Serbia's Crvena Zvezda football club was not in talks with Bulgarian football legend Hristo Stoichkov to fill the head coach vacancy, Serbian broadcaster B92 quoted club chairman Toplica Spasojević as saying on May 29 2008.

Spasojević rubbished the media reports in recent days, which suggested that the 1994 winner of the Ballon D'or would take over Serbia's most popular club.

"Many coaches use Crvena Zvezda as an advertising opportunity to raise their price on the market," he said. "Within  a couple of days we will have a meeting of the club's management and we will discuss the issue of Zvezda's new coach," Spasojević said.

However, Spasojević would not rule out Stoichkov from being appointed the new head coach of Crvena Zvezda. The club is notorious for changing coaches at the drop of a hat, reaching new heights in 2007, during which the club has been managed by four different coaches.

Stoichkov was left out of job in October 2007 when he was sacked by Spanish club Celta Vigo for poor results. Before taking over Celta, Stoichkov was the head coach of Bulgaria's national team.

He quit, surprising everyone, in March 2007 after a goalless draw at home with Albania put a big dent in Bulgaria's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008, only to be unveiled as Celta's manager on April 10 2007. The club was languishing at the bottom of the Primera Division and Stoichkov's appointment did not help the club avoid relegation.

In the latter part of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign he sparked a massive row with Romanian journalists after making disparaging comments about them and Romania. 

Recently, Stoichkov made headlines in Bulgaria, having allegedly beaten up Bulgarian photographer Lyubo Assenov in Barcelona. Assenov was in Spain for the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.

Assenov took a picture of Stoichkov while the latter was dining out with friends. Stoichkov followed him outside the restaurant and allegedly attacked the photographer and his pregnant wife shouting insults in both Spanish and Bulgarian.

Later Stoichkov claimed he felt that his life and that of his family was in danger.