From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bulgaria
|
| Image:Bulgaria football union.gif
|
| Nickname(s)
| The Lions (Лъвовете),
The Tricolours (Трикольорите)
|
| Association
| Bulgarian Football Union
|
| Confederation
| UEFA (Europe)
|
| Head coach
| Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Dimitar Penev
|
| Captain
| Dimitar Berbatov
|
| Most caps
| Borislav Mikhailov (102)
|
| Top scorer
| Hristo Bonev (47)
|
| Home stadium
| Vasil Levski National Stadium
|
| FIFA code
| BUL
|
| FIFA ranking
| 18
|
| Highest FIFA ranking
| 4 (July 1994)
|
| Lowest FIFA ranking
| 58 (August 2002)
|
| Elo ranking
| 25
|
| Highest Elo ranking
| 7 (August 1969)
|
| Lowest Elo ranking
| 63 (Oct 1953, Aug 1954)
|
|
|
| First international
|
Image:Flag of Austria.svg Austria 6 - 0 Bulgaria Image:Flag of Bulgaria (1878-1944).svg
(Vienna, Austria; 21 May, 1924)
|
| Biggest win
|
Image:Flag of Bulgaria (1946-1967).svg Bulgaria 7 - 0 Norway Image:Flag of Norway.svg
(Sofia, Bulgaria, 1957)
Image:Flag of Bulgaria (1946-1967).svg Bulgaria 7 - 0 Thailand Image:Flag of Thailand.svg
(Mexico City, Mexico; October, 1968
Image:Flag of Bulgaria 1971-1990.png Bulgaria 7 - 0 Malta Image:Flag of Malta.svg
(Sofia, Bulgaria; 14 October, 1982)
|
| Biggest defeat
|
Image:Flag of the Second Spanish Republic.svg Spain 13 - 0 Bulgaria Image:Flag of Bulgaria (1878-1944).svg
(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
|
The Bulgaria national football team is the national football team of Bulgaria 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 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.
[edit] 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.
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 stars 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, sensationally 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 in a controversial match. Hristo Stoitchkov won the Golden Boot as top scorer in the tournament with six goals.
Bulgaria also has won the Balkan Cup four times.
[edit] 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. It was believed the 1996 squad was stronger than the one in 1994, and that they did not progress to the quarter-finals due to misfortune. The Bulgarians, after a 1-1 draw against Spain (a fantastic Stoitchkov goal was controversially cancelled) and a 1-0 victory against Romania, played well but lost the third and decisive match to a very strong France (the future world champion), 1-3. At the same time Spain defeated a weak and 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. However, The "Golden Generation" was history. They earned a goalless draw 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 disappointingly lost all their group matches and were once again sent home without reaching the knockout round.
[edit] World Cup record
- 1930 - Did not enter
- 1934 - Withdrew during qualifying
- 1938 - Did not qualify
- 1950 - Did not enter
- 1954 - Did not qualify
- 1958 - Did not qualify
- 1962 - Round 1
- 1966 - Round 1
- 1970 - Round 1
- 1974 - Round 1
- 1978 - Did not qualify
- 1982 - Did not qualify
- 1986 - Round 2
- 1990 - Did not qualify
- 1994 - Fourth place
- 1998 - Round 1
- 2002 - Did not qualify
- 2006 - Did not qualify
[edit] European Championship record
- 1960 to 1992 - Did not qualify or Did not enter
- 1996 - Round 1
- 2000 - Did not qualify
- 2004 - Round 1
- 2008 - Did not qualify
[edit] Euro 2008 Qualification
- Key
- H = Home match
- A = Away match
- ECQ = European Championship Qualifier
[edit] Group G Standings
-
As of matches completed through June 6, 2007.
Notes on the tie-breaking situation:
- Albania and Slovenia are tied on their head-to-head records, and are thus ranked by their overall goal difference in the group:
- Albania – 2 pts, 0GD, 0GF, 0 away goals (0:0 H vs Slovenia, 0:0 A vs Slovenia) – Overall GD = -6
- Slovenia – 2 pts, 0GD, 0GF, 0 away goals (0:0 H vs Albania, 0:0 A vs Albania) – Overall GD = -7
[edit] Goalkeepers
[edit] Defenders
[edit] Midfielders
[edit] Strikers
[edit] Players with most caps
[edit] Players with most goals
[edit] 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.
[edit] Famous players
The Golden Bulgarian Football Generation:
Current Players
[edit] External links
ar:منتخب بلغاريا لكرة القدم
bg:Национален отбор по футбол на България
ca:Selecció de futbol de Bulgària
de:Bulgarische Fußballnationalmannschaft
et:Bulgaaria jalgpallikoondis
es:Selección de fútbol de Bulgaria
fr:Équipe de Bulgarie de football
ko:불가리아 축구 국가대표팀
id:Tim nasional sepak bola Bulgaria
it:Nazionale di calcio della Bulgaria
he:נבחרת בולגריה בכדורגל
lv:Bulgārijas futbola izlase
lt:Bulgarijos vyrų futbolo rinktinė
hu:Bolgár labdarúgó-válogatott
mt:Tim Nazzjonali tal-Futbol tal-Bulgarija
nl:Bulgaars voetbalelftal
ja:サッカーブルガリア代表
no:Bulgarias herrelandslag i fotball
pl:Reprezentacja Bułgarii w piłce nożnej
pt:Seleção Búlgara de Futebol
ru:Сборная Болгарии по футболу
fi:Bulgarian jalkapallomaajoukkue
sv:Bulgariens herrlandslag i fotboll
vi:Đội tuyển bóng đá quốc gia Bulgaria
tr:Bulgaristan Millî Futbol Takımı
uk:Збірна Болгарії з футболу
zh:保加利亞國家足球隊
