakov. Borimirov, who was part of the Bulgarian dream team from
USA’94, wasn’t called up for a very long time and recently announced
that he gives up national team football, so this comes as a major
surprise to everyone. A bit later on in the day, it was announced that
CSKA's Todor Yanchev was also called up for the national team, since
Georgi Peev is injured and is likely not to be able to take part in
the match.
Here is the full list of the squad against Spain:
Goalkeepers:
Zdravko Zdravkov – Cherno more (Varna),
Stoyan Kolev – CSKA (Sofia).
Defenders:
Radostin Kishishev – Charlton Athletic (ENG),
Rosen Kirilov – Liteks (Lovech),
Georgi Petrov – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv),
Iliyan Stoyanov – Levski (Sofia),
Zlatomir Zagorcic – Liteks (Lovech),
Ivailo Petkov – Istanbulspor (TUR).
Midfielders:
Stilyan Petrov – Celtic (SCO),
Svetoslav Petrov – CSKA (Sofia),
Daniel Borimirov – Munich 1860 (GER),
Georgi Peev – Dinamo Kiev (UKR),
Todor Yanchev - CSKA (Sofia).
Forwards:
Velizar Dimitrov – CSKA (Sofia),
Svetoslav Todorov – Portsmouth (ENG),
Martin Petrov – Wolfsburg (GER),
Vladimir Manchev – Lille (FRA),
Georgi Chilikov – Levski (Sofia),
Dimitar Berbatov – Bayer Leverkusen (GER).
26.10.2002 - CSKA Sofia march on - 10 games unbeaten
CSKA - Levski 3:0
CSKA's charge for the title continue with a wonderful win against Levski Sofia in Saturday's derby game.
The reds are looking like very serious contenders for the title with 10 matches played following a tenth consecutive win today - a 3:0 trashing of eternal rivals and direct championship contenders.
The reds started off in a more attacking formation though while the visitors seemed to rely mostly on counter attacks and their supposedly star striker Chilikov. However this proved to be their downfall, as the red players didn't allow them to get a hold of the ball throughout most of the match.
Though the first half lacked in many and dangerous opportunities for goal, the reds were definitely the team that had the most of them. The breakthrough for CSKA however came after a terrible blunder by keeper Ivankov. In the 12th minute a quick counter attack by the reds was lead by Brito, he made a good run down the right flank, and crossed in an innocent looking ball. Ivankov however spilled it from its chest at the near post and it fell to Mukasi, who was lurking just near by, and from an almost impossible angle guided the ball with a technical shot into the emptied net. The play continued to be nervous and full of fouls after that goal, and everyone was awaiting the half time brake, when CSKA made its second strike. Following a corner, the reds played the ball well in the penalty area of the visitors, and in the end the ball was passed to Svetoslav Petrov at the edge of the penalty area, who without any hesitation blasted it home past the helpless Ivankov. This came a bit too much for the visitors and the match was more or less decided from that point on.
In the second half the advantage of the hosts was even clearer, despite the efforts by Levski's coach Muslin to turn things round by substituting midfielders with more forwards. The question in front of the reds now was only how big will the win over the eternal rival be. 10 minutes after the start of the second half a wonderful run by Velizar Dimitrov down the left flank past several defenders ended with a precise cross into the penalty area, which went past keeper Ivankov who couldn't stop it and right into the legs of Mukasi who was at the far post and had the easiest of finishes to do to make the result look embarrassing for the blues. The score could have been even more embarrassing but the reds missed a few great opportunities in the end of the match, with the clearest being missed by Brito, who went one-on-one against Ivankov in the final minute but his shot went above the crossbar.
"We proved that we are much better than Levski, even though they claimed we were a team of no quality before the match," said CSKA coach Stoycho Mladenov. "Our team is playing better and better in every game, but we have not yet shown our full capabilities."
16.10.2002 - Bulgaria strengthen Group 8 lead
Bulgaria - Andorra 2:1
Bulgaria strengthened their leading position in Group Eight with a 2-1 victory over Andorra in the Euro 2004 qualifiers on Wednesday.
The Bulgarians dominated the whole match and missed several chances but a lack of concentration at times allowed the ultra-defensive visitors to score their first goal in the qualifying campaign.
'Everyone was expecting a more expressive victory but unfortunately we missed many scoring chances,' Bulgaria coach Plamen Markov told reporters.
'I do not think that the players underestimated the opponents but the team was not mobilised as they were against Croatia.'
Georgi Chilikov, celebrating his third cap, scored Bulgaria's opening goal, set up by Georgi Peev who squeezed through two defenders in the 37th minute.
The unexperienced Chilikov was the only change made by Markov in the starting line-up compared to the team who beat Croatia 2-0 on Saturday.
Bulgaria captain and playmaker Krasimir Balakov, who had not fully recovered from a stomach muscle injury, sealed the victory 14 minutes into the second half from a free kick, striking the ball with his left foot over the wall and into the upper left corner.
Andorra's Tony Lima surprised the home side when he headed into the net from a corner nine minutes from time, only to be sent off two minutes later for a foul on Vladimir Manchev.
The visitors, who have lost every game in the qualifying phases for both Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, were delighted with their first goal in this year's qualifying campaign.
'For a small country like ours and a team like ours, this goal is an achievement,' Andorra coach David Rodrigo said. 'After 2-0 you calmed down and then we achieved our goal,.'
Andorra had one more scoring chance when their lone striker Emiliano Gonzales took advantage of a mistake by the Bulgarian defence, allowing him a one on one with keeper Zdravko Zdravkov who had to come forward to make the save in the 15th minute.
'We made two mistakes - one in each half and the opponents took advantage of one of them to score,' Bulgaria's coach said.
13.10.2002 - Berbatov set to miss next qualifier
Bayer Leverkusen striker Dimitar Berbatov will miss Bulgaria's Euro 2004 qualifier against Andorra next week after suffering an ankle injury during his country's 2-0 victory over Croatia on Saturday.
Berbatov, who was man of the match for Bulgaria in their Group Eight qualifier after setting up the first goal and scoring the second in the 37th minute, said he had turned his ankle while hitting a cross in the first minute of the game.
'I think I will not be able to recover by Wednesday and will miss the match against Andorra,' he told reporters on Sunday.
Another doubtful player for Bulgaria is Martin Petrov, who suffered a thigh injury during the Croatia qualifier and went off 21 minutes into the second half.
'We have made an important step in our group but the struggle continues on Wednesday when we will need an obligatory victory against Andorra,' said Bulgaria coach Plamen Markov.
12.10.2002 - Back at the "Vasil Levski" stadium with a wonderful win
A capacity crowd of 44 000 spectators cheered on the Bulgarian national team upon its return to its reconstructed home -
the "Vasil Levski" stadium.
Two first-half goals and an impressive performance throughout gave Bulgaria a 2-0 win against Croatia in their EURO 2004
qualifying tie in Sofia to put them in pole position in Group 8.
The start of the match was fast paced with the hosts trying to apply
some early pressure, which was a bit chaotic though and didn’t let to
any concrete threats for Pletikosa.
In the 21st minute with a single excellent maneuver the Bulgarians
checkmated the whole Croatian defense. Berbatov fended off well the ball
from a defender in the midst of the Croatian half, quickly passed it into
corridor to Stilyan Petrov, who went past 3 defenders before latching on
to it - went out alone against the keeper and coolly converted it.
There was more to come. In the 37th minute a wonderful neat cross from
Martin Petrov from the right wing found Dimitar Berbatov at the center
and the edge of the penalty area, he chested it down brilliantly and with
a technical finish put the ball past Pletikosa. The Croatian defense was
at sixes and sevens and by the end of the half the hosts could have been
even one or two more goals up, but Pletikosa saved a dangerous diagonal
shot by Yankovic and at the very end of the half the Bulgarians couldn’t
capitalize on a 4 on 3 situation. The second half started in the same
manner with Georgi Chilikov missing two absolute sitters at the very
beginning of the half after great Bulgarian attacks. Chilikov had to
enter as a substitute immediately after the second goal, as the
goalscorer Berbatov picked up an ankle injury.
At the press conference following the match - coach Plamen Markov
commented the game: “We managed to be sufficiently motivated,
showed great desire for win, and made another important step towards
Euro 2004. We were obliged to win this match. I want to thank all of
the players without exception because they gave their full potential on
the field, I think that the result is logical when baring in mind what
was shown on the field. I continue to say that despite this win Croatia
is a very strong opponent and had some, though minimal, chances to make
our life very hard. We as well as them, continue to battle on, nothing
is over yet.”
08.10.2002 - Levski drawn against Sturm
Today's UEFA Cup second round draw in Nyon ordered Bulgarian side Levski to face Sturm (Graz). The first leg will be played on the "Geogi Asparuhov" st. on 31.10.2002, while the away leg will be held on 14 November 2002. Levski could also be drawn against Leeds United, Betis, Bordeaux, Shalke 04 and PAOK, but Slavoljub Muslin, the team's coached explained that Sturm was the team he wanted Levski to face and the the "blues" had chances to continue in the next round.
04.10.2002 - Pl.Markov call up two top players from Bulgarian Premier PFL for the next Euro 2004 qualifications against Croatia and Andora
The Bulgarian national and U21 national teams’ squads for the European
qualifications against Croatia and Andorra have became clear.
Yesterday, the U21 national team coach Stoyan Kotsev announced his
squad:
Goalkeepers:
Vihren Uzunov – Levski (Sofia)
Emil Petrov – Slavia (Sofia)
Defenders:
Aleksandar Tunchev – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv)
Kiril Kotev – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv)
Radoslav Mitrevski – Pirin (Blagoevgrad)
Iordan Todorov – Chernomorets (Burgas)
Petar Kyumyurdzhiev – Chernomorets (Burgas)
Veselin Penev – Nafteks (Burgas)
Yanko Valkanov – Marek (Dupnitsa)
Midfielders:
Blagoi Georgiev – Slavia (Sofia)
Georgi Iliev – Cherno more (Varna)
Emil Gargorov – CSKA (Sofia)
Petar Zlatinov – CSKA (Sofia)
Stanislav Genchev – Levski (Sofia)
Kostadin Bashov – Levski (Sofia)
Forwards:
Aleksandar Mladenov – Hertha (Berlin, GER)
Dimitar Rangelov – Slavia (Sofia)
Marko Markov – Nafteks (Burgas)
Krum Bibishkov – Marek (Dupnitsa)
Compared to the squad against Belgium, midfielder Dobrin Orlovski from
Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) has lost his place. Meanwhile Petar Kyumyurdzhiev
and Krum Bibishkov have made their way into the squad. Both
Chernomorets players in the squad were initially part of the boycott
group but almost immediately were returned to the squad – as soon as
the match against CSKA, so the crisis at their club haven’t influenced
their playing form. When the two of them were returned to the squad
before the match against CSKA there were speculations that this was
done because of Stoyan Kotsev direct request for that.
Stoyan Kotsev was more than laconic upon the announcement of his
squad: “I believe in the boys and expect a win against Croatia”.
Today the coach of the national team – Plamen Markov – also announced
his squad today:
Goalkeepers:
Zdravko Zdravkov – Cherno more (Varna)
Dimitar Ivankov – Levski (Sofia)
Defenders:
Radostin Kishishev – Charlton Athletic (ENG)
Predrag Pazin – Gouan (CHI)
Ivailo Petkov – Istanbulspor (TUR)
Rosen Kirilov – Liteks (Lovech)
Zlatomir Zagorcic – Liteks (Lovech)
Iliyan Stoyanov – Levski (Sofia)
Georgi Petrov – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv)
Midfielders:
Stilyan Petrov – Celtic (SCO)
Georgi Peev – Dinamo Kiev (UKR)
Krasimir Balakov – Stuttgart (GER)
Svetoslav Petrov – CSKA (Sofia)
Forwards:
Martin Petrov – Wolfsburg (GER)
Vladimir Manchev – Lille, FRA
Zoran Yankovic – Dalien, CHI
Georgi Ivanov – Rennais, FRA
Dimitar Berbatov – Bayer Leverkusen, GER
Velizar Dimitrov – CSKA (Sofia)
Georgi Chilikov – Levski (Sofia)
Georgi Chilikov, who was included accidentally into the squad against
Belgium because of the injury of Georgi Ivanov, is called up again, but
this time not as a emergency replacement. Another new player, and also
forward – CSKA’s Velizar Dimitrov is called up in the squad too,
following a string of great performances for his club. AEK Athens’
Milen Petkov is missing from the squad comparing with the one against
Belgium, because of an injury he picked up this week in the Champions
League match of his team against Real Madrid. Petkov underwent
arthroscopy today and will be out of action for at least two weeks.
Previous headlines
::. 
The Bulgarian national team will play an international friendly against Hungary on the 12th of February 2003. The match will take place on neutral ground in Cyprus, at the Larnaka resort.
The president of Slavia (Sofia), Ventsislav Stefanov, announced that
the new team coach will be 44-year old Serbian Miodrag Jesic.
A couple of days a go a group of football and computer games enthusiasts achieved a notable
addition to one of the most loved by football fans games - FIFA 2002. Thanks to Ventsi Nikolov,
Hristo Antonov, and with some help from the team of Bulgarian Football Latest, an update
for the Bulgarian championship was released. The most pleasant surprise for all FIFA fans
is the full list of player names from the Bulgarian Premier PFL for the 2002/2003 season.
You can find the update at 
The Bulgarian Football Union has taken two decisions concerning changing of match fixtures in the PPFL. It decided the 9th round PPFL match between Slavia (Sofia) and CSKA to be played on 20.10, Sunday, from 15:00 on the "Slavia" st. The derby of the Bulgarian football between CSKA and Levski will take place on the 26.10.2002, Staurday from 16:00 at CSKA's club stadium. This happens because of Levski's UEFA Cup match fixture against Sturm on 31.10.2002. Levski's clash against Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) was also postponed with one day for the 3.11.2002 form 15:00 at the "G.Asparuhov" st.
The 10th round round FPFL match - Makedonska slava (Simitli) - Botev (Vratsa)
was postponed by the sports-technical commission of the BFU.
The reason for this is the infection that spread among 16
first team players of Botev. The new date for the match will
be decided next week.