Hristo Stoichkov

Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov alternatively spelt Stoitchkov (Bulgarian: Христо Стоичков Стоичков) (born February 8, 1966, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a football manager and former striker who was a member of the Bulgaria national team that finished fourth at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Apart from his footballing talent, he was notable for his on-pitch temper. He was honoured as European Footballer of the Year in 1994. He was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony in 2004.

Playing style

Stoichkov played as a left attacker/winger. He was known for his explosive acceleration and speed dribbling, and for taking unpredictable shots on goal. He was also notable at taking free kicks and penalties as well as being among the best crossers in the world at his prime. He gained much popularity because of his aggressive temper on the pitch. He could often be seen arguing with the referee, or with his opponents. He recently was sued by a former American University college student whose leg he broke in a violent tackle. The case was settled out of court for undisclosed financial terms.^[1] The student's coach called Stoichkov's challenge "criminal". Ray Hudson, who coached DC United for whom Stoichkov played at the time, called it a "rash tackle". Following an investigation by MLS, Stoichkov was suspended two games and fined $2,000.^[2]

Club career

Stoichkov began his career in his hometown, moving to Hebros (Harmanli) in 1984. The next year he went to CSKA Sofia. There he was involved in a fight during the final of the 1985 Bulgarian Cup which resulted in his suspension. After he was brought back to football, he managed to win the European Golden Boot with CSKA by scoring 38 goals in 30 games. He then moved on to Barcelona, Parma, Al-Nassr, and finally finishing his career in Japan with Kashiwa Reysol and the United States with the Chicago Fire and D.C. United, as a coach.

Barcelona

As part of Johan Cruijff's 'Dream Team', Stoichkov helped Barcelona to the most successful era of the club, winning the Primera Division four years in a row between 1991 and 1994 and the UEFA Champions League after defeating Sampdoria in 1992. During his stay in Barcelona, he had become an idol for the club's fans, and was Barça's most popular player at the time, having earned a place in the supporters' hearts much like Johan Neeskens and Diego Maradona in the past.

In his first season with the club Stoichkov was suspended for two months for stomping on a referee's foot,^[3] but he still netted 14 league goals and six more in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

In 1994 he was named European Footballer of the Year after leading his national side to the 1994 World Cup semifinals.

In 1997 he helped Barcelona win the Spanish Super Cup, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

National team

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Stoichkov was awarded the Golden Boot as the joint top goal scorer of the tournament (with Oleg Salenko), with six goals. He led Bulgaria past Germany to the semi finals, where they lost 2-1 to Italy. They subsequently lost the 3rd place play-off to Sweden, 4-0.

Bulgaria finished second in the qualifying group for Euro 96 after the first place was taken by the eventual winners, Germany. Stoichkov scored 10 goals for his team during the qualifiers, as Bulgaria qualified as one of the best 6 runners-up. In the first match against Germany in Sofia 3-2, Bulgaria were 2-0 down at half-time. Stoichkov equalized with two goals from penalties and Emil Kostadinov also scored for a 3-2 win. Bulgaria lost the second match in Germany 3-1.

During the finals, Bulgaria lost 3-1 in the decisive group match against a very strong France side (the future World Champions); at the same time, in the other match, Spain won 2-1 late on against Romania and so the Bulgarians went out. In that tournament Stoichkov scored 3 goals in 3 matches, and another goal against Spain was disallowed for offside, though action replays show that he was actually on-side. Stoitchkov was the only player to score from a free kick (against France) in this tournament.

He was also part of the squad that was eliminated in the first round of the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Bulgaria wasn't nearly as strong as in previous years, and scored only one goal in the tournament (by Kostadinov), in a 6-1 defeat by Spain.

Stoichkov retired from internationals in 1999 with 37 goals in 83 appearances. Subsequently he was the coach of the Bulgarian national team from 2004 to April 2007.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

• CSKA Sofia
  • Bulgarian League: 1987, 1989, 1990
  • Bulgarian Cup: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
  • Bulgarian Supercup: 1989
• FC Barcelona
  • Spanish League: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998
  • Spanish Super Cup: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996
  • European Cup (now called: UEFA Champions League): 1992
  • European Super Cup: 1992, 1997
  • Copa del Rey: 1997
  • UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1997
• Al-Nassr
  • Asian Cup Winners Cup: 1998
• Chicago Fire
  • U.S. Open Cup: 2000

Individual

• Bulgarian League Top Scorer: 1989, 1990
• European Golden Boot: 1989
• UEFA Cup Winners Cup Top Scorer: 1989
• European Footballer of the Year: 1994
• FIFA World Cup 1994 Golden Shoe - Top scorer
• Golden Foot: 2007

In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Bulgaria by the Bulgarian Football Union as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. ^[4]

Coaching career

In the 2003-04 season, Stoichkov started a coaching career, serving as a forwards coach at Barça. After Bulgarian national team coach Plamen Markov resigned in the wake of the team's first-round exit from Euro 2004, the Bulgarian Football Union named him as the new national team coach on 15 July.

Stoichkov's coaching career got off to a bad start with him failing to qualify the Bulgarian national team for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He brought his bad temper from his career as a player to the coaching bench. A couple of proven players quit the team due to personal differences with Stoichkov. The most notable scandal was at the 03/09/05 game against Sweden, where he was sent-off for insulting the referee.

The biggest blow to Hristo Stoichkov as a coach of the national team of Bulgaria came on 12/10/2006, when Stiliyan Petrov, the captain of the team, announced he will not play for the team as long as Stoichkov is the coach. ^[5] Petrov is the third player and the second captain in two years to leave the team because of differences with Stoichkov. However, on 17/03/2007 Stiliyan Petrov announced that he had a private conversation with Stoichkov, in which they were able to work their differences out. As a result Petrov would return to the team. ^[6]

On April 10, 2007, the Bulgarian Football Union announced they had accepted the resignation of Hristo Stoichkov from the post of national coach. That was as a result of the poor performance of the team at the current Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, followed by widely spread criticism and debate over the qualities of the coach. He had a short disappointing stint as Manager at Celta de Vigo, for which he was sacked following the team's slump which took them to the lower reaches of the Spanish second Division. On October 8, 2007 he was replaced by ex-Real Madrid coach Juan Ramón López Caro.^[7]

Quotes

"There are two Christs, and one plays for Barcelona" (Quoted during his heyday at Barcelona, in allusion to his first name 'Hristo', which is Bulgarian for 'Christ')

"I will always hate Real Madrid. There is just something about them that gets up my nose. I would rather the ground opened up and swallowed me than accept a job with them. In fact, I do not like speaking about them because it makes me want to vomit."

"Football is simple... you just need to have the right mentality, fighting in every game, in every practice and for every ball."

"Make sure you add a pair of golden balls to it." Hristo Stoichkov, on a statue being erected in his honor

"Manol Manolov aided my development by introducing me to a big club like CSKA. I will never forget him."

"I owe a lot to this club and the supporters who were always there for me. They supported me even when I was suspended. We had a great team and great tradition, that's how we became great players." Hristo Stoichkov, on his former club CSKA Sofia

"Cruyff combines the qualities of the best coach in the world with the most stubborn character that I have worked with in professional football."

"[Maradona] is the last player I truly idolize... No footballer is more worthy of a number 10 jersey than him. I've seen his feints, shots and goals countless times, yet I never get tired of watching them. I'm just sorry that I never got the chance to play along with Diego on the same team."

"In 1984, we were both promoted to the senior squad of CSKA Sofia. This is how we entered big football. Lubo Penev is a fighter, he never gives up and remains cool in tough moments. I remember he was ill with cancer, but fought and returned to football. Most people would have given up and prayed to God for mercy. I always want to be on his side and who knows, maybe one day we'll play together for CSKA's veteran squad. Lubo is more than a friend to me." Hristo Stoichkov, on former teammate Luboslav Penev

"It's interesting that both of us have completely different characters, yet that does not deter us from hanging out together. We became friends from the first time we met. In life, most people want to take advantage of you. It's not like that between the two of us. We'll always be friends, regardless of where we are or who we play for... I feel lucky that we had him at Barcelona. He's a goal scorer with the heart of a champ." Hristo Stoichkov, on former teammate Romario

"If you understand football you make substitutions during the game, if you don't you make comments after it." Hristo Stoichkov

"I know him. He's a hot chilli pepper, just like me!" Hristo Stoichkov, on youngster Valeri Bojinov

"I had a problem with the fourth official. He was marking me like a defender." Hristo Stoichkov, after a match as a coach of the Bulgarian national team

"Some write that I'm a genius, others say that I'm disrespectful towards their country. Just like they were towards mine. If you remember in 1993 I squatted to tie my shoe during the French national anthem. I don't care what they write about me." Hristo Stoichkov

References

External links

• Autobiography
• The Official Site of Hristo Stoichkov
• Stoichkov Profile, stats and news
• A photo album dedicated to Hristo Stoichkov
• UEFA.com - Golden Player of Bulgaria

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Lyuboslav Penev	Bulgarian Footballer of the Year 1989 – 1992	Succeeded by Emil Kostadinov
Preceded by Dorin Mateuţ	European Golden Boot alongside Hugo Sánchez 1989 – 1990	Succeeded by Darko Pancev
Preceded by Emil Kostadinov	Bulgarian Footballer of the Year 1994	Succeeded by Krasimir Balakov
Preceded by Roberto Baggio	European Footballer of the Year 1994	Succeeded by George Weah
Preceded by Salvatore Schillaci	FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe 1994 Shared with: Oleg Salenko	Succeeded by Davor Šuker
Sporting positions
Preceded by Plamen Markov	Bulgaria national football team manager 2004 – 2007	Succeeded by Stanimir Stoilov

Bulgaria squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Mikhailov • 2 Kremenliev • 3 Ivanov • 4 Tsvetanov • 5 Houbchev • 6 Yankov • 7 Kostadinov • 8 Stoichkov • 9 Letchkov • 10 Sirakov • 11 Borimirov • 12 Nikolov • 13 Yordanov • 14 Guentchev • 15 Iliev • 16 Kiriakov • 17 Mihtarski • 18 Aleksandrov • 19 Georgiev • 20 Balakov • 21 Yotov • 22 Andonov • Coach: Penev

Bulgaria squad – UEFA Euro 1996 1 Mikhailov • 2 Kishishev • 3 Ivanov • 4 Kiriakov • 5 Houbchev • 6 Yankov • 7 Kostadinov • 8 Stoichkov • 9 L. Penev • 10 Balakov • 11 Letchkov • 12 Popov • 13 Guentchev • 14 Sirakov • 15 Yordanov • 16 Borimirov • 17 Kremenliev • 18 Tsvetanov • 19 Ginchev • 20 Donkov • 21 Georgiev • 22 Zdravkov • Coach: Dimitar Penev

Bulgaria squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Zdravkov • 2 Kishishev • 3 T. Ivanov • 4 I. Petkov • 5 Yordanov • 6 Yankov • 7 Kostadinov • 8 Stoichkov • 9 Penev • 10 Balakov • 11 Iliev • 12 Mikhailov • 13 Ginchev • 14 Hristov • 15 Zafirov • 16 Nankov • 17 Stoilov • 18 Borimirov • 19 Bachev • 20 G. Ivanov • 21 Kirilov • 22 M. Petkov • Coach: Bonev