The head coach of the Bulgarian national team should be Bulgarian. Alternatively, should the Bulgarian Football Union opt for a foreigner, "he must be of top quality", said Stoicho Mladenov for Dnevnik Daily on November 2 2009. Mladenov was a former CSKA Sofia player and Bulgarian international, and later on he also had as spell as national coach of Bulgaria

As a player, he won the league four times with CSKA Sofia; as a coach, he lifted the trophy twice.

"My opinion differs slightly from other people's. I believe that Bulgarian coaches are decent enough; in fact, Bulgarian coaches accomplish heroics given the miserable conditions in which they work," he said.

"Let me ask you this, how many clubs in this country have their own top quality fitness centres and adequate sports bases, where they can operate and develop themselves and their youth? Four or five? Conditions here are appalling, possibly the worst in Europe," he said.

Mladenov has argued that the level of the so called football academies in Bulgaria has reached such a dilapidated level, that Bulgarian players coming through the ranks reach their peak aged 16-17. In order for them to develop further as players, they must go overseas; alternatively, they face stagnation and deterioration in Bulgaria.

"I would like to work in Bulgaria. If I fail to find something interesting here in the country, I might consider working overseas, but one thing is for sure, I will not betray my roots – I will not consider the Levski Sofia job, ever," he said.