Hristo Stoichkov
Encyclopedia
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv
) is a retired Bulgaria
n footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger (Камата), The Dog (Кучето), The Modern Left (Модерния ляв). At Barcelona he earned the Spanish nickname 'El Pistolero' which translates to 'the gunslinger'. He was a member of the Bulgaria national team
that finished fourth at the 1994 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.
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 an original lifelong ban, which was eventually reduced to a month 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 FC Barcelona
, where he was part of Johan Cruyff
's 'Dream Team', Stoichkov helped Barcelona to one of the most successful eras of the club, winning the Primera Division four years in a row between 1991 and 1994 and the European Cup
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 Barcelona Stoichkov played in tandem with Romário
.
In his first season with the club Stoichkov was suspended for two months for stomping on a referee's foot, but he still netted 14 league goals and six more in the Cup Winners' Cup
. Stoichkov then had short spells with 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
.
In 1994, he was named European Footballer of the Year after leading his national side to the 1994 World Cup semifinals.
In 2003, Sam Allardyce, the then manager of Bolton Wanderers Fc, made an ambitious bid to lure Stoichkov out or retirement with a reported $40,000 a week salary. The bid proved unsuccessful
, Stoichkov was awarded the World Cup Golden Boot as the joint top goal scorer of the tournament (with Oleg Salenko), with six goals, as well as earning the Bronze Ball award. He led Bulgaria
past Germany
to the semi-finals, where they lost 2–1 to Italy
. They subsequently lost the third place play-off to Sweden
, 4–0.
Bulgaria finished second in the qualifying group for Euro 1996 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, 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 World Cup
. Bulgaria was not nearly as strong as in previous years, earning only one point in a 0–0 draw against Paraguay
and scoring only one goal through Kostadinov in a 6–1 defeat by Spain in the so-called "Group of Death".
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.
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Stoichkov played as a left winger who 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. In 2006, he was sued by a former American University
college student whose leg he broke in a violent tackle during a match against D.C. United
in 2003. The case was settled out of court in 2007 for undisclosed financial terms. The student's coach called Stoichkov's challenge "criminal". Ray Hudson
, who coached D.C. 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.
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
. 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 on 5 September 2003, in a game against Sweden
, where he was sent-off for insulting the referee.
The biggest blow to Stoichkov as a coach of the national team of Bulgaria came on 12 October 2006, when Stiliyan Petrov
, the captain of the team, announced he would not play for Bulgaria as long as Stoichkov was manager. Petrov is the third player and the second captain in two years to leave the team because of differences with Stoichkov. However, on 17 March 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.
On 10 April 2007, the Bulgarian Football Union
announced they had accepted the resignation of Stoichkov from the post of national coach. That was as a result of the poor performance of the team at the ongoing Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, followed by widely spread criticism and debate over the qualities of the coach. The specific game, which led to increased pressure on Stoichkov, was the 0–0 home draw with Albania
.(despite the fact that the Bulgarians generally controlled the game and hit the post twice). He had a short disappointing stint as manager at Celta Vigo
, for which he was sacked following the team's slump that took them to the lower reaches of the Spanish Second Division
. On 8 October 2007, he was replaced by ex-Real Madrid manager Juan Ramón López Caro. On 12 March 2009, Stoichkov visited the Manchester City training ground after requesting a visit.
On 14 May 2009, Iran
ian club Abu Moslem
reported the signing of Stoichkov as coach. However Stoichkov then changed his mind due to the tense political situation in Iran
, instead opting to move to Mamelodi Sundowns, where he replaced Henri Michel
on 29 June 2009. On 16 March 2010 he quit Mamelodi Sundowns, with the former South African national team manager Trott Moloto named caretaker until a full-time replacement is found.
In 2011, Vietnam Football Federation
are inviting him to become the first Bulgarian head coach of Vietnam national football team
.
As of the 2011–12 season he works as an advisor at Russian team FC Rostov
.
|1982–83||rowspan="2"|Hebros
||||11||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|1983–84||||21||10||||||||||||||||
|-
|1984–85||rowspan="6"|CSKA Sofia
||rowspan="6"|A PFG
||11||0||||||||||||||11||0
|-
|1985–86||19||2||||||||||||||19||2
|-
|1986–87||25||16||2||0||colspan="2"|-||7||1||34|||17
|-
|1987–88||27||20||4||4||colspan="2"|-||7||5||38|||29
|-
|1988–89||26||28||7||3||colspan="2"|-||8||8||41|||39
|-
|1989–90||30||38||5||7||colspan="2"|-||3||2||38|||47
|-
|1990–91||rowspan="5"|FC Barcelona
||rowspan="5"|La Liga
||24||14||6||2||colspan="2"|-||8||5||38|||21
|-
|1991–92||32||17||2||1||colspan="2"|-||9||4||43|||22
|-
|1992–93||33||20||6||2||colspan="2"|-|||6||2|||45|||24
|-
|1993–94||34||16||6||1||colspan="2"|-|||8||7||48|||24
|-
|1994–95||26||10||4||5||colspan="2"|-||8||3||38|||18
|-
|1995–96||Parma
||Serie A
||23||5||2||0||colspan="2"|-||5||2||30|||7
|-
|1996–97||rowspan="2"|FC Barcelona
||rowspan="2"|La Liga
||22||7||6||1||colspan="2"|-||6||0||34|||8
|-
|1997–98||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||3||1||8|||1
|-
|1997–98||CSKA Sofia
||A PFG
||4||1||||||||||||||4||1
|-
|1997–98||Al-Nassr||||2||1||||||||||||||2||1
|-
|1998
||rowspan="2"|Kashiwa Reysol
||rowspan="2"|J. League Division 1
||16||8||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||17||8
|-
|1999
||11||4||colspan="2"|-||1||1||colspan="2"|-||12||5
|-
|2000||rowspan="3"|Chicago Fire||rowspan="4"|Major League Soccer
||18||9||3||1||||||||||21||10
|-
|2001||17||6||3||2||||||||||20||8
|-
|2002||16||2||0||0||||||||||16||2
|-
|2003||D.C. United
||21||5||3||1||||||||||24||6
174||119||18||14|||-|||||25||16||218|||149
175||83||31||12|||-|||||48||22||254|||117
23||5||2||0||||-||5||2||30|||7
2||1||||||||||||||2||1
27||12||1||0||1||1||colspan="2"|-||29|||13
72||22||9||4|||||||||||81|||26
473||268||61||30||1||1||78||49||594||313
|-
|1987||3||0
|-
|1988||12||4
|-
|1989||8||1
|-
|1990||4||0
|-
|1991||3||2
|-
|1992||5||2
|-
|1993||6||4
|-
|1994||11||9
|-
|1995||7||7
|-
|1996||5||5
|-
|1997||4||1
|-
|1998||10||1
|-
|1999||5||1
|-
!Total||83||37
|}
Barcelona
Al-Nassr
Chicago Fire
Individual
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.
Mamelodi Sundowns
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
) is a retired Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger (Камата), The Dog (Кучето), The Modern Left (Модерния ляв). At Barcelona he earned the Spanish nickname 'El Pistolero' which translates to 'the gunslinger'. He was a member of the Bulgaria national team
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...
that finished fourth at the 1994 World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
. Apart from his footballing talent, he was notable for his on-pitch temper. He was honoured as European Footballer of the Year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
in 1994. He was named by Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers
FIFA 100
The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
at a FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
Awards Ceremony in 2004.
Club career
Stoichkov began his career in his hometown, moving to HebrosFC Hebros
FC Hebros is a Bulgarian football club based in Harmanli, currently playing in the Bulgarian "V" Amateur Football Group, the third division of Bulgarian football. Its home stadium "Hebros" has a capacity of 5 000 seats. Its best achievement was participating in the Bulgarian "B" Professional...
in 1984. The next year he went to CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...
. There, he was involved in a fight during the final of the 1985 Bulgarian Cup
Bulgarian Cup
The Bulgarian Cup is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. It is sponsored by the Bulgarian Corporate Commercial Bank....
which resulted in an original lifelong ban, which was eventually reduced to a month 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 FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, where he was part of Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff
Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...
's 'Dream Team', Stoichkov helped Barcelona to one of the most successful eras of the club, winning the Primera Division four years in a row between 1991 and 1994 and the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
after defeating Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...
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
Johan Neeskens
Johannes Jacobus "Johan" Neeskens is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. As a player, he was an important member of the Dutch national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups. Former England manager Alf Ramsey said Neeskens was "as good as any player" in...
and Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
in the past. In Barcelona Stoichkov played in tandem with Romário
Romário
Romário de Souza Faria , better known simply as Romário , is a former footballer who played striker,manager and current politician where is currently running for a mayor like position in his hometown...
.
In his first season with the club Stoichkov was suspended for two months for stomping on a referee's foot, but he still netted 14 league goals and six more in the Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
. Stoichkov then had short spells with Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
, Al-Nassr, and finally finishing his career in Japan with Kashiwa Reysol
Kashiwa Reysol
is a J. League Division 1 team. Its home town is Kashiwa, Chiba, about an hour northeast of Tokyo.-History:Founded in 1940 as Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in Koganei, Tokyo, the team was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League...
and the United States with the Chicago Fire and D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
.
In 1994, he was named European Footballer of the Year after leading his national side to the 1994 World Cup semifinals.
In 2003, Sam Allardyce, the then manager of Bolton Wanderers Fc, made an ambitious bid to lure Stoichkov out or retirement with a reported $40,000 a week salary. The bid proved unsuccessful
International career
At the 1994 World Cup1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
, Stoichkov was awarded the World Cup Golden Boot as the joint top goal scorer of the tournament (with Oleg Salenko), with six goals, as well as earning the Bronze Ball award. He led Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...
past Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
to the semi-finals, where they lost 2–1 to Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
. They subsequently lost the third place play-off to Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
, 4–0.
Bulgaria finished second in the qualifying group for Euro 1996 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, Bulgaria were 2–0 down at half-time. Stoichkov equalized with two goals from penalties and Emil Kostadinov
Emil Kostadinov
Emil Lubtchov Kostadinov is a former Bulgarian football striker, former member of the Bulgaria national team for which he played in two World Cups. He shares his birthdate with another legendary Bulgarian footballer Dimitar Nikolov Yakimov...
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
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
side (the future World Champions); at the same time, in the other match, Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...
won 2–1 late on against Romania
Romania national football team
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation.Romania is one of only four national teams, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first three World Cups.However, after that...
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 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
. Bulgaria was not nearly as strong as in previous years, earning only one point in a 0–0 draw against Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...
and scoring only one goal through Kostadinov in a 6–1 defeat by Spain in the so-called "Group of Death".
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.
Style of play
Direct free kick
A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.-Award:...
and penalties
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
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. In 2006, he was sued by a former American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
college student whose leg he broke in a violent tackle during a match against D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
in 2003. The case was settled out of court in 2007 for undisclosed financial terms. The student's coach called Stoichkov's challenge "criminal". Ray Hudson
Ray Hudson
Ray Hudson , is a retired professional football player and former coach who currently works as an English-language football commentator on Gol TV.-Career:...
, who coached D.C. United for whom Stoichkov played at the time, called it a "rash tackle". Following an investigation by MLS
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
, Stoichkov was suspended two games and fined $2,000.
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 MarkovPlamen Markov
Plamen Markov is a retired Bulgarian international footballer who played as a midfielder.He played for the Bulgaria national football team on 32 occasions. His club career was spent with CSKA Sofia , FC Metz and Grenoble Foot .-References:...
resigned in the wake of the team's first-round exit from Euro 2004, the Bulgarian Football Union
Bulgarian Football Union
The Bulgarian Football Union is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian A Professional Football Group, and fields its Bulgaria national football team in UEFA and FIFA -authorised competitions.A legal entity that it claims descent...
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
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. 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 on 5 September 2003, in a game against Sweden
Sweden national football team
The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...
, where he was sent-off for insulting the referee.
The biggest blow to Stoichkov as a coach of the national team of Bulgaria came on 12 October 2006, when Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Petrov
Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov is a Bulgarian footballer who captains Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Bulgarian national team. He won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 2003 when he was playing for Celtic...
, the captain of the team, announced he would not play for Bulgaria as long as Stoichkov was manager. Petrov is the third player and the second captain in two years to leave the team because of differences with Stoichkov. However, on 17 March 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.
On 10 April 2007, the Bulgarian Football Union
Bulgarian Football Union
The Bulgarian Football Union is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian A Professional Football Group, and fields its Bulgaria national football team in UEFA and FIFA -authorised competitions.A legal entity that it claims descent...
announced they had accepted the resignation of Stoichkov from the post of national coach. That was as a result of the poor performance of the team at the ongoing Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, followed by widely spread criticism and debate over the qualities of the coach. The specific game, which led to increased pressure on Stoichkov, was the 0–0 home draw with Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
.(despite the fact that the Bulgarians generally controlled the game and hit the post twice). He had a short disappointing stint as manager at Celta Vigo
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo , simply referred to as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, currently playing in the Segunda División. It was founded on March 28, 1923 following the merger of Real Vigo Sporting and Real Fortuna Foot-ball Club.Nicknamed Los Celestes ,...
, for which he was sacked following the team's slump that took them to the lower reaches of the Spanish Second Division
Segunda División
The Segunda División is the lower tier of the two professional football leagues in Spain. From the season 2008-09 onwards, the name of the league is Liga Adelante.-History:...
. On 8 October 2007, he was replaced by ex-Real Madrid manager Juan Ramón López Caro. On 12 March 2009, Stoichkov visited the Manchester City training ground after requesting a visit.
On 14 May 2009, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian club Abu Moslem
Abu Moslem
Football Club Aboumoslem is an Iranian football club based in Mashhad, Khorasan. They play in the Azadegan League.-Establishment:In 1970 a group of football players from Mashhad decided to create a new football team by the name of Aboumoslem. Most of the players on the team knew each other and...
reported the signing of Stoichkov as coach. However Stoichkov then changed his mind due to the tense political situation in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, instead opting to move to Mamelodi Sundowns, where he replaced Henri Michel
Henri Michel
-External links:...
on 29 June 2009. On 16 March 2010 he quit Mamelodi Sundowns, with the former South African national team manager Trott Moloto named caretaker until a full-time replacement is found.
In 2011, Vietnam Football Federation
Vietnam Football Federation
The Vietnam Football Federation is the governing body of football in Vietnam. It is responsible for the Vietnam men's, women's, olympic, and other youth teams as well as national competitions....
are inviting him to become the first Bulgarian head coach of Vietnam national football team
Vietnam national football team
The Vietnam national football team is the national football team representing Vietnam and is managed by the Vietnam Football Federation.In the FIFA World Rankings, Vietnam's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in September 1998, at 84th...
.
As of the 2011–12 season he works as an advisor at Russian team FC Rostov
FC Rostov
FC Rostov is a Russian football club based in Rostov-on-Don, Rostov Oblast. The club are currently members of the Russian Premier League and play at the Olimp – 2 stadium.-History:...
.
Career statistics
|-|1982–83||rowspan="2"|Hebros
FC Hebros
FC Hebros is a Bulgarian football club based in Harmanli, currently playing in the Bulgarian "V" Amateur Football Group, the third division of Bulgarian football. Its home stadium "Hebros" has a capacity of 5 000 seats. Its best achievement was participating in the Bulgarian "B" Professional...
||||11||4||||||||||||||||
|-
|1983–84||||21||10||||||||||||||||
|-
|1984–85||rowspan="6"|CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...
||rowspan="6"|A PFG
Bulgarian A Professional Football Group
The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group commonly known as A PFG is the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The league is sponsored by Victoria FATA Insurance and therefore is officially known as Victoria A Football Group since 2011...
||11||0||||||||||||||11||0
|-
|1985–86||19||2||||||||||||||19||2
|-
|1986–87||25||16||2||0||colspan="2"|-||7||1||34|||17
|-
|1987–88||27||20||4||4||colspan="2"|-||7||5||38|||29
|-
|1988–89||26||28||7||3||colspan="2"|-||8||8||41|||39
|-
|1989–90||30||38||5||7||colspan="2"|-||3||2||38|||47
|-
|1990–91||rowspan="5"|FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
||rowspan="5"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||24||14||6||2||colspan="2"|-||8||5||38|||21
|-
|1991–92||32||17||2||1||colspan="2"|-||9||4||43|||22
|-
|1992–93||33||20||6||2||colspan="2"|-|||6||2|||45|||24
|-
|1993–94||34||16||6||1||colspan="2"|-|||8||7||48|||24
|-
|1994–95||26||10||4||5||colspan="2"|-||8||3||38|||18
|-
|1995–96||Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||23||5||2||0||colspan="2"|-||5||2||30|||7
|-
|1996–97||rowspan="2"|FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
||rowspan="2"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||22||7||6||1||colspan="2"|-||6||0||34|||8
|-
|1997–98||4||0||1||0||colspan="2"|-||3||1||8|||1
|-
|1997–98||CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...
||A PFG
Bulgarian A Professional Football Group
The Bulgarian A Professional Football Group commonly known as A PFG is the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The league is sponsored by Victoria FATA Insurance and therefore is officially known as Victoria A Football Group since 2011...
||4||1||||||||||||||4||1
|-
|1997–98||Al-Nassr||||2||1||||||||||||||2||1
|-
|1998
J. League 1998
Statistics of J. League in the 1998 season.-First stage:-Second stage:- Suntory Championship :-----Relegation playoffs:On the aggregate table, JEF United Ichihara, Avispa Fukuoka, and Vissel Kobe had earned within the 15th-18th places in the tables for both 1997 and 1998, while Consadole Sapporo...
||rowspan="2"|Kashiwa Reysol
Kashiwa Reysol
is a J. League Division 1 team. Its home town is Kashiwa, Chiba, about an hour northeast of Tokyo.-History:Founded in 1940 as Hitachi, Ltd. Soccer Club in Koganei, Tokyo, the team was a founding member of the Japan Soccer League...
||rowspan="2"|J. League Division 1
J. League
The or is the top division of and is the top professional association football league in Japan. It is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football and the only league given top class 'A' ranking by the AFC. Currently, J. League Division 1 is the first level of the Japanese...
||16||8||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||17||8
|-
|1999
J. League 1999
The 1999 season was the 7th season of the J-League Division 1. The league began in March and ended in November.For this year, the division was contested by 16 teams following the folding of Yokohama Flügels and the relegation of Consadole Sapporo to the newly formed Division 2...
||11||4||colspan="2"|-||1||1||colspan="2"|-||12||5
|-
|2000||rowspan="3"|Chicago Fire||rowspan="4"|Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
||18||9||3||1||||||||||21||10
|-
|2001||17||6||3||2||||||||||20||8
|-
|2002||16||2||0||0||||||||||16||2
|-
|2003||D.C. United
D.C. United
D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
||21||5||3||1||||||||||24||6
174||119||18||14|||-|||||25||16||218|||149
175||83||31||12|||-|||||48||22||254|||117
23||5||2||0||||-||5||2||30|||7
2||1||||||||||||||2||1
27||12||1||0||1||1||colspan="2"|-||29|||13
72||22||9||4|||||||||||81|||26
473||268||61||30||1||1||78||49||594||313
|-
|1987||3||0
|-
|1988||12||4
|-
|1989||8||1
|-
|1990||4||0
|-
|1991||3||2
|-
|1992||5||2
|-
|1993||6||4
|-
|1994||11||9
|-
|1995||7||7
|-
|1996||5||5
|-
|1997||4||1
|-
|1998||10||1
|-
|1999||5||1
|-
!Total||83||37
|}
Honours
CSKA SofiaPFC CSKA Sofia
PFC CSKA Sofia , commonly known as CSKA or CSKA Sofia is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded on May 5, 1948. CSKA's abbreviation stands for Central Sports Club of the Army...
- Bulgarian League: 3
-
- 1987, 1989, 1990
- Bulgarian CupBulgarian CupThe Bulgarian Cup is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. It is sponsored by the Bulgarian Corporate Commercial Bank....
: 4
- Bulgarian Cup
- 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989
- Bulgarian SupercupBulgarian SupercupThe Bulgarian Supercup is an annually held football match between the football club that has won the Bulgarian A Professional Football Group and the club that has won the Bulgarian Cup...
: 1
- Bulgarian Supercup
- 1989
- 1987, 1989, 1990
Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
- Spanish LeagueLa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
: 5
-
- 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98
- Spanish Super Cup: 3
- 19921992 Supercopa de EspañaThe 1992 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 28 October and 11 November 1992. It contested by Atlético Madrid, who were Spanish Cup winners in 1991–92, and FC Barcelona, who won the 1991–92 Spanish League. FC Barcelona won 5–2 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second...
, 19941994 Supercopa de EspañaThe 1994 Supercopa de España was a two-legged Spanish football match played on 27 August and 30 August 1994. It was contested by Barcelona, who won the 1993–94 Spanish League, and Real Zaragoza, who were Spanish Cup winners in 1993–94. Barcelona won 6–5 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second...
, 19961996 Supercopa de EspañaThe 1996 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 25 August and 28 August 1996. It contested by FC Barcelona, who were Spanish Cup runners-up in 1995–96, and Atlético Madrid, who won the 1995–96 Spanish League and the 1995–96 Spanish Cup. FC Barcelona won 6–5 on...
- European CupEuropean Cup and Champions League historyThe history of the European Cup and Champions League is long and remarkable, with fifty years of competition finding winners and losers from all parts of the continent....
(now called: Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
): 1
- European Cup
- 1991–92, Runner-Up 1993–94UEFA Champions League 1993-94The 1993–94 UEFA Champions League was the 39th edition of UEFA's top club football tournament, and the second since the tournament was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League. The competition was won by A.C. Milan, their fifth title, beating Barcelona 4–0 in the final...
- European Super CupEuropean Super CupThe UEFA Super Cup is an annual football game between the reigning champions of the two cup competitions organized by UEFA: the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League...
: 2
- European Super Cup
- 19921992 UEFA Super CupThe 1992 UEFA Super Cup was played between FC Barcelona and Werder Bremen, with Barcelona winning 3–2 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second leg:-External links:* * and - articles from newspapers "El Mundo Deportivo"...
, 19971997 UEFA Super CupThe 1997 UEFA Super Cup was a football match played on 8 January 1998 and 11 March 1998 between Borussia Dortmund of Germany, winner of the 1996-97 UEFA Champions League and Barcelona of Spain, winner of the 1996-97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup...
- Copa del ReyCopa del ReyThe Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
: 1
- Copa del Rey
- 1996–971996–97 Copa del Rey-External links:*...
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1
- 1996–97
- 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98
Al-Nassr
- Asian Cup Winners CupAsian Cup Winners CupThe Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation . The competition was started in 1991 as a tournament for all the domestic cup winners from countries affiliated to the AFC...
: 1
-
- 1998
Chicago Fire
- U.S. Open Cup: 1
-
- 2000
Individual
- Bulgarian League: 2
-
- Top Scorer 1989, 1990
- European Golden Boot: 1
- 1989
- Cup Winners' Cup Top ScorerUEFA Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
: 1
- Cup Winners' Cup Top Scorer
- 1989
- Onze d'OrOnze d'OrThe Onze d'Or is a football award handed out by French magazine Onze Mondial at the end of the year since 1976...
: 1
- Onze d'Or
- 1992
- European Footballer of the YearEuropean Footballer of the YearThe "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
: 1
- European Footballer of the Year
- 1994Ballon d'Or 1994The 1994 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Hristo Stoichkov on 20 December 1994.Stoichkov was the first Bulgarian national to win the award...
- World Cup1994 FIFA World CupThe 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
Golden Shoe – Top scorer: 1
- World Cup
- 1994
- World Cup1994 FIFA World CupThe 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
All-Star Team: 1
- World Cup
- 1994
- Don Balón AwardDon Balón AwardFrom 1976 until 2010, the Spanish magazine Don Balón confered the Don Balón Award to the best Spanish player, the best foreign player, the best referee, and the breakthrough player in La Liga...
for Best Foreign Player in La LigaLa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
: 1
- Don Balón Award
- 1994
- UEFA Euro All-Star Team: 1
- 1996
- Golden Foot "All time" legends awardGolden Foot awardThe Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements and for their personality...
: 1
- Golden Foot "All time" legends award
- 2007
- FIFA 100FIFA 100The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
: 1
- FIFA 100
- Top Scorer 1989, 1990
In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player
UEFA Jubilee Awards
To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations 's 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years . The 52 players were known as the Golden Players...
of Bulgaria by the Bulgarian Football Union
Bulgarian Football Union
The Bulgarian Football Union is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian A Professional Football Group, and fields its Bulgaria national football team in UEFA and FIFA -authorised competitions.A legal entity that it claims descent...
as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.
Mamelodi Sundowns
- Premier Soccer LeaguePremier Soccer LeaguePremier Soccer League is the trading name of the National Soccer League of South Africa. The top league is the ABSA Premiership, sponsored by ABSA...
: 1
-
- Coach of the Month: December 2009