How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
(Not So) Great Expectations
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Photo by Nadya Kotseva (Sofia Photo Agency)
By Alex Bivol
Slating the Bulgarian national football team and its manager, Hristo Stoitchkov, has become a fashionable thing to do in the past couple of years.
At Wednesday's game against Albania, he was greeted by whistling and booing from the Levski fans, who will not forget their club allegiances any time soon. By the end of the turgid goalless draw, the chants for his resignation came from all sides of the ground.
The players fared no better. Their attempts to applaud the twenty-something thousand fans were met with indifference at best, and jeering at worst.
The fans had all the reasons to feel disappointed - against an Albanian team content to defend, Bulgaria showed no creativity, little urgency and a lot of wasted effort.
Bulgarians are notoriously demanding football supporters, and the success of the "golden generation" in 1994 has set a pretty high bar for their successors.
Perhaps, if yesterday's match is any indication, it is time to finally move on. Football has been one of the few sources of pride for Bulgarians after 1989, but maybe it is time to look on the national team without the customary rose-tinted glasses.
With a couple of notable exceptions, Bulgarian players do not ply their trade in top clubs where they can further their footballing skills.
The absence of quality was painfully visible against Albania - more often than not, Bulgarian attacks consisted of hoofed balls towards Dimitar Berbatov, who was closely marked by at least two opposing players throughout the game.
Hristo Stoitchkov is not the world's most brilliant football coach, but neither is this Bulgarian team full of world-beaters.
To expect of them more than they are able to produce on the football pitch, out of some misplaced sense of national pride rooted in events that happened more than a decade ago, is to set yourself up for disappointment.
Slating the Bulgarian national football team and its manager, Hristo Stoitchkov, has become a fashionable thing to do in the past couple of years.
At Wednesday's game against Albania, he was greeted by whistling and booing from the Levski fans, who will not forget their club allegiances any time soon. By the end of the turgid goalless draw, the chants for his resignation came from all sides of the ground.
The players fared no better. Their attempts to applaud the twenty-something thousand fans were met with indifference at best, and jeering at worst.
The fans had all the reasons to feel disappointed - against an Albanian team content to defend, Bulgaria showed no creativity, little urgency and a lot of wasted effort.
Bulgarians are notoriously demanding football supporters, and the success of the "golden generation" in 1994 has set a pretty high bar for their successors.
Perhaps, if yesterday's match is any indication, it is time to finally move on. Football has been one of the few sources of pride for Bulgarians after 1989, but maybe it is time to look on the national team without the customary rose-tinted glasses.
With a couple of notable exceptions, Bulgarian players do not ply their trade in top clubs where they can further their footballing skills.
The absence of quality was painfully visible against Albania - more often than not, Bulgarian attacks consisted of hoofed balls towards Dimitar Berbatov, who was closely marked by at least two opposing players throughout the game.
Hristo Stoitchkov is not the world's most brilliant football coach, but neither is this Bulgarian team full of world-beaters.
To expect of them more than they are able to produce on the football pitch, out of some misplaced sense of national pride rooted in events that happened more than a decade ago, is to set yourself up for disappointment.
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