November 29, 2022 • 36 mins
Bulgaria literally smuggled themselves into World Cup 1994, where they arrived brash, bald, and having never won a World Cup game. And then went on to make the semifinals.
Ever wonder why every soccer player nowadays is obscenely attractive? What have they done with the fat ones, the bald, the goateed? As a refreshing tonic, let's remember the mid-'90s, the time of mullets and overweight drunks as professional athletes. One elite defender drove a Soviet tank around. Freshly unlatched from the communist Soviet Union, Bulgaria was brash, broody, and temperamental. And they were World Cup semifinalists in 1994.
The Best Soccer Podcast In The World is a bilingual podcast that tells your soon-to-be favorite soccer stories. The host, Nando Vila, will crack open some of the most iconic World Cup moments, putting them in cultural and geopolitical contexts. From legendary players to silly hairdos, to heart-wrenching losses.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You ever noticed how every soccer player is obscenely attractive.
You might just think it's all the exercise, and that's
partly true. Being a professional athlete and working out several
hours a day is great for your abs. But it
wasn't always like this. There used to be ugly soccer players,
fat ones, bald ones, goateeed. If we rewind back to
(00:24):
the grunge of well, my friend, those were the days,
back when soccer players were slobs, drunks, and had unruly
nose hairs. They said wild, upsetting things, and not a
single spokesperson was nearby to cringe, nary a social media
user in sight to immortalize it for all time. They
(00:44):
were the opposite of an Instagram filter. Today, we're going
to tell the story of a team fueled by brazen, indignant,
chest thumping cockiness, not to mention chest hair mullets, communist tanks,
an illegally smuggled players, a team that rode on their
own high opinions of themselves, a complete disregard for rules,
(01:06):
and harnessed a couple of miraculous bits of luck along
the way into World Cup immortality. Freshly unlatched from the
Soviet Union, Bulgaria was brash, broody and temperamental, and they
were World Cup semifinalists. In the Bulgaria phenomenon was I mean,
(01:29):
it was a shooting star right the emergence of this
Bulgaria team, I mean Cinderella esque. He was tight lipped
and brooding. The whole country just went absolutely mad, but
kind of exerted an atmosphere of authority, one with the
greatest sensations of all time. And it came out of
(01:50):
nowhere and then it exploded in glory and then went
away and diminished very very quickly. I'm Nando Vila, and
this is the soccer podcast in the world goes Women,
(02:11):
but it's Christiano Ronaldo, Yes, in the Italian team. Wonderful
never sin. November seventeen, final round of World Cup qualifiers.
(02:48):
On that night, nine simultaneous matches decided the last eight
available European spots for the four World Cup. The most
dramatic it turned out, was Bulgaria versus France. France, as
you can imagine, we're heavy favorites. But before we get
to the actual match, in order to understand the home
(03:08):
magnitude of this miracle, you have to go back a
couple of days. This is Michael Jakin. I'm a freelance
um football writer. That's what they do for living. I'm
just I just write about football. Bulgaria and France were
in the same qualifying group and everyone expected France to
(03:32):
go through. I mean they had great players like Eric
Cantona back from international exile at Jean Pierre Papan. France
should have sailed through the group. A few weeks earlier,
France played against Israel in Paris and they would have
qualified for the World Cup if they've won. And Israel
(03:54):
played in the first ever European World Cup qualifying campaign
they played in Asia before, and Israel was not good yet. Somehow,
five minutes into stoppage time Israel lead and then gave
(04:15):
a Bulgaria chace. But still it was a tall order
for the Bulgarians to make it to the World Cup.
They needed to beat France in France, while the French
only needed to tie at home. The absurd, the idea,
absolutely unthinkable, and the very factory were alive in this
competition was a miracle. So you just one miracle had
(04:39):
already happened. They needed they just needed another one. One
key thing had changed since the last World Cup. Bulgaria
was a country of nine million people in the Balkans,
sort of nuzzled between Greece, Turkey, and the Black Sea
in southeastern Europe. At the time, it was struggling to
(05:00):
established itself economically and politically. With the collapse of the
Soviet Union, countries in the Eastern Bloc started transitioning towards
market capitalism and away from centralized planned economies. East and
West Germany merged once more. Advertising in Hollywood movies crept
into the culture. The main shift, as far as soccer
(05:24):
was concerned, was getting rid of a rule that sounds
absurd in retrospect. Soccer players in Bulgaria could not play
professionally outside of the country until they turned twenty eight.
That law disappeared in so by the time World Cup
rolled around, the best players had trickled out to some
of the bigger leagues in Europe. The collapse of the
(05:45):
Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union obviously made those players
feel much trier and they were like released from the cage.
And the best player was clearly Risto story Kov. He
played for Barcelona in the Spanish League and was a
(06:06):
key part of the team that managed to win four
consecutive league titles. And were you to cool up Central
Casting and ask for burly Eastern European hit man and
strive at your door, you go brilliant Central Casting had answered,
had answered the cool and in many ways, I guess
(06:27):
that's not an inappropriate way of describing him, because he
was Bulgarian and he was very much a hit man,
and he didn't look like he would brook any nonsense
from you either. This is James Richardson. He hosts the
Totally Football Show and has interviewed Storage Clove. France arrived
in a very strange psychological state to this picture, because
(06:48):
on one's hand, they underestimated the Bulgerrens, but on the
other hand, they were very much afraid of losing, because
that Israeli game was a cure siasco and they really
were afraid. But the Bulgarians arrived in their own state
of disorganization. Somehow, the Bulgarian Federation had forgotten to apply
(07:11):
for visas for forwards Emil Kostadinov and Lubo's lav Penive. Legally,
those two players could not enter France for the key match.
See this was before the time of the Shenjen agreement
which allowed Europeans to travel freely within the U. Back then,
you still needed visas and passports and the like if
you wanted to cross between borders. But well, what are
(07:33):
immigration laws besides technicalities bureaucratic hiccups, really, So the team
devised a plan. The captain, goalkeeper buddhis love Mikail Love,
and a midfielder named George George Jev which definitely sounds
made up played in the French League for a club
called Mulhouse. You see, mule House was right on the
(07:54):
border between Germany and France, and the players had heard
of a border crossing there with light security. So Georgia
smuggled the pair across in his car in hiding and
put them up the night before the game. When the
starting lineups were read on November seventeen, Costadinov and Luboslav
Penev's names were listed up top next to stotchkov I.
(08:17):
Guess Costadinov and Penev were both technically undocumented immigrants at
the time. Now, all they had to do was beat France.
No one knew it at the time, but France had
the spine of the team that would go on to
win the World Cup five years later. Laurent Blanc, Marcel
(08:38):
de Sa and Dde de Champ started that day in
as well as Cantona, the mercurial striker with pop callers
who was named in the top three players of the
world that year. But on Cue Cantona struck first, lashing
home of Ali from Pepon's cushioned knockdown header. Eric Cantonas
(09:03):
scored the goal and they've are on the on their
way to the World Cup. They had now had to
concede two goals in order to be out. One bizarre
moment in the match came when a rooster snuck its
way onto the field anyway before halftime. Before the rooster
crowde Bulgaria pulled one back from a corner. Leaning back
away from goal, Costadinov scored a bullet header espid. That's right,
(09:32):
the same Costadinov who had eluded French security forces the
day before, found the French defenders just as easy to
slip past. Even still, with the score tied, the French
would be flying to the United States for the World
Cup the upcoming summer. The French just needed to waste
a few more minutes. Time was slipping away the one
(09:55):
one it's just it's last minut of injury time remaining,
and Davigiono La, the French substitute, head the ball near
the corner flag in the Bulgarian half, and instead of
wasting those seconds that were left until the final whistle,
(10:15):
he just sent an awful cross. The sult His overcooked
cross sailed over everyone and fell straight to the feet
of a Bulgarian player. The Bulgarians then rushed up the
field for one final attack. The ball found its way
to Penny and he picked up his head and found
his undocumented brother Costadinov. Costadinov held off his defender and
(10:38):
absolutely rifled a shot from a narrow angle while in
full script. Visiting Bulgarian commentator screamed, God is Bulgarian, God
is Bulgarian. It was just centimeters from going out. It
(11:05):
was a huge, huge moment. It defined this very moment
defined ventire Blegarran football history. Neither Pennev nor Kostadinov had
visas to be in France, but they punched their tickets
for flights to the United States Yessa. He held his
head in his hands, Blanc sunk to his knees. Dishop
(11:25):
cried his way down the tunnel, Ginola slumped over an
advertising board. It was total disaster for France. Coach Gerard
Julie disappeared into the bowels of the stadium without a word.
It wasn't that he didn't have anything to say. Julier
blamed Ginola. He committed a crime against the team. I repeat,
(11:47):
a crime against the team. The French press called Ginola
the assassin of French football. Decades later, Julier hadn't forgiven him.
He called Ginola a bastard in his book. Ginola subsequently sued.
Ginola is remembered more for his overcooked cross than anything else.
Cantada never played in the World Cup. But on the
(12:09):
other hand, Christo Stoichkov and Bolakov and Kostadinov and Leskov
and Trifa Luvanov, they all went to play in the
World Cup, and not just play in that World Cup,
but provide one of the greatest sensations of all time.
More about what happened next after the break and so
(12:45):
from the disillusion of communism in the Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria
washed up on the shores of good old capitalists US
and d in the summer of the Lion King and
Jim Carey topped the box office. People were listening to
Asa Bass and is Two Men on their Walkman Friends
was filming its inaugural season. One thing we had been
(13:05):
noticing again it's a very slow pursuit. O. J. Simpson
was fleeing in a white bronco. Nelson Mandela won the
first multi racial elections in South African history. A time
of hope and opportunity, and America, the land of apple
Pie and the other kind of football, got set to
host the World Cup. It was the debut of colorful
(13:28):
jerseys for referees. Kickoffs were scheduled for noon to appease
the European TV market, which stuck up its nose at
the beautiful game being held in a primitive backwater like
the United States, but the stadiums were packed. The opening
ceremonies included Diana Ross missing a penalty in one of
the funniest videos you'll ever see and the goal splitting
(13:48):
in half. I just think that that that Bulgaria team
really embodied the spirit of you know what, an American
World Cup. I guess promises which his opportunity and anything
can happen. This is Alexei Lawless. If you know of him,
it's because of this World Cup. My name is Alexei
Lawless and I'm fifty two years old. I am a Gemini.
(14:10):
I live out here in Los Angeles, California, and many
many years ago, back in the nineteen hundreds, I used
to run around and kick a ball for a number
of different teams, including the US men's national team, and
nowadays I talk about soccer on Fox Sports. On Home Soil.
Lallas was the center back defending America's honor. While Lallas
(14:30):
and the US team were being thrust into the global limelight,
Bulgaria was busy shunning it. Bulgarian training sessions were closed
and the team refused to speak to the media. The
team was locked in a contract dispute with the Bulgarian federation,
which had promised the players bonuses of a hundred thousand
dollars for the win over France. Unable to pay, the
federation president resigned and the players were understatably huffy. Eventually,
(14:54):
the federation came up with twenty dollars per player. Kuber
grudgingly accepted and agreed to play on the roster. Bennett,
the hero of Paris and one of the guys who
had smuggled himself into the country, had to pull out
of the squad due to testicular cancer. He was replaced
by Nasco Sirakov. What's notable about the promotion of Sirakov
is that he played for Levski Sofia, one of the
(15:17):
two main teams from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Pennev,
the guy he was replacing, had come up through CSKA
Sophia and Boy those two teams really don't like each other.
Two big enemies, Cska Soffa and Left Sofa. They really
really really hate each other. It's like Rangers and Celtic
in Glasgow. It's it's a huge rivalry with beef dating
(15:40):
back to the nineteen forties. Bulgaria's Eternal Derby is the
biggest rivalry in the Balkans. The most bitter game between
them came in Bulgarian Cup final, when a handball helped
Cska opened the scoring and win. A riot broke out
in this dands. A huge brawl then broke out in
(16:02):
the tunnel. The Communist Party dissolved both teams and handed
five players lifetime bands, including Stoutchkov and Mikhailove. A few
months later, those sanctions were reduced and Stoutchkov resumed playing
after seven months, and both teams still exist, but they
still hate each other. One of the biggest problems in
the Bulgarian squad throughout decades was that there were two camps,
(16:27):
usually in the dressing room d C s k A
camp and the Lefsky camp, and they hated each other
and they at times they didn't even speak to each other,
and it's ruined the atmosphere in the dressing room. You see,
in the six World Cups Bulgaria had qualified for, they'd
never won a match. In nineteen sixty two they drew
(16:47):
nil nil with the Bobbies of England, Charlton and more.
In sixty six they lost to Pelez Brazil and it
was Portugal. In nineteen seventy they lost to Beckenbauer and
Gerd Mueller's West Germany. In nineteen seventy four they lost
the It's Netherlands, and they didn't qualify in two but
at least they lost to a bunch of legendary teams.
You know, you can say that for them. And then
in six they actually progressed to the round of sixteen
(17:11):
on the back of two draws in the group stage,
no wins They promptly lost to nail to Madelona's Argentina
and then by the same score line to Los anchez
Is Mexico. In their most recent World Cup match eight
years earlier, had scored a wonderful goal from Mexico, a
keep up E one two followed by a flying scissor kick.
(17:33):
Up to that point, if Bulgaria was shown in any
World Cup highlight reels, it would have been for that
negative day goal. They have are breastfare remembered for coinceding
a beautiful goal. They were considered a minnows. They were
never supposed to pose any threats. It's a World Cup.
So the goal for the Bulgaria team was simple, win
a match one. Any match would do. They kicked off
(17:59):
the tournament in Dallas, his Cotton Bowl Stadium against Nigeria,
sun hot enough to sizzle your neck, hairs, air dry
enough to choke on. This was Nigeria's first World Cup appearance. Surely,
if Bulgaria was going to win one, the opening match
was their chance. The Nigerian winger Finiti George and his
teammates disagreed, whichever you didn't get in, but now they've
(18:20):
got in. Yakni coming for the cross the bulgaras refreshed
in the frost fiction Dallas by Julia, It ended three
nailed to Nigeria. The Bulgarian coach responded by allowing the
players to bring their wives and girlfriends to the hotel.
A late night of smoking, drinking and pull parties ensued.
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Needless to say, this was unheard of in the middle
of a World Cup, let alone. After a crushing defeat,
they celebrated the hotel and basically they were just enjoyed
their lives. Next up Greece, also making their World Cup
debut at Soldier Field in Chicago. Up step Stoichkov, tofts
of chest, haired, his gold chain visible under his v neck.
(19:04):
The barrel chested forward was coming off four straight La
Liga titles with Barcelona. He was fiery, brilliant, bullish. He
was once suspended for two months for stomping on a
referee who sent him off versus Real Madrid, but he
put his foot down in a different way against Greece.
A pair of penalties and goals from Jodan Letchikov and
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Daniel Bodhimdov gave Bulgaria a heavy four nil win. Stoichkov
would go on to say quote, they got nowhere near
us and well, congratulations Bulgaria, they have got their frost
ever World Cup win. And basically that could have been
the greatest achievement in the tournament. But then and as
(19:49):
a miracle that happened to them, first Israel beating France,
then Bulgaria beating France, now Madalona miracles. Here's how the
writer I Wado Galleano put in quote, he played, he won,
he pid, he lost. A phedroan turned up in his
ear analysis and Maradona was booted out of the World Cup.
(20:13):
Faith for certainly might well have had no option themselves
but to tape strong action against Maradonna and aging Maradona
had been ushered back from a cocaine field suspension to
salvage Argentina's hopes. With him, they looked formidable once more.
Maravona almost single handedly led Argentina to the World Cup
title in six, had dragged them to the final four
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years later, and now at thirty three, would have set
a record for World Cup appearances against Bulgaria. Instead, he
was sent home in a cloud of paparazzi flashbulbs, fan hysterics,
preening global newspaper columns and stimulants in his blood. It
really looked like bug ever extremely lucky, just outrageously lucky.
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Everything went their way. Needing a result to qualify for
the next round, Bulgaria faced the stunned Argentina back in
the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, amid the turmoil of the
Maradonna affair. Qualification in the group would be turned upside
down in the final matches. You know, good Roddy here
by Storage again Storygekov scored because of course, even having
(21:25):
a player sent off couldn't dampen the move. That's the
same this fame started playing brilliant team football vet ruin
over Argentina. With the last minute goal by Sirakov. It
really gave them confidence if they could do really really
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huge thing. Bulgaria finished second in the group onto the
knockout rounds. Each game was do or die, lose and
go home, win and progress. First up was another old foe, Mexico,
this time in Giant Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. They
called it the Swampy Storagekov scored after six minutes, absolutely
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battering it straight over the on rushing post who didn't
even have time to get his hands up. Mexico equalized
through a penalty, and then Bulgaria had a player sent off,
but instead of having to play a man down the
rest of the half, Mexico had Louise Gotta see us
sent off as well. Nope, not that Los gotta see.
Not that other one either. That was the two other
Rush sendings off. I think I'd have the same name
(22:37):
World Cup Football, and I just don't think you can
defend the referring appointment by It was a wild match.
One of the Mexican defenders snapped the upright after sliding
into it, and the Syrian referee handed out eight yellow
cards and two reds and reed penaltist. Here we had
the flamboyant j Campos in net for Mexico, the tiny
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goalkeeper who preferred to play striker and distracted opposing players
with his self designed neon jerseys. For Bulgaria, the goalkeeper
was the captain, Borislav the Wig Mikhai Love. They called
him that because he was bald and wore a wig
while playing. I'm serious, dude, wore a rug on the field.
The nineties were awesome anyway. Mikailov's father had been Bulgaria's
(23:21):
national team goalkeeper also, so it kind of ran in
the family and it all led up to this, a
penalty shootout in the World Cup. More about what happened
next after the break, it was to the penalty shootout
(23:50):
and Balakos missed the frost kick for Bulgaria, but the
New Mexicans missed three in a row with a corner
and then high logs correct way lanes that way. Ka
I Lov saved two and saved his nation's hoax folding character.
Hey con chikeese count right into a little patient World
(24:11):
Cup history. Yes, yes, go to the titles of the world.
Stotchkov was scheduled to take the last penalty, but it
wasn't even needed. Stotchkov summed up the night by sighting
the commentator of the Friends game quote, God was a
Bulgarian Today. The players stayed up so late celebrating at
(24:34):
their isolated hotel in Princeton that the coach gave them
the next day off. The team stayed in Princeton ahead
of the quarterfinal against Germany, and the Germans were a
fearsome team. They had won the World Cup four years earlier,
and now they were newly reunified. After the fall of
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the Berlin Wall, adding East Germans to an already stacked roster.
An attack, Jurgen Klinsmann partnered with Rudy Valler, known for
his blonde caterpillar mustache. Nobody really believed that Bulgaria could
be the Jones. Bulgaria prepared for the match by racking
up a massive bar tab the night before to celebrate
Leschkov's birthday, and the coach was worried. Germany likely spelled
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the end. And before those quarterfinals against Germany, Tifoni, one
of their frightening looking center back, came to the coach
and told him everything is going to be okay. Ruddy fella.
When he sees me, he will be so frightened that
he won't be able to do anything. Tifon Ivanov was
(25:43):
called the Wolfman, plump with sunken eyes. He wore a
scraggly beard and the shaggy mullet. And the greatest story
about one of by the way, is that he bought
himself at tank when he was a player, just bought
himself on old so the tunk and drove it in
his spare time. So that was the kind of personality.
(26:05):
He was the one to reassure his coach. Just relax,
he said, Rudy Valler will fall to the ground when
he feels my breath. It turns out it wasn't Volor
who hit the ground. Klinsman won a penalty with some
trademark diving and it was birthday boy Letchikov, who had
allegedly brought him down. Has the chops now. Lotar Matteus
(26:27):
scored the penalty in his record equalling twenty one World
Cup match. It's a he check the lad What a time.
Then Voler put the ball in the back of the net,
but it was a fraction off side. Had it stood,
Bulgaria likely would have been toast instead. Stoichkov happened in
(26:50):
a career full of wild and wonderful goals. His free
kick from twenty five yards against Germany holds up among
his best. Yea prish that back in it. Three minutes later,
Letsikov atoned for his earlier foul. People don't even remember
(27:11):
that he gave up the penalty because he wiped it
from memory with what came next. You're done. The magician.
Leskov had a haircut like your grandfather balding, but with
a little sprouting tuft on the top of his forehead.
He was from Sleeven, five miles from Chernobyl, and blamed
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his baldness on the radiation and lev he was a
hot walk in midfielder. But he wasn't especially technically gifted,
he wasn't especially visionary, he wasn't especially anything. It's refreshing
to see someone unapologetically bald. I think the world needs
more bald icons. And that head proved mighty instrumentally. Yeah,
(27:55):
let's draw. Yeah, the celebration is Letchikov peeled away is legendary,
his arms high in a v then jumping to punch
the sky. They worn against both Angelina and Germany, the
(28:16):
finalist of the previous World Cup, and now they've themselves
just one step from their own World Cup final, which
was so extremely incredible that the whole country just went
absolutely mad After that, typically bullish Stoichkov said after the
(28:38):
match quote, to be honest, it was an easy win.
Spoiler alert listener, it was not. Bulgaria, a country that
had barely smuggled their way into the World Cup, was
in a semi final. They once again stayed put at
Giant Stadium to face the next giant in the fixture list.
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That would be Italy, meticulously led by Roberto Baggio, better
known as the Divine Ponytail, a k a. The greatest
nickname in the history of soccer. He got it because well,
he rocked a full on rat tail throughout his entire career.
Divino cordino, veto bajo. He kind of defied description because
(29:20):
he was so good. He was an incredibly gifted player,
and there's just something about him and the way that
he the dignity that he always had, and the grace
he had. Baggio inscribed Buddhist sayings onto his captain's armband.
He was flowing, he was fragile. He was phenomenal, of course,
(29:41):
but he seemed the way that he moved on the
field for me was a little bit like a leaf
skipping along on an autumn breeze. He would just seem
to glide along. Baggio put Italy ahead with two precise
finishes that Bojankov admitted when he turned fifty that the
first goal still hurt. He should have fouled Baggio. Stoichkov
(30:05):
pulled one back with a penalty just before halftime, but
the comeback never fully materialized. The referee that day was
a Frenchman named Joel Knu And now listen, I'm not
accusing him of anything, but maybe revenge was in the
cards because he swallowed his whistle in this one a
bit at one point clearly handled inside the box and
(30:25):
didn't get a penalty. And later Italy brought down Letchkov
in the box and also didn't get a penalty. So
just saying final whistle, Italy to Bulgaria, one Bulgaria had lost.
They would not play in the final, Italy would right
has Italy through. After the game, Stoichkov was asked if
(30:48):
God was still a Bulgarian. Yes, he said, but the
referee was French. Yeah, I mean the Bulgaria phenomenon was.
I mean, it was a shooting star, right, and it
came out of nowhere, and then it exploded in glory
and then went away and diminished very very quickly. The
(31:10):
emergence of this Bulgaria team. Yeah, I guess, I mean
Cinderella esque. Right, Bulgaria's run had come to an end.
Stoychekov shared the Golden Boot with Russia's alex Alenko. The
way in which they played the Freedom in which they played,
and you know this phenomenon that you do see at
World Cups where a team within that that moment, you
(31:34):
know that that brigadoon ish type of bubble that is
a World Cup where anything is possible and anything can happen.
You know, they harness that energy and they harness that
power to run to semifinals. Sparked huge celebrations in Bulgaria.
It put them on the map and provided some glimmer
of hope for a country struggling to establish itself. When
(31:56):
you live the power of a World Cup, it provides
opportunities and a lot of those players on that team
were given opportunities that without doing it on the world
stage in front of the world, they wouldn't necessarily have
been given. And you know the fact that that you
bring up Bulgaria or that I remember Bulgaria, they are
a part of the fabric and the story and the
(32:18):
narrative of that World Cup. Listen, you know that I
am a living example of the power of a World
Cup and what it can do and how it can
change an individual. The years after weren't so kind in
euro Stoichkov scored in every game, but they still crushed
out in the group stages with just four points. Ben
(32:41):
It was fired as coach France knocked them out in
a small act of revenge for the tragedy in Paris
three years earlier at World Cup, which France one. Bulgaria
went out in the group stages as well. They've never
qualified for the World Cup since. I think back fondly
about what Bulgaria was and what it brought to that
tournament innet but there's a sadness that they haven't been
(33:03):
able to recapture that and the players well. Ilyan Kiryakov
lost his bonuses from the government in a Swiss pyramid scheme.
Ivanov died at the age of fifty of a heart
attack in Milan. Tried to buy Letchikov after World Cup,
(33:23):
but while negotiating a deal at a restaurant, the waite
staff brought the wrong appetizer. Latchikov then furiously pelted the
waiter with breadsticks and in it backed off immediately, and
Letchkov went to be seek Gusts in Turkey instead. He
was then banned from soccer for several years in his
prime because of a contract dispute. After retiring, he became
the mayor of his hometown of Sliven. In two thousand
(33:46):
and ten, he was officially removed with seven counts of corruption.
He received a suspended two year jail sentence. He was
once pulled over for speeding through his idea at the cops,
flipped them off and sped away. Borislav Mikhailov became president
of the bull Garyan Federation. The Prime minister then demanded
Mikhailov's resignation for failing to condemn races chance in a
game against England. He has been caught drunk in public
(34:08):
several times. Letchikov, who was the federation vice president at
the time, tried to proclaim himself the new president, which
got him immediately fired. After leaving Barcelona, Stouichkov returned briefly
to CSKA before retiring in two thousand and four. He
had spells in Saudi Arabia and Japan, as well as
a stint in Major League Soccer, where he became a
(34:30):
cult figure with the Chicago Fire. He also played for
d C United in MLS, and while he was there,
Stoichkov was sued for five million dollars for breaking a
college freshman's leg in a friendly. He's now a commentator
for Univision. All of the unruly self belief served them
all so well, has been less kind in the years since.
(34:54):
But for one glorious, sweltering summer in America. The chest hair,
the mullets, the brashness, it all came together perfectly for
a bullish group of players, for a nation. For Bulgaria
World Cup semifinalists. The Best Soccer Podcast in the World
(35:18):
is a production of Exiled Content Studios in partnership with
I Hearts Michael podcast Network and is hosted by me
Nando Villa, produced by An and Zach Lee Rigg, Written
by Zach Lee Rigg. Production assistance by Stella Emmett. Our
executive producers are Isaac Lee Rose Reed and myself named Avila.
Our executive producers that I Heart are Gasel Bancees and
(35:39):
ar Lean Santana. Sound designed by Uglo Mendoza Are Awesome.
Theme song is by lu j Special Thanks to all
of the voices that participated in this episode, Michael Yoakin,
James Richardson and Alexi Lalas. For more podcasts, listen to
the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.
You ever noticed how every soccer player is obscenely attractive.
You might just think it's all the exercise, and that's
partly true. Being a professional athlete and working out several
hours a day is great for your abs. But it
wasn't always like this. There used to be ugly soccer players,
fat ones, bald ones, goateeed. If we rewind back to
(00:24):
the grunge of well, my friend, those were the days,
back when soccer players were slobs, drunks, and had unruly
nose hairs. They said wild, upsetting things, and not a
single spokesperson was nearby to cringe, nary a social media
user in sight to immortalize it for all time. They
(00:44):
were the opposite of an Instagram filter. Today, we're going
to tell the story of a team fueled by brazen, indignant,
chest thumping cockiness, not to mention chest hair mullets, communist tanks,
an illegally smuggled players, a team that rode on their
own high opinions of themselves, a complete disregard for rules,
(01:06):
and harnessed a couple of miraculous bits of luck along
the way into World Cup immortality. Freshly unlatched from the
Soviet Union, Bulgaria was brash, broody and temperamental, and they
were World Cup semifinalists. In the Bulgaria phenomenon was I mean,
(01:29):
it was a shooting star right the emergence of this
Bulgaria team, I mean Cinderella esque. He was tight lipped
and brooding. The whole country just went absolutely mad, but
kind of exerted an atmosphere of authority, one with the
greatest sensations of all time. And it came out of
(01:50):
nowhere and then it exploded in glory and then went
away and diminished very very quickly. I'm Nando Vila, and
this is the soccer podcast in the world goes Women,
(02:11):
but it's Christiano Ronaldo, Yes, in the Italian team. Wonderful
never sin. November seventeen, final round of World Cup qualifiers.
(02:48):
On that night, nine simultaneous matches decided the last eight
available European spots for the four World Cup. The most
dramatic it turned out, was Bulgaria versus France. France, as
you can imagine, we're heavy favorites. But before we get
to the actual match, in order to understand the home
(03:08):
magnitude of this miracle, you have to go back a
couple of days. This is Michael Jakin. I'm a freelance
um football writer. That's what they do for living. I'm
just I just write about football. Bulgaria and France were
in the same qualifying group and everyone expected France to
(03:32):
go through. I mean they had great players like Eric
Cantona back from international exile at Jean Pierre Papan. France
should have sailed through the group. A few weeks earlier,
France played against Israel in Paris and they would have
qualified for the World Cup if they've won. And Israel
(03:54):
played in the first ever European World Cup qualifying campaign
they played in Asia before, and Israel was not good yet. Somehow,
five minutes into stoppage time Israel lead and then gave
(04:15):
a Bulgaria chace. But still it was a tall order
for the Bulgarians to make it to the World Cup.
They needed to beat France in France, while the French
only needed to tie at home. The absurd, the idea,
absolutely unthinkable, and the very factory were alive in this
competition was a miracle. So you just one miracle had
(04:39):
already happened. They needed they just needed another one. One
key thing had changed since the last World Cup. Bulgaria
was a country of nine million people in the Balkans,
sort of nuzzled between Greece, Turkey, and the Black Sea
in southeastern Europe. At the time, it was struggling to
(05:00):
established itself economically and politically. With the collapse of the
Soviet Union, countries in the Eastern Bloc started transitioning towards
market capitalism and away from centralized planned economies. East and
West Germany merged once more. Advertising in Hollywood movies crept
into the culture. The main shift, as far as soccer
(05:24):
was concerned, was getting rid of a rule that sounds
absurd in retrospect. Soccer players in Bulgaria could not play
professionally outside of the country until they turned twenty eight.
That law disappeared in so by the time World Cup
rolled around, the best players had trickled out to some
of the bigger leagues in Europe. The collapse of the
(05:45):
Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union obviously made those players
feel much trier and they were like released from the cage.
And the best player was clearly Risto story Kov. He
played for Barcelona in the Spanish League and was a
(06:06):
key part of the team that managed to win four
consecutive league titles. And were you to cool up Central
Casting and ask for burly Eastern European hit man and
strive at your door, you go brilliant Central Casting had answered,
had answered the cool and in many ways, I guess
(06:27):
that's not an inappropriate way of describing him, because he
was Bulgarian and he was very much a hit man,
and he didn't look like he would brook any nonsense
from you either. This is James Richardson. He hosts the
Totally Football Show and has interviewed Storage Clove. France arrived
in a very strange psychological state to this picture, because
(06:48):
on one's hand, they underestimated the Bulgerrens, but on the
other hand, they were very much afraid of losing, because
that Israeli game was a cure siasco and they really
were afraid. But the Bulgarians arrived in their own state
of disorganization. Somehow, the Bulgarian Federation had forgotten to apply
(07:11):
for visas for forwards Emil Kostadinov and Lubo's lav Penive. Legally,
those two players could not enter France for the key match.
See this was before the time of the Shenjen agreement
which allowed Europeans to travel freely within the U. Back then,
you still needed visas and passports and the like if
you wanted to cross between borders. But well, what are
(07:33):
immigration laws besides technicalities bureaucratic hiccups, really, So the team
devised a plan. The captain, goalkeeper buddhis love Mikail Love,
and a midfielder named George George Jev which definitely sounds
made up played in the French League for a club
called Mulhouse. You see, mule House was right on the
(07:54):
border between Germany and France, and the players had heard
of a border crossing there with light security. So Georgia
smuggled the pair across in his car in hiding and
put them up the night before the game. When the
starting lineups were read on November seventeen, Costadinov and Luboslav
Penev's names were listed up top next to stotchkov I.
(08:17):
Guess Costadinov and Penev were both technically undocumented immigrants at
the time. Now, all they had to do was beat France.
No one knew it at the time, but France had
the spine of the team that would go on to
win the World Cup five years later. Laurent Blanc, Marcel
(08:38):
de Sa and Dde de Champ started that day in
as well as Cantona, the mercurial striker with pop callers
who was named in the top three players of the
world that year. But on Cue Cantona struck first, lashing
home of Ali from Pepon's cushioned knockdown header. Eric Cantonas
(09:03):
scored the goal and they've are on the on their
way to the World Cup. They had now had to
concede two goals in order to be out. One bizarre
moment in the match came when a rooster snuck its
way onto the field anyway before halftime. Before the rooster
crowde Bulgaria pulled one back from a corner. Leaning back
away from goal, Costadinov scored a bullet header espid. That's right,
(09:32):
the same Costadinov who had eluded French security forces the
day before, found the French defenders just as easy to
slip past. Even still, with the score tied, the French
would be flying to the United States for the World
Cup the upcoming summer. The French just needed to waste
a few more minutes. Time was slipping away the one
(09:55):
one it's just it's last minut of injury time remaining,
and Davigiono La, the French substitute, head the ball near
the corner flag in the Bulgarian half, and instead of
wasting those seconds that were left until the final whistle,
(10:15):
he just sent an awful cross. The sult His overcooked
cross sailed over everyone and fell straight to the feet
of a Bulgarian player. The Bulgarians then rushed up the
field for one final attack. The ball found its way
to Penny and he picked up his head and found
his undocumented brother Costadinov. Costadinov held off his defender and
(10:38):
absolutely rifled a shot from a narrow angle while in
full script. Visiting Bulgarian commentator screamed, God is Bulgarian, God
is Bulgarian. It was just centimeters from going out. It
(11:05):
was a huge, huge moment. It defined this very moment
defined ventire Blegarran football history. Neither Pennev nor Kostadinov had
visas to be in France, but they punched their tickets
for flights to the United States Yessa. He held his
head in his hands, Blanc sunk to his knees. Dishop
(11:25):
cried his way down the tunnel, Ginola slumped over an
advertising board. It was total disaster for France. Coach Gerard
Julie disappeared into the bowels of the stadium without a word.
It wasn't that he didn't have anything to say. Julier
blamed Ginola. He committed a crime against the team. I repeat,
(11:47):
a crime against the team. The French press called Ginola
the assassin of French football. Decades later, Julier hadn't forgiven him.
He called Ginola a bastard in his book. Ginola subsequently sued.
Ginola is remembered more for his overcooked cross than anything else.
Cantada never played in the World Cup. But on the
(12:09):
other hand, Christo Stoichkov and Bolakov and Kostadinov and Leskov
and Trifa Luvanov, they all went to play in the
World Cup, and not just play in that World Cup,
but provide one of the greatest sensations of all time.
More about what happened next after the break and so
(12:45):
from the disillusion of communism in the Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria
washed up on the shores of good old capitalists US
and d in the summer of the Lion King and
Jim Carey topped the box office. People were listening to
Asa Bass and is Two Men on their Walkman Friends
was filming its inaugural season. One thing we had been
(13:05):
noticing again it's a very slow pursuit. O. J. Simpson
was fleeing in a white bronco. Nelson Mandela won the
first multi racial elections in South African history. A time
of hope and opportunity, and America, the land of apple
Pie and the other kind of football, got set to
host the World Cup. It was the debut of colorful
(13:28):
jerseys for referees. Kickoffs were scheduled for noon to appease
the European TV market, which stuck up its nose at
the beautiful game being held in a primitive backwater like
the United States, but the stadiums were packed. The opening
ceremonies included Diana Ross missing a penalty in one of
the funniest videos you'll ever see and the goal splitting
(13:48):
in half. I just think that that that Bulgaria team
really embodied the spirit of you know what, an American
World Cup. I guess promises which his opportunity and anything
can happen. This is Alexei Lawless. If you know of him,
it's because of this World Cup. My name is Alexei
Lawless and I'm fifty two years old. I am a Gemini.
(14:10):
I live out here in Los Angeles, California, and many
many years ago, back in the nineteen hundreds, I used
to run around and kick a ball for a number
of different teams, including the US men's national team, and
nowadays I talk about soccer on Fox Sports. On Home Soil.
Lallas was the center back defending America's honor. While Lallas
(14:30):
and the US team were being thrust into the global limelight,
Bulgaria was busy shunning it. Bulgarian training sessions were closed
and the team refused to speak to the media. The
team was locked in a contract dispute with the Bulgarian federation,
which had promised the players bonuses of a hundred thousand
dollars for the win over France. Unable to pay, the
federation president resigned and the players were understatably huffy. Eventually,
(14:54):
the federation came up with twenty dollars per player. Kuber
grudgingly accepted and agreed to play on the roster. Bennett,
the hero of Paris and one of the guys who
had smuggled himself into the country, had to pull out
of the squad due to testicular cancer. He was replaced
by Nasco Sirakov. What's notable about the promotion of Sirakov
is that he played for Levski Sofia, one of the
(15:17):
two main teams from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Pennev,
the guy he was replacing, had come up through CSKA
Sophia and Boy those two teams really don't like each other.
Two big enemies, Cska Soffa and Left Sofa. They really
really really hate each other. It's like Rangers and Celtic
in Glasgow. It's it's a huge rivalry with beef dating
(15:40):
back to the nineteen forties. Bulgaria's Eternal Derby is the
biggest rivalry in the Balkans. The most bitter game between
them came in Bulgarian Cup final, when a handball helped
Cska opened the scoring and win. A riot broke out
in this dands. A huge brawl then broke out in
(16:02):
the tunnel. The Communist Party dissolved both teams and handed
five players lifetime bands, including Stoutchkov and Mikhailove. A few
months later, those sanctions were reduced and Stoutchkov resumed playing
after seven months, and both teams still exist, but they
still hate each other. One of the biggest problems in
the Bulgarian squad throughout decades was that there were two camps,
(16:27):
usually in the dressing room d C s k A
camp and the Lefsky camp, and they hated each other
and they at times they didn't even speak to each other,
and it's ruined the atmosphere in the dressing room. You see,
in the six World Cups Bulgaria had qualified for, they'd
never won a match. In nineteen sixty two they drew
(16:47):
nil nil with the Bobbies of England, Charlton and more.
In sixty six they lost to Pelez Brazil and it
was Portugal. In nineteen seventy they lost to Beckenbauer and
Gerd Mueller's West Germany. In nineteen seventy four they lost
the It's Netherlands, and they didn't qualify in two but
at least they lost to a bunch of legendary teams.
You know, you can say that for them. And then
in six they actually progressed to the round of sixteen
(17:11):
on the back of two draws in the group stage,
no wins They promptly lost to nail to Madelona's Argentina
and then by the same score line to Los anchez
Is Mexico. In their most recent World Cup match eight
years earlier, had scored a wonderful goal from Mexico, a
keep up E one two followed by a flying scissor kick.
(17:33):
Up to that point, if Bulgaria was shown in any
World Cup highlight reels, it would have been for that
negative day goal. They have are breastfare remembered for coinceding
a beautiful goal. They were considered a minnows. They were
never supposed to pose any threats. It's a World Cup.
So the goal for the Bulgaria team was simple, win
a match one. Any match would do. They kicked off
(17:59):
the tournament in Dallas, his Cotton Bowl Stadium against Nigeria,
sun hot enough to sizzle your neck, hairs, air dry
enough to choke on. This was Nigeria's first World Cup appearance. Surely,
if Bulgaria was going to win one, the opening match
was their chance. The Nigerian winger Finiti George and his
teammates disagreed, whichever you didn't get in, but now they've
(18:20):
got in. Yakni coming for the cross the bulgaras refreshed
in the frost fiction Dallas by Julia, It ended three
nailed to Nigeria. The Bulgarian coach responded by allowing the
players to bring their wives and girlfriends to the hotel.
A late night of smoking, drinking and pull parties ensued.
(18:42):
Needless to say, this was unheard of in the middle
of a World Cup, let alone. After a crushing defeat,
they celebrated the hotel and basically they were just enjoyed
their lives. Next up Greece, also making their World Cup
debut at Soldier Field in Chicago. Up step Stoichkov, tofts
of chest, haired, his gold chain visible under his v neck.
(19:04):
The barrel chested forward was coming off four straight La
Liga titles with Barcelona. He was fiery, brilliant, bullish. He
was once suspended for two months for stomping on a
referee who sent him off versus Real Madrid, but he
put his foot down in a different way against Greece.
A pair of penalties and goals from Jodan Letchikov and
(19:26):
Daniel Bodhimdov gave Bulgaria a heavy four nil win. Stoichkov
would go on to say quote, they got nowhere near
us and well, congratulations Bulgaria, they have got their frost
ever World Cup win. And basically that could have been
the greatest achievement in the tournament. But then and as
(19:49):
a miracle that happened to them, first Israel beating France,
then Bulgaria beating France, now Madalona miracles. Here's how the
writer I Wado Galleano put in quote, he played, he won,
he pid, he lost. A phedroan turned up in his
ear analysis and Maradona was booted out of the World Cup.
(20:13):
Faith for certainly might well have had no option themselves
but to tape strong action against Maradonna and aging Maradona
had been ushered back from a cocaine field suspension to
salvage Argentina's hopes. With him, they looked formidable once more.
Maravona almost single handedly led Argentina to the World Cup
title in six, had dragged them to the final four
(20:35):
years later, and now at thirty three, would have set
a record for World Cup appearances against Bulgaria. Instead, he
was sent home in a cloud of paparazzi flashbulbs, fan hysterics,
preening global newspaper columns and stimulants in his blood. It
really looked like bug ever extremely lucky, just outrageously lucky.
(20:57):
Everything went their way. Needing a result to qualify for
the next round, Bulgaria faced the stunned Argentina back in
the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, amid the turmoil of the
Maradonna affair. Qualification in the group would be turned upside
down in the final matches. You know, good Roddy here
by Storage again Storygekov scored because of course, even having
(21:25):
a player sent off couldn't dampen the move. That's the
same this fame started playing brilliant team football vet ruin
over Argentina. With the last minute goal by Sirakov. It
really gave them confidence if they could do really really
(21:48):
huge thing. Bulgaria finished second in the group onto the
knockout rounds. Each game was do or die, lose and
go home, win and progress. First up was another old foe, Mexico,
this time in Giant Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. They
called it the Swampy Storagekov scored after six minutes, absolutely
(22:16):
battering it straight over the on rushing post who didn't
even have time to get his hands up. Mexico equalized
through a penalty, and then Bulgaria had a player sent off,
but instead of having to play a man down the
rest of the half, Mexico had Louise Gotta see us
sent off as well. Nope, not that Los gotta see.
Not that other one either. That was the two other
Rush sendings off. I think I'd have the same name
(22:37):
World Cup Football, and I just don't think you can
defend the referring appointment by It was a wild match.
One of the Mexican defenders snapped the upright after sliding
into it, and the Syrian referee handed out eight yellow
cards and two reds and reed penaltist. Here we had
the flamboyant j Campos in net for Mexico, the tiny
(22:58):
goalkeeper who preferred to play striker and distracted opposing players
with his self designed neon jerseys. For Bulgaria, the goalkeeper
was the captain, Borislav the Wig Mikhai Love. They called
him that because he was bald and wore a wig
while playing. I'm serious, dude, wore a rug on the field.
The nineties were awesome anyway. Mikailov's father had been Bulgaria's
(23:21):
national team goalkeeper also, so it kind of ran in
the family and it all led up to this, a
penalty shootout in the World Cup. More about what happened
next after the break, it was to the penalty shootout
(23:50):
and Balakos missed the frost kick for Bulgaria, but the
New Mexicans missed three in a row with a corner
and then high logs correct way lanes that way. Ka
I Lov saved two and saved his nation's hoax folding character.
Hey con chikeese count right into a little patient World
(24:11):
Cup history. Yes, yes, go to the titles of the world.
Stotchkov was scheduled to take the last penalty, but it
wasn't even needed. Stotchkov summed up the night by sighting
the commentator of the Friends game quote, God was a
Bulgarian Today. The players stayed up so late celebrating at
(24:34):
their isolated hotel in Princeton that the coach gave them
the next day off. The team stayed in Princeton ahead
of the quarterfinal against Germany, and the Germans were a
fearsome team. They had won the World Cup four years earlier,
and now they were newly reunified. After the fall of
(24:54):
the Berlin Wall, adding East Germans to an already stacked roster.
An attack, Jurgen Klinsmann partnered with Rudy Valler, known for
his blonde caterpillar mustache. Nobody really believed that Bulgaria could
be the Jones. Bulgaria prepared for the match by racking
up a massive bar tab the night before to celebrate
Leschkov's birthday, and the coach was worried. Germany likely spelled
(25:19):
the end. And before those quarterfinals against Germany, Tifoni, one
of their frightening looking center back, came to the coach
and told him everything is going to be okay. Ruddy fella.
When he sees me, he will be so frightened that
he won't be able to do anything. Tifon Ivanov was
(25:43):
called the Wolfman, plump with sunken eyes. He wore a
scraggly beard and the shaggy mullet. And the greatest story
about one of by the way, is that he bought
himself at tank when he was a player, just bought
himself on old so the tunk and drove it in
his spare time. So that was the kind of personality.
(26:05):
He was the one to reassure his coach. Just relax,
he said, Rudy Valler will fall to the ground when
he feels my breath. It turns out it wasn't Volor
who hit the ground. Klinsman won a penalty with some
trademark diving and it was birthday boy Letchikov, who had
allegedly brought him down. Has the chops now. Lotar Matteus
(26:27):
scored the penalty in his record equalling twenty one World
Cup match. It's a he check the lad What a time.
Then Voler put the ball in the back of the net,
but it was a fraction off side. Had it stood,
Bulgaria likely would have been toast instead. Stoichkov happened in
(26:50):
a career full of wild and wonderful goals. His free
kick from twenty five yards against Germany holds up among
his best. Yea prish that back in it. Three minutes later,
Letsikov atoned for his earlier foul. People don't even remember
(27:11):
that he gave up the penalty because he wiped it
from memory with what came next. You're done. The magician.
Leskov had a haircut like your grandfather balding, but with
a little sprouting tuft on the top of his forehead.
He was from Sleeven, five miles from Chernobyl, and blamed
(27:31):
his baldness on the radiation and lev he was a
hot walk in midfielder. But he wasn't especially technically gifted,
he wasn't especially visionary, he wasn't especially anything. It's refreshing
to see someone unapologetically bald. I think the world needs
more bald icons. And that head proved mighty instrumentally. Yeah,
(27:55):
let's draw. Yeah, the celebration is Letchikov peeled away is legendary,
his arms high in a v then jumping to punch
the sky. They worn against both Angelina and Germany, the
(28:16):
finalist of the previous World Cup, and now they've themselves
just one step from their own World Cup final, which
was so extremely incredible that the whole country just went
absolutely mad After that, typically bullish Stoichkov said after the
(28:38):
match quote, to be honest, it was an easy win.
Spoiler alert listener, it was not. Bulgaria, a country that
had barely smuggled their way into the World Cup, was
in a semi final. They once again stayed put at
Giant Stadium to face the next giant in the fixture list.
(28:59):
That would be Italy, meticulously led by Roberto Baggio, better
known as the Divine Ponytail, a k a. The greatest
nickname in the history of soccer. He got it because well,
he rocked a full on rat tail throughout his entire career.
Divino cordino, veto bajo. He kind of defied description because
(29:20):
he was so good. He was an incredibly gifted player,
and there's just something about him and the way that
he the dignity that he always had, and the grace
he had. Baggio inscribed Buddhist sayings onto his captain's armband.
He was flowing, he was fragile. He was phenomenal, of course,
(29:41):
but he seemed the way that he moved on the
field for me was a little bit like a leaf
skipping along on an autumn breeze. He would just seem
to glide along. Baggio put Italy ahead with two precise
finishes that Bojankov admitted when he turned fifty that the
first goal still hurt. He should have fouled Baggio. Stoichkov
(30:05):
pulled one back with a penalty just before halftime, but
the comeback never fully materialized. The referee that day was
a Frenchman named Joel Knu And now listen, I'm not
accusing him of anything, but maybe revenge was in the
cards because he swallowed his whistle in this one a
bit at one point clearly handled inside the box and
(30:25):
didn't get a penalty. And later Italy brought down Letchkov
in the box and also didn't get a penalty. So
just saying final whistle, Italy to Bulgaria, one Bulgaria had lost.
They would not play in the final, Italy would right
has Italy through. After the game, Stoichkov was asked if
(30:48):
God was still a Bulgarian. Yes, he said, but the
referee was French. Yeah, I mean the Bulgaria phenomenon was.
I mean, it was a shooting star, right, and it
came out of nowhere, and then it exploded in glory
and then went away and diminished very very quickly. The
(31:10):
emergence of this Bulgaria team. Yeah, I guess, I mean
Cinderella esque. Right, Bulgaria's run had come to an end.
Stoychekov shared the Golden Boot with Russia's alex Alenko. The
way in which they played the Freedom in which they played,
and you know this phenomenon that you do see at
World Cups where a team within that that moment, you
(31:34):
know that that brigadoon ish type of bubble that is
a World Cup where anything is possible and anything can happen.
You know, they harness that energy and they harness that
power to run to semifinals. Sparked huge celebrations in Bulgaria.
It put them on the map and provided some glimmer
of hope for a country struggling to establish itself. When
(31:56):
you live the power of a World Cup, it provides
opportunities and a lot of those players on that team
were given opportunities that without doing it on the world
stage in front of the world, they wouldn't necessarily have
been given. And you know the fact that that you
bring up Bulgaria or that I remember Bulgaria, they are
a part of the fabric and the story and the
(32:18):
narrative of that World Cup. Listen, you know that I
am a living example of the power of a World
Cup and what it can do and how it can
change an individual. The years after weren't so kind in
euro Stoichkov scored in every game, but they still crushed
out in the group stages with just four points. Ben
(32:41):
It was fired as coach France knocked them out in
a small act of revenge for the tragedy in Paris
three years earlier at World Cup, which France one. Bulgaria
went out in the group stages as well. They've never
qualified for the World Cup since. I think back fondly
about what Bulgaria was and what it brought to that
tournament innet but there's a sadness that they haven't been
(33:03):
able to recapture that and the players well. Ilyan Kiryakov
lost his bonuses from the government in a Swiss pyramid scheme.
Ivanov died at the age of fifty of a heart
attack in Milan. Tried to buy Letchikov after World Cup,
(33:23):
but while negotiating a deal at a restaurant, the waite
staff brought the wrong appetizer. Latchikov then furiously pelted the
waiter with breadsticks and in it backed off immediately, and
Letchkov went to be seek Gusts in Turkey instead. He
was then banned from soccer for several years in his
prime because of a contract dispute. After retiring, he became
the mayor of his hometown of Sliven. In two thousand
(33:46):
and ten, he was officially removed with seven counts of corruption.
He received a suspended two year jail sentence. He was
once pulled over for speeding through his idea at the cops,
flipped them off and sped away. Borislav Mikhailov became president
of the bull Garyan Federation. The Prime minister then demanded
Mikhailov's resignation for failing to condemn races chance in a
game against England. He has been caught drunk in public
(34:08):
several times. Letchikov, who was the federation vice president at
the time, tried to proclaim himself the new president, which
got him immediately fired. After leaving Barcelona, Stouichkov returned briefly
to CSKA before retiring in two thousand and four. He
had spells in Saudi Arabia and Japan, as well as
a stint in Major League Soccer, where he became a
(34:30):
cult figure with the Chicago Fire. He also played for
d C United in MLS, and while he was there,
Stoichkov was sued for five million dollars for breaking a
college freshman's leg in a friendly. He's now a commentator
for Univision. All of the unruly self belief served them
all so well, has been less kind in the years since.
(34:54):
But for one glorious, sweltering summer in America. The chest hair,
the mullets, the brashness, it all came together perfectly for
a bullish group of players, for a nation. For Bulgaria
World Cup semifinalists. The Best Soccer Podcast in the World
(35:18):
is a production of Exiled Content Studios in partnership with
I Hearts Michael podcast Network and is hosted by me
Nando Villa, produced by An and Zach Lee Rigg, Written
by Zach Lee Rigg. Production assistance by Stella Emmett. Our
executive producers are Isaac Lee Rose Reed and myself named Avila.
Our executive producers that I Heart are Gasel Bancees and
(35:39):
ar Lean Santana. Sound designed by Uglo Mendoza Are Awesome.
Theme song is by lu j Special Thanks to all
of the voices that participated in this episode, Michael Yoakin,
James Richardson and Alexi Lalas. For more podcasts, listen to
the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.
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