Matthaeus Rallies Bulgaria for Last Stand against England

Sports » EURO 2012 | August 28, 2011, Sunday // 16:53
Bulgaria: Matthaeus Rallies Bulgaria for Last Stand against England Bulgaria's head coach Lothar Matthaeus is set for a two-year extension of his contract. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's upcoming qualifier against in England in Sofia is the team's last chance to keeps its chances to make it to Euro 2012, according to the Bulgarian head coach Lothar Matthaeus.

Speaking at Sofia Airport Sunday after arriving from Munich, Matthaeus made it clear he will seek to rally Bulgaria for a last stand against England in Sofia on September 2.

He said he hoped his players would be more aggressive against the English, and that he would rely on the fans at the National Stadium "Vasil Levski" in Sofia.

"I expect a much better performance than in the friendly against Belarus (0:1). I expect my players to be more aggressive. Stiliyan Petrov will be back, and Nikolay Mihaylov will be our goal-keeper. I hope the chances I've made will restore the team's spirit. I am happy that we will have more time to prep before the match because last time he had only one training session," Matthaeus told reporters at Sofia Airport as cited by Gong.

"We have a serious match ahead of us, and this is our last chance. With the fans' support, we can surprise everybody. Our entire team needs to desire victory. If the boys believe in themselves, I think we can win against England. Anything is possible in football," the German head coach stated.

Matthaeus further confirmed he expected to sign a two-year extension on his contract as head coach of the Bulgarian national football team during next week.

"I believe that we can create a great term, primarily for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. We are looking ahead in the future, especially with respect to the young ones," he stated.

Matthaeus confirmed that 8 Bulgaria internationals had been punished for disobeying his orders in Minsk where Bulgaria lost miserably to Belarus earlier in August but refused to provide details about what had been described in the Bulgarian media as a "drinking scandal."

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Tags: Lothar Matthaeus, Belarus, Minsk, friendly, Euro 2012, Euro 2012 qualifiers, qualifier, qualifiers, Stiliyan Petrov, Nikolay Mihaylov, national football team, coach, England

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