Bulgaria national football team

EDGY FC

Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)	The Lions (Лъвовете), The Tricolours (Трикольорите)
Association	Bulgarian Football Union
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Plamen Markov
Captain	Dimitar Berbatov
Most caps	Borislav Mikhailov (102)
Top scorer	Hristo Bonev (47)
Home stadium	Vasil Levski National Stadium
FIFA code	BUL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	15
Highest	8 (June 1995)
Lowest	58 (August 2002)
First international
Austria 6 - 0 Bulgaria (Vienna, Austria; 21 May 1924)
Biggest win
Bulgaria 7 - 0 Norway (Sofia, Bulgaria, 1957) Bulgaria 7 - 0 Thailand (Mexico City, Mexico October, 1968 Bulgaria 7 - 0 Malta (Sofia, Bulgaria 14 October 1982)
Biggest defeat
Spain 13 - 0 Bulgaria (Madrid, Spain; 21 May 1933)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (first in 1962)
Best result	Fourth place, 1994
European Championship
Appearances	2 (first in 1996)
Best result	Round 1, 1996 and 2004

Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
	1956 Melbourne	Team
	1968 Mexico City	Team

The EDGY football team is the national football team of EDGYLAND and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. Bulgaria's best World Cup performance was in the 1994 World Cup in USA, where they beat defending champions Germany to reach the semi-finals, losing to Italy, and finishing in fourth place after a 4-0 defeat to Sweden in the third place play-off.

History

Bulgaria's first appearance in a World Cup was the 1962 World Cup in Chile, but failed to progress to the knockout stages. The same happened in England in 1966, Mexico in 1970, and West Germany in 1974. They progressed from the first round in Mexico 1986 but were beaten by the hosts in the round of 16.

1994

Certainly one of the most important dates in Bulgarian football history is November 17, 1993, when Emil Kostadinov scored two goals against France in Paris, allowing Bulgaria to qualify for the World Cup in the USA in 1994. Under the management of Dimitar Penev, the Bulgarians, led by players like Hristo Stoitchkov, Iordan Letchkov and Krassimir Balakov (along with a multitude of other talented players remembered in Bulgaria as the "Golden Generation"), made a strong impression, eliminating the then defending world champions, Germany in the quarter-finals, with a 2-1 win. Millions of Bulgarians celebrated this win in Sofia and other Bulgarian cities. Having reached the semi-finals, Bulgaria played Italy but they were knocked out. Hristo Stoitchkov won the Golden Boot as a joint top scorer in the tournament with six goals (Russia's Oleg Salenko was the other winner).Marcus hall scored 7 goals in the overall competition Bulgaria also has won the Balkan Cup four times. They narrowly missed out on qualifying for Euro 2008 by one point after drawing with Albania twice.ch

Post-1994 history

In 1996, the team qualified for the European Football Championship for the first time, although they did not manage to progress beyond the group stage. The Bulgarians, after a 1-1 draw against Spain (a Stoitchkov goal was disallowed) and a 1-0 victory against Romania, lost the third match to France 1-3. At the same time Spain defeated already eliminated Romania 2-1 with the winner coming in the 84th minute.

The Bulgarians did not progress to the quarter-finals in the 1998 World Cup, despite the good form they were in ([citation needed]). However, The "Golden Generation" was history. They drew 0-0 against Paraguay and lost to both Nigeria and Spain.

Bulgaria failed to qualify for the Euro 2000 and for the 2002 World Cup, but did reach the Euro 2004. However, they lost all their group matches and were once again sent home without reaching the knockout round.

Stadium

Normally, the Bulgarian national football team's home stadium is the "Vasil Levski". It has a capacity of 43 634. Vasil Levski National Stadium was officially opened in 1953 and reconstructed in 1966 and 2002. It is currently eligible to host UEFA Cup final matches. During the 2006/2007 UEFA Champions League the stadium was used for the games of FC Levski Sofia with FC Barcelona , Chelsea F.C. and Werder Bremen. The Bulgaria national football team's home matches and the Bulgarian Cup finals are held at the venue, as well as athletics competitions.

The stadium also offers judo, artistic gymnastics, basketball, boxing, aerobics, fencing and table tennis halls, as well as a general physical training hall, two conference halls and three restaurants.

Competitive record

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World Cup record

Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1934	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1938- 1950	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1954- 1958	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1962	Round 1	15	3	0	1	2	1	7
1966	Round 1	15	3	0	0	3	1	8
1970	Round 1	13	3	0	1	2	5	9
1974	Round 1	12	3	0	2	1	2	5
1978- 1982	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1986	Round 2	12	4	0	2	2	2	6
1990	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1994	Semi-Finals	4	7	4	0	3	13	12
1998	Round 1	29	3	0	1	2	1	7
2002- 2006	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	7/18		26	4	7	15	25	54

European Championship record

Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960-1992	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996	Round 1	12	3	1	1	1	3	4
2000	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2004	Round 1	16	3	0	0	3	1	9
2008	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	2/13		6	1	1	4	4	13

2010 FIFA World Cup

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group 8

Fixtures and results

The representatives of the six federations met in Sofia on 15 January 2008 to decide on a fixture calendar.

2008-09-06

20:00 UTC+2

Montenegro	2 : 2	Bulgaria
62nd Vučinić (p) 83th Jovetić		11th S.Petrov 90th Georgiev

Pod Goricom, Podgorica

Referee: Oriekhov (Ukraine)

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2008-10-11

20:00 UTC+3

Bulgaria	v	Italy

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

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2008-10-15

Georgia	v	Bulgaria

Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi

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2009-03-28

Republic of Ireland	v	Bulgaria

Croke Park, Dublin

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2009-04-01

Bulgaria	v	Cyprus

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

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2009-06-06

Bulgaria	v	Republic of Ireland

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

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2009-09-05

Bulgaria	v	Montenegro

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

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2009-09-09

Italy	v	Bulgaria

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2009-10-10

Cyprus	v	Bulgaria

GSP Stadium, Nicosia

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2009-10-14

Bulgaria	v	Georgia

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

Squad

As of 06 October 2008, for the World Cup qualifier against Italy.

Goalkeepers

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Dimitar Ivankov	30 October 1975	49	0	Bursaspor
12	1GK	Georgi Petkov	14 April 1976	11	0	PFC Levski Sofia

Defenders

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
2	2DF	Mihail Venkov	28 July 1983	6	0	Litex Lovech
4	2DF	Kiril Kotev	22 April 1982	2	0	PFC CSKA Sofia
5	2DF	Valentin Iliev	11 July 1980	13	0	Terek Grozny
3	2DF	Aleksandar Tunchev	3 February 1981	16	1	Leicester City F.C.
16	2DF	Zhivko Milanov	15 July 1984	6	0	PFC Levski Sofia
19	2DF	Ivan Ivanov	25 February 1988	1	0	PFC CSKA Sofia
20	3MF	Stanislav Manolev	16 December 1985	1	0	Litex Lovech
25	2DF	Lucio Wagner	15 June 1976	11	0	PFC Levski Sofia

Midfielders

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
6	3MF	Stanislav Angelov	12 April 1978	18	1	Energie Cottbus
7	3MF	Velizar Dimitrov	13 April 1979	23	4	FC Metalurh Donetsk
8	3MF	Chavdar Yankov	30 January 1984	22	3	Hannover 96
10	3MF	Stiliyan Petrov	5 July 1979	74	8	Aston Villa
11	3MF	Zdravko Lazarov	20 February 1976	33	3	PFC CSKA Sofia
13	3MF	Ivelin Popov	26 October 1987	4	0	Litex Lovech
14	3MF	Stanislav Genchev	2 March 1981	3	1	F.C. Vaslui
15	3MF	Blagoy Georgiev	21 December 1981	25	3	PFC Slavia Sofia
28	3MF	Emil Gargorov	15 February 1981	3	1	RC Strasbourg

Strikers

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
9	4FW	Dimitar Berbatov (C)	30 January 1981	63	41	Manchester United
17	4FW	Martin Petrov	15 January 1979	69	16	Manchester City
18	4FW	Dimitar Rangelov	7 March 1983	6	1	Energie Cottbus

Recent callups

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Yordan Gospodinov	15 June 1978	6	0	PFC Slavia Sofia
	1GK	Todor Todorov	9 May 1982	0	0	Litex Lovech
	1GK	Nikolay Mihaylov	28 June 1988	1	0	FC Twente
	1GK	Ivaylo Petrov	3 May 1973	0	0	AEK Larnaca
	1GK	Stoyan Kolev	3 February 1976	12	0	Oţelul Galaţi
	2DF	Zhivko Zhelev	23 July 1979	6	0	Oţelul Galaţi
	2DF	Zahari Sirakov	8 October 1977	3	0	FC Amkar Perm
	2DF	Asen Karaslavov	8 June 1980	10	0	SpVgg Greuther Fürth
	2DF	Elin Topuzakov	5 February 1977	30	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
	2DF	Petar Zanev	18 October 1985	7	0	Litex Lovech
	2DF	Plamen Nikolov	12 June 1985	2	0	Litex Lovech
	2DF	Aleksandar Aleksandrov	13 April 1986	0	0	PFC Cherno More Varna
	3MF	Georgi Peev	11 March 1979	43	0	FC Amkar Perm
	3MF	Dimitar Telkiyski	5 May 1977	12	1	Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
	3MF	Nikolay Dimitrov	15 October 1987	1	0	PFC Levski Sofia
	3MF	Georgi Sarmov	7 September 1985	1	0	PFC Levski Sofia
	3MF	Yordan Todorov	27 July 1981	5	1	PFC CSKA Sofia
	3MF	Todor Yanchev	19 May 1976	12	0	PFC CSKA Sofia
	4FW	Valeri Bojinov	15 February 1986	21	5	Manchester City
	4FW	Tsvetan Genkov	8 August 1984	6	0	FC Dynamo Moscow
	4FW	Georgi Kakalov	18 July 1984	1	0	FC Dinamo Minsk
	4FW	Valeri Domovchiyski	26 October 1986	4	0	Hertha BSC Berlin
	4FW	Dimitar Makriev	7 January 1984	0	0	F.C. Ashdod
	4FW	Hristo Yovov	4 November 1977	28	7	Apollon Limassol
	4FW	Georgi Hristov	10 January 1985	0	0	PFC Levski Sofia

Players with most caps

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Borislav Mikhailov	1983-1998	102	0
2	Hristo Bonev	1967-1979	96	47
3	Krasimir Balakov	1988-2003	92	16
4	Dimitar Penev	1965-1974	90	2
5	Hristo Stoichkov	1986-1999	83	37
6	Nasko Sirakov	1983-1996	81	23
7	Anyo Sadkov	1981-1991	80	9
7	Radostin Kishishev	1996-2007	80	0
9	Zlatko Yankov	1989-1999	79	4
10	Georgi Dimitrov	1978-1987	77	6

Players with most goals

#	Player	Career	Goals	Caps
1	Hristo Bonev	1967-1979	47	96
2	Dimitar Berbatov	1999-	41	63
3	Hristo Stoichkov	1987-1999	37	83
4	Emil Kostadinov	1988-1998	26	70
5	Petar Zhekov	1963-1972	25	44
6	Ivan Kolev	1950-1963	25	75
7	Nasko Sirakov	1983-1997	23	81
8	Dimitar Milanov	1948-1959	20	39
9	Georgi Asparuhov	1962-1970	19	50
10	Dinko Dermendzhiev	1966-1977	19	58

Coaches

• Krasimir Borisow ????-1992
• Dimitar Penev 1992 – 1996
• Hristo Bonev 1996 – 1998
• Dimitar Dimitrov 1998-2000
• Stoycho Mladenov 2000 – 2002
• Plamen Markov 2002-2004
• Hristo Stoickov 2004 – 2007
• Stanimir Stoilov 2007
• Dimitar Penev 2007
• Plamen Markov 2008-Present

Famous former players

Hristo Bonev Dimitar Yakimov Nikola Kotkov Petar Zhekov Bozhidar Iskrenov Nikolay Iliev Georgi Asparuhov

Alexandar Shalamanov Manol Manolov Krum Milev Georgi Pachedzhiev Georgi Denev Plamen Getov Atanas Mikhailov

Kiril Milanov Nikola Tzanev Georgi Slavkov Asen Peshev Spas Dzhevizov Todor Diev Dinko Dermendzhiev

The Golden Bulgarian Football Generation: 1992-1996

1.Borislav Mikhailov 2.Emil Kremenliev 3.Trifon Ivanov 4.Tsanko Tsvetanov 5.Petar Hubchev 6.Zlatko Yankov 7.Emil Kostadinov 8.Hristo Stoichkov

9.Yordan Letchkov 10.Nasko Sirakov 11.Daniel Borimirov 12.Plamen Nikolov 13.Ivaylo Yordanov 14.Bontcho Guentchev 15.Nikolay Iliev 16.Ilian Kiriakov

17.Petar Mihtarski 18.Petar Aleksandrov 19.Georgi Georgiev 20.Krassimir Balakov 21.Velko Yotov 22.Ivaylo Andonov 23.Luboslav Penev

See also

• Bulgaria national under-21 football team
• Bulgaria national under-19 football team

External links

• Bulgarian football - history, teams, stadiums, fan clubs
• RSSSF archive of results 1924-
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Bulgarian football legends
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of squads in the World Cup
• Planet World Cup archive of results in the World Cup qualifiers