HRISTO!STOICHKOV
The Barcelona and Bulgaria ace
HRISTO Stoichkov was one of those player who made watching football worthwhile in the 80s and 90s. Looking at his background and how he made it in football makes his story even more remarkable.
Born in Bulgaria’s second city, Plovdiv, he was a keen athlete growing up, so he was close to choosing that path instead of football. However, his ideology was if he made it in athletics 10,000 would possibly filter in to watch, whereas in football tens of thousands can be found at the top end of the game. His mind was made up and he never looked back.
At 16, he was playing for Hebros in the third division. The competitive nature of Bulgarian football was at a higher level back then as communism held sway, meaning their talented footballers couldn’t leave the country.
After two seasons, he would join one of the country’s heavyweights, CSKA Sofia. He would say upon joining that there were 24 seasoned internationals in the squad - and him. Yet he more than held his own.
That said, the relationship did get off to a bad start, in the 1985 Bulgarian Cup final. During the ‘battle’ with bitter rivals Levski Sofia, he was one of five players to receive lifetime bans from the sport.
He was ordered into the army to carry out National Service, where anything football related for him was forbidden.
Luckily, his ban was lifted after a little over 10 months and he was able to resume his career. He returned to CSKA like a man on a mission. He netted 81 times in 119 appearances over his six league seasons there, including scoring an incredible 38 goals in 30 games in one particular campaign. While there, CSKA managed a haul of three league, four cup and one super cup. His virtuoso displays put him on Barcelona’s radar. With the fall of communism, it was now easier for him to move, which he did in 1990. His first five-year stint with Barcelona was truly sublime, both for the team and the man himself. He was installed as a deadly goal-hungry hitman within Johan Cruyff’s ‘total football’-orientated side. He struck his peak as strike partner with Brazilian Romario. They would also become good friends, as Hristo would often have to make sure Romario made it to training on time due to his late-night escapades.
The honours list that was heralded while at the Camp Nou was truly astonishing. This included winning the European Cup in 1992, defeating Sampdoria in the final.
Within this period, Barcelona claimed four La Ligas in a row between 1991-94.
Stoichkov was twice runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year – 1992 and ’94.
However, he did secure the 1994 Ballon d’Or. This was also due to his performances at that year’s World Cup in the USA, which saw Bulgaria finish fourth.
He spent the 1995/96 season at Parma in Serie A, before moving back to Barcelona for a second spell from 1996-98.
By this time, his peak years were coming to an end and he was not scoring with such fluid regularity. But he was still a massive name and rounded his playing days off on something similar to a world tour.
He went back to CSKA Sofia in 1998, then within the same year joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
He spent the 1998/99 season in Japan with Kashiwa Reysol, scoring 12 goals in 27 appearances. Finally, he closed out his playing days in the United States with Chicago Fire followed by DC United, hanging up his boots in 2003.
Let’s not forget, he also had a very satisfying international career with Bulgaria. He was capped 83 times and scored 37 goals.
He shared the Golden Boot of the 1994 World Cup with Russia’s Oleg Salenko, both netting six times.
I suggest Stoichkov’s memories are fonder as Bulgaria reached the semi-finals before losing to Italy, famously knocking out holders Germany 2-1 in the quarter-finals.
Stoichkov featured as talisman for his country again at Euro ’96, scoring three goals in three games. However, Bulgaria didn’t make it out of the group stage.
He quit the international stage after his country’s uninspiring performance at the 1998 World Cup.
He went on to coach the national side between 2004-07. He has also spent time coaching Celta Vigo (Spain), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) and Litex Lovech and CSKA Sofia in his homeland.
If you tally up his honours achieved, both individual and team-wise, the 52-year-old has 50 to his name.
This speaks for itself and highlights a great career. It was built from persistance and desire from a working-class background. That should not be forgotten – it should be told to inspire.