The disappointing draw with Albania (0:0) achieved on March 28 in Sofia substantially reduced Bulgarias chances to qualify for the final stage of Euro 2008. Before the game, the situation in qualifying group G seemed more than promising for the Bulgarians.
First was the favourite the Netherlands with 11 points, second was Bulgaria with eight points and third Romania, also with eight points. Bulgaria was second because of the 2:2 draw with Romania on Romanian soil last year.
On March 24, Romania and the Netherlands finished 0:0 and the moment was perfect for Bulgaria to secure second place in the group, and even to dream about a face-off for first with the Netherlands. The game with Albania was expected to pass without any problems, since Albania had nothing to show in its football history.
Bulgaria had another reason to hope for a good game against Albania. Midfielder and former team captain Stiliyan Petrov announced his return to the squad a few week before the game, and together with Tottenhams sticker Dimitar Berbatov, the pair were thought to be national coach Hristo Stoichkovs weapon for success.
The game was crucial for Stoichkov as well. Two months ago, he told journalists that if the team failed to qualify for the Euro in Switzerland and Austria, he would quit the job. Even before that, some Bulgarian-language sport media had published negative articles against Stoichkovs tactic and communication skills. Stoichkov was blamed for Petrovs departure last year. The teams inconsistent performance so far was another motivation for the negative attitude towards the once-great football player and holder of the Golden Ball (Zlatnata topka) for 1994.
Stoichkovs fiery character only encouraged that. He even got engaged in a conflict with Romanian media. After the March 24 game between the Netherlands and Romania, Stoichkov said the game looked as if it was fixed because the result suited both teams.
Because of all this, the Bulgaria versus Albania game was anticipated as a great performance by the hosts.
Nothing like this happened. In the first five minutes, Berbatov sent a ball to Petrov, who missed the net. That was all in which the Bulgarian players could take pride for the first 45 minutes. After the game, Berbatov told journalists that we slept through the entire first half of the match.
Indeed, there was some awakening after the pause, but the Albanians saw their chance for winning the point and put up a strong and well-organised defence.
With the clock ticking, the Bulgarians were becoming more and more nervous. The fans, disappointed with what was happening on the field, started shouting messages to Stoichkov. The messages consisted of only one word: Resignation.
In the final moments of the match, Bulgarians tried for the goal but the Croatian coach of the Albanians, Otto Baric, had built a strong defense line. After the final whistle, the Albanians celebrated as if they had won the game.
A quick view on Barics starting list shows that Bulgaria had no reason to expect an easy game. Only one of the Albanian players normally plays in the Albanian football championships. The rest play for reputable teams in EU countries such as Germany and the Netherlands.
The end of the game arrived, and with that came the interviews and the articles about the match. They were devastating for Stoichkov. All of the sport dailies came out with big headlines saying either get out, or just leave. Everybody wanted to see Stoichkovs end as Bulgarias national football team coach.
Romanians had their share of fun as well. A reporter from the Romanian TV channel ProTV followed Stoichkov around with a dish of mamaliga, a traditional Romanias dish made out of cornmeal (like polenta). A day before the match, Stoichkov had called Romanians mamaliga lovers, so the ProTv reporter wanted Stoichkov to try it out. A Romanian newspaper published several cartoons picturing Stoichkov in different situations.
Stoichkov has not responded officially to all that was written about him. His superiors from the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) and Stoichkovs former teammates are formally supporting him. BFU vice president and current Sliven mayor Yordan Lechkov said after the game that he fully supported Stoichkov, but indeed the team had shown a disappointing result and that it was very unlikely to qualify for the Euro 2008.
This will cost BFU 10 million euro in income. This money could have been invested in Bulgarian football, Lechkov said.
The Netherlands and Romania made no mistakes in their games. Romania won against the outsiders Luxembourg with a classic 3:0, and the Netherlands won with the minimum 1:0 against Slovenia. The Netherlands will continue to top the group with 14 points, followed by Romania with 11 points; third is Bulgaria with nine points. Belarus is close behind with seven points.
Bulgarias next game is on June 2 against host Belarus.
