With the arrival of Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov on South African shores to take charge of Mamelodi Sundowns, few had expected his stay to be a peaceful one. Bulgarian fans are well-acquainted with the feisty personality of the former Ballon d’Or winner, whose nickname in Bulgaria – "the Dagger" (Kamata) – was earned as much by his incisive runs as his sharp tongue.

Being the most successful club in the history of South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) with five titles since the league’s inception in 1996, and with its riches that have seen the club likened to Chelsea FC, expectations of Stoichkov were inevitably high from the onset.

And therein lay the problem. Undeniably, Stoichkov is a football legend in Bulgaria and arguably the country’s greatest footballer of all time, but his two previous coaching stints – as coach of the Bulgarian national team and Celta Vigo in Spain – were far from illustrious.

South Africans, journalists in particular, who were unfamiliar with Stoichkov’s aggressive attitude, soon found themselves in a dilemma as to what to make of the Sundowns coach.
Repeated complaints that Stoichkov snubbed the media after matches prompted action from PSL’s disciplinary committee, which fined the Bulgarian.

But when Stoichkov did talk to the media, it was always going to make headline news. His "Tu Parts" interview has already become part of Bulgarian football folklore, with songs and video clips circulating online of Kamata enlightening some poor South African journalists on the secrets of football philosophy.

This is the Stoichkov that Bulgarian fans know best: a great footballer with an attitude, a mixture of Paul Gascoigne, Vinnie Jones and Wayne Rooney – aggressive, talented, violent and totally unpredictable.

His darker side emerged too and he faced heavy disciplinary action in March, following his outbursts during the closing stages of the PSL, but hearings had to be postponed twice, the latest on March 15 because of Stoichkov’s "health problems".

Stoichkov was charged with misconduct, having hurled "abusive and insulting language" at the match commissioner after the league clash between Sundowns and Moroka Swallows on February 19, with the second charge being for sliding his finger against his throat, indicating that he "would want to slit the match commissioner’s head off".

The reason? Kamata was enraged by the official’s decision to resume the match against Moroka Swallows from the 36th minute when his Mamelodi was losing 0-2, instead of having the match replayed from the beginning. The match was interrupted after the floodlights at the Swallows ground went out.

"These people are corrupt. This was a stupid decision; it is bad for the people. These people never played football and have no idea what is going on. The managers just spoil the game in this country. The sport is developing but they are stuck in one place," Stoichkov said.

Mamelodi Sundowns officials distanced themselves by saying that they would not back the comments of the club’s head coach – that and the apparent hesitation to extend his contract following the end of the season in which the team failed to secure the title, meant that the Bulgarian resigned his job.

According to the Sundowns management, Stoichkov was offered a new contract, but under certain conditions. One was winning the title, but the offer also included clauses like building "good relations with the players, the PSL, the media and other stakeholders in football".

Not a man to be told what he could or could not say, Stoichkov decided to walk out. The contracts of his technical team were also terminated. "We wish Stoichkov, Lopez and Miguel Gonzalez all of the very best with their careers and thank them for their contribution to the club since their employment," the club statement said.