Latest Photo 
from Bulgaria
| Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoitchkov has returned
to training for the World Cup after final medical
checks in Barcelona showed that he had recovered completely from a torn thigh
muscle, team officials said on Tuesday. But midfielder Krasimir Balakov is
still recovering from influenza as Bulgaria prepare
in Germany for the finals where they play in preliminary group D with Spain,
Paraguay and Nigeria. |
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Bulgarian midfielder Krassimir Balakov stretches during a training
session in Oberhaching near Munich May 27. Nikola Exerov, spokesman for
the Bulgarian Football Union, said by telephone from Germany that Balakov
had a high temperature when the team left Sofia on Sunday for a training
camp near Munich. The VfB Stuttgart midfielder was expected to resume
training on Wednesday, Exerov said. Apart from a match against an amateur
German team on Thursday, Bulgaria plan to play one more match with a small
team before the warm-up against German league champions Kaiserslautern on
June 1.
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The Bulgarian government will take control of the national football
federation after the World Cup finals in France next month, Prime Minister
Ivan Kostov announced Sunday. The move follows widespread criticism of alleged
incompetence and corruption within the football body.
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| Bulgarian Trajan Djankov (L) from
Spartak (Varna) fights for the ball with Jion Vladoju (R) from Koln
(Germany) during their friendly soccer match in the Black Sea port of Varna,
May 24. Spartak won 3-2! Spartak (Varna) finished 7th at the end of the
1997/98 Bulgarian Championship. The Varna rivals of
Spartak, Cherno More, play in 2nd division. |
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Members of the Bulgarian soccer team run during
their practice of the Bulgarian national soccer team in Sofia May 20.
Bulgaria will play in group D of the World Cup
finals against Spain, Paraguay and Nigeria in France.
The head coach of the Bulgarian national soccer team, Hristo Bonev, speaks
to journalists during a news conference in Sofia May 22. Bonev said he was
satisfied his 25-man World Cup squad managed to
leave behind internal wranglings and concentrated on its biggest test in four
years.|
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Bulgaria's Hristo Stoitchkov jokes with Ivailo Jordanov
during practice for the Bulgarian national soccer team in Sofia May 18.
According to Nikkan Sports, J-League team Kashiwa Reysol announced that
Hristo Stoitchkov will join the team after the World Cup. Contract:
from 07/02/98 through 01/01/99
Bulgarian international soccer midfielder Krassimir Balakov poses as
FIFA-ambassador during an opening ceremony of the Bulgarian branch of the
international SOS-Children's villages charity project in Sofia, May 19.
Balakov, one of the stars in Bulgaria's 1994 World Cup team, is one of its
best hopes.|
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Anton Batchev of
CSKA (Sofia) falls down as he fights for the ball with Vladimir
Ivanov from FC Levski
(Sofia) during Bulgaria's national soccer cup final in Sofia, May 13.|
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FC Levski won the Bulgarian Cup final.
FC Levski (Sofia) met
CSKA (Sofia) in an ever-dramatic
clash at "Vassil Levski" stadium. A German referee was in charge on
Wednesday at the end of a season which has been dominated by a scandal.
Bulgarian referees are simply
not up to the task, soccer officials have decided.
The statistics show that in the 10 "foreign referee" matches between Levski and
CSKA, Levski have won 6 and CSKA only 2. Final score: CSKA - FC Levski 0:5 (0:2)
Bulgaria's ruling soccer body confirmed on Wednesday that the country's new
champions Litex Lovech were in no danger of being deprived of their title.
The spokesman of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) Nikola Exerov told Reuters
that the world governing body FIFA had sent a fax saying there would be no more
penalties against Litex for fielding a suspended player.
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Older May news,
April news #2 and April news #1.
March news #4, March news #3,
March news #2 and March news #1.
January & February news; November and December news.
Old news: October news and yet more October (A), October (B) and October (C) news.
Older news: [May 1997], [June-July 1997], [August 1997], [September 1997].
Bulgarian Football News from
Meridian Match.
Acknowledgement: Most of the infomation (along with the pictures) is from the
Bulgarian Press (Meridian Match, 24 hours, etc.).
