Speaker 1: You ever noticed how every soccer player is obscenely attractive.
Speaker 1: You might just think it's all the exercise, and that's
Speaker 1: partly true. Being a professional athlete and working out several
Speaker 1: hours a day is great for your abs. But it
Speaker 1: wasn't always like this. There used to be ugly soccer players,
Speaker 1: fat ones, bald ones, goateeed. If we rewind back to
Speaker 1: the grunge of well, my friend, those were the days,
Speaker 1: back when soccer players were slobs, drunks, and had unruly
Speaker 1: nose hairs. They said wild, upsetting things, and not a
Speaker 1: single spokesperson was nearby to cringe, nary a social media
Speaker 1: user in sight to immortalize it for all time. They
Speaker 1: were the opposite of an Instagram filter. Today, we're going
Speaker 1: to tell the story of a team fueled by brazen, indignant,
Speaker 1: chest thumping cockiness, not to mention chest hair mullets, communist tanks,
Speaker 1: an illegally smuggled players, a team that rode on their
Speaker 1: own high opinions of themselves, a complete disregard for rules,
Speaker 1: and harnessed a couple of miraculous bits of luck along
Speaker 1: the way into World Cup immortality. Freshly unlatched from the
Speaker 1: Soviet Union, Bulgaria was brash, broody and temperamental, and they
Speaker 1: were World Cup semifinalists. In the Bulgaria phenomenon was I mean,
Speaker 1: it was a shooting star right the emergence of this
Speaker 1: Bulgaria team, I mean Cinderella esque. He was tight lipped
Speaker 1: and brooding. The whole country just went absolutely mad, but
Speaker 1: kind of exerted an atmosphere of authority, one with the
Speaker 1: greatest sensations of all time. And it came out of
Speaker 1: nowhere and then it exploded in glory and then went
Speaker 1: away and diminished very very quickly. I'm Nando Vila, and
Speaker 1: this is the soccer podcast in the world goes Women,
Speaker 1: but it's Christiano Ronaldo, Yes, in the Italian team. Wonderful
Speaker 1: never sin. November seventeen, final round of World Cup qualifiers.
Speaker 1: On that night, nine simultaneous matches decided the last eight
Speaker 1: available European spots for the four World Cup. The most
Speaker 1: dramatic it turned out, was Bulgaria versus France. France, as
Speaker 1: you can imagine, we're heavy favorites. But before we get
Speaker 1: to the actual match, in order to understand the home
Speaker 1: magnitude of this miracle, you have to go back a
Speaker 1: couple of days. This is Michael Jakin. I'm a freelance
Speaker 1: um football writer. That's what they do for living. I'm
Speaker 1: just I just write about football. Bulgaria and France were
Speaker 1: in the same qualifying group and everyone expected France to
Speaker 1: go through. I mean they had great players like Eric
Speaker 1: Cantona back from international exile at Jean Pierre Papan. France
Speaker 1: should have sailed through the group. A few weeks earlier,
Speaker 1: France played against Israel in Paris and they would have
Speaker 1: qualified for the World Cup if they've won. And Israel
Speaker 1: played in the first ever European World Cup qualifying campaign
Speaker 1: they played in Asia before, and Israel was not good yet. Somehow,
Speaker 1: five minutes into stoppage time Israel lead and then gave
Speaker 1: a Bulgaria chace. But still it was a tall order
Speaker 1: for the Bulgarians to make it to the World Cup.
Speaker 1: They needed to beat France in France, while the French
Speaker 1: only needed to tie at home. The absurd, the idea,
Speaker 1: absolutely unthinkable, and the very factory were alive in this
Speaker 1: competition was a miracle. So you just one miracle had
Speaker 1: already happened. They needed they just needed another one. One
Speaker 1: key thing had changed since the last World Cup. Bulgaria
Speaker 1: was a country of nine million people in the Balkans,
Speaker 1: sort of nuzzled between Greece, Turkey, and the Black Sea
Speaker 1: in southeastern Europe. At the time, it was struggling to
Speaker 1: established itself economically and politically. With the collapse of the
Speaker 1: Soviet Union, countries in the Eastern Bloc started transitioning towards
Speaker 1: market capitalism and away from centralized planned economies. East and
Speaker 1: West Germany merged once more. Advertising in Hollywood movies crept
Speaker 1: into the culture. The main shift, as far as soccer
Speaker 1: was concerned, was getting rid of a rule that sounds
Speaker 1: absurd in retrospect. Soccer players in Bulgaria could not play
Speaker 1: professionally outside of the country until they turned twenty eight.
Speaker 1: That law disappeared in so by the time World Cup
Speaker 1: rolled around, the best players had trickled out to some
Speaker 1: of the bigger leagues in Europe. The collapse of the
Speaker 1: Eastern Bloc and the Soviet Union obviously made those players
Speaker 1: feel much trier and they were like released from the cage.
Speaker 1: And the best player was clearly Risto story Kov. He
Speaker 1: played for Barcelona in the Spanish League and was a
Speaker 1: key part of the team that managed to win four
Speaker 1: consecutive league titles. And were you to cool up Central
Speaker 1: Casting and ask for burly Eastern European hit man and
Speaker 1: strive at your door, you go brilliant Central Casting had answered,
Speaker 1: had answered the cool and in many ways, I guess
Speaker 1: that's not an inappropriate way of describing him, because he
Speaker 1: was Bulgarian and he was very much a hit man,
Speaker 1: and he didn't look like he would brook any nonsense
Speaker 1: from you either. This is James Richardson. He hosts the
Speaker 1: Totally Football Show and has interviewed Storage Clove. France arrived
Speaker 1: in a very strange psychological state to this picture, because
Speaker 1: on one's hand, they underestimated the Bulgerrens, but on the
Speaker 1: other hand, they were very much afraid of losing, because
Speaker 1: that Israeli game was a cure siasco and they really
Speaker 1: were afraid. But the Bulgarians arrived in their own state
Speaker 1: of disorganization. Somehow, the Bulgarian Federation had forgotten to apply
Speaker 1: for visas for forwards Emil Kostadinov and Lubo's lav Penive. Legally,
Speaker 1: those two players could not enter France for the key match.
Speaker 1: See this was before the time of the Shenjen agreement
Speaker 1: which allowed Europeans to travel freely within the U. Back then,
Speaker 1: you still needed visas and passports and the like if
Speaker 1: you wanted to cross between borders. But well, what are
Speaker 1: immigration laws besides technicalities bureaucratic hiccups, really, So the team
Speaker 1: devised a plan. The captain, goalkeeper buddhis love Mikail Love,
Speaker 1: and a midfielder named George George Jev which definitely sounds
Speaker 1: made up played in the French League for a club
Speaker 1: called Mulhouse. You see, mule House was right on the
Speaker 1: border between Germany and France, and the players had heard
Speaker 1: of a border crossing there with light security. So Georgia
Speaker 1: smuggled the pair across in his car in hiding and
Speaker 1: put them up the night before the game. When the
Speaker 1: starting lineups were read on November seventeen, Costadinov and Luboslav
Speaker 1: Penev's names were listed up top next to stotchkov I.
Speaker 1: Guess Costadinov and Penev were both technically undocumented immigrants at
Speaker 1: the time. Now, all they had to do was beat France.
Speaker 1: No one knew it at the time, but France had
Speaker 1: the spine of the team that would go on to
Speaker 1: win the World Cup five years later. Laurent Blanc, Marcel
Speaker 1: de Sa and Dde de Champ started that day in
Speaker 1: as well as Cantona, the mercurial striker with pop callers
Speaker 1: who was named in the top three players of the
Speaker 1: world that year. But on Cue Cantona struck first, lashing
Speaker 1: home of Ali from Pepon's cushioned knockdown header. Eric Cantonas
Speaker 1: scored the goal and they've are on the on their
Speaker 1: way to the World Cup. They had now had to
Speaker 1: concede two goals in order to be out. One bizarre
Speaker 1: moment in the match came when a rooster snuck its
Speaker 1: way onto the field anyway before halftime. Before the rooster
Speaker 1: crowde Bulgaria pulled one back from a corner. Leaning back
Speaker 1: away from goal, Costadinov scored a bullet header espid. That's right,
Speaker 1: the same Costadinov who had eluded French security forces the
Speaker 1: day before, found the French defenders just as easy to
Speaker 1: slip past. Even still, with the score tied, the French
Speaker 1: would be flying to the United States for the World
Speaker 1: Cup the upcoming summer. The French just needed to waste
Speaker 1: a few more minutes. Time was slipping away the one
Speaker 1: one it's just it's last minut of injury time remaining,
Speaker 1: and Davigiono La, the French substitute, head the ball near
Speaker 1: the corner flag in the Bulgarian half, and instead of
Speaker 1: wasting those seconds that were left until the final whistle,
Speaker 1: he just sent an awful cross. The sult His overcooked
Speaker 1: cross sailed over everyone and fell straight to the feet
Speaker 1: of a Bulgarian player. The Bulgarians then rushed up the
Speaker 1: field for one final attack. The ball found its way
Speaker 1: to Penny and he picked up his head and found
Speaker 1: his undocumented brother Costadinov. Costadinov held off his defender and
Speaker 1: absolutely rifled a shot from a narrow angle while in
Speaker 1: full script. Visiting Bulgarian commentator screamed, God is Bulgarian, God
Speaker 1: is Bulgarian. It was just centimeters from going out. It
Speaker 1: was a huge, huge moment. It defined this very moment
Speaker 1: defined ventire Blegarran football history. Neither Pennev nor Kostadinov had
Speaker 1: visas to be in France, but they punched their tickets
Speaker 1: for flights to the United States Yessa. He held his
Speaker 1: head in his hands, Blanc sunk to his knees. Dishop
Speaker 1: cried his way down the tunnel, Ginola slumped over an
Speaker 1: advertising board. It was total disaster for France. Coach Gerard
Speaker 1: Julie disappeared into the bowels of the stadium without a word.
Speaker 1: It wasn't that he didn't have anything to say. Julier
Speaker 1: blamed Ginola. He committed a crime against the team. I repeat,
Speaker 1: a crime against the team. The French press called Ginola
Speaker 1: the assassin of French football. Decades later, Julier hadn't forgiven him.
Speaker 1: He called Ginola a bastard in his book. Ginola subsequently sued.
Speaker 1: Ginola is remembered more for his overcooked cross than anything else.
Speaker 1: Cantada never played in the World Cup. But on the
Speaker 1: other hand, Christo Stoichkov and Bolakov and Kostadinov and Leskov
Speaker 1: and Trifa Luvanov, they all went to play in the
Speaker 1: World Cup, and not just play in that World Cup,
Speaker 1: but provide one of the greatest sensations of all time.
Speaker 1: More about what happened next after the break and so
Speaker 1: from the disillusion of communism in the Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria
Speaker 1: washed up on the shores of good old capitalists US
Speaker 1: and d in the summer of the Lion King and
Speaker 1: Jim Carey topped the box office. People were listening to
Speaker 1: Asa Bass and is Two Men on their Walkman Friends
Speaker 1: was filming its inaugural season. One thing we had been
Speaker 1: noticing again it's a very slow pursuit. O. J. Simpson
Speaker 1: was fleeing in a white bronco. Nelson Mandela won the
Speaker 1: first multi racial elections in South African history. A time
Speaker 1: of hope and opportunity, and America, the land of apple
Speaker 1: Pie and the other kind of football, got set to
Speaker 1: host the World Cup. It was the debut of colorful
Speaker 1: jerseys for referees. Kickoffs were scheduled for noon to appease
Speaker 1: the European TV market, which stuck up its nose at
Speaker 1: the beautiful game being held in a primitive backwater like
Speaker 1: the United States, but the stadiums were packed. The opening
Speaker 1: ceremonies included Diana Ross missing a penalty in one of
Speaker 1: the funniest videos you'll ever see and the goal splitting
Speaker 1: in half. I just think that that that Bulgaria team
Speaker 1: really embodied the spirit of you know what, an American
Speaker 1: World Cup. I guess promises which his opportunity and anything
Speaker 1: can happen. This is Alexei Lawless. If you know of him,
Speaker 1: it's because of this World Cup. My name is Alexei
Speaker 1: Lawless and I'm fifty two years old. I am a Gemini.
Speaker 1: I live out here in Los Angeles, California, and many
Speaker 1: many years ago, back in the nineteen hundreds, I used
Speaker 1: to run around and kick a ball for a number
Speaker 1: of different teams, including the US men's national team, and
Speaker 1: nowadays I talk about soccer on Fox Sports. On Home Soil.
Speaker 1: Lallas was the center back defending America's honor. While Lallas
Speaker 1: and the US team were being thrust into the global limelight,
Speaker 1: Bulgaria was busy shunning it. Bulgarian training sessions were closed
Speaker 1: and the team refused to speak to the media. The
Speaker 1: team was locked in a contract dispute with the Bulgarian federation,
Speaker 1: which had promised the players bonuses of a hundred thousand
Speaker 1: dollars for the win over France. Unable to pay, the
Speaker 1: federation president resigned and the players were understatably huffy. Eventually,
Speaker 1: the federation came up with twenty dollars per player. Kuber
Speaker 1: grudgingly accepted and agreed to play on the roster. Bennett,
Speaker 1: the hero of Paris and one of the guys who
Speaker 1: had smuggled himself into the country, had to pull out
Speaker 1: of the squad due to testicular cancer. He was replaced
Speaker 1: by Nasco Sirakov. What's notable about the promotion of Sirakov
Speaker 1: is that he played for Levski Sofia, one of the
Speaker 1: two main teams from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Pennev,
Speaker 1: the guy he was replacing, had come up through CSKA
Speaker 1: Sophia and Boy those two teams really don't like each other.
Speaker 1: Two big enemies, Cska Soffa and Left Sofa. They really
Speaker 1: really really hate each other. It's like Rangers and Celtic
Speaker 1: in Glasgow. It's it's a huge rivalry with beef dating
Speaker 1: back to the nineteen forties. Bulgaria's Eternal Derby is the
Speaker 1: biggest rivalry in the Balkans. The most bitter game between
Speaker 1: them came in Bulgarian Cup final, when a handball helped
Speaker 1: Cska opened the scoring and win. A riot broke out
Speaker 1: in this dands. A huge brawl then broke out in
Speaker 1: the tunnel. The Communist Party dissolved both teams and handed
Speaker 1: five players lifetime bands, including Stoutchkov and Mikhailove. A few
Speaker 1: months later, those sanctions were reduced and Stoutchkov resumed playing
Speaker 1: after seven months, and both teams still exist, but they
Speaker 1: still hate each other. One of the biggest problems in
Speaker 1: the Bulgarian squad throughout decades was that there were two camps,
Speaker 1: usually in the dressing room d C s k A
Speaker 1: camp and the Lefsky camp, and they hated each other
Speaker 1: and they at times they didn't even speak to each other,
Speaker 1: and it's ruined the atmosphere in the dressing room. You see,
Speaker 1: in the six World Cups Bulgaria had qualified for, they'd
Speaker 1: never won a match. In nineteen sixty two they drew
Speaker 1: nil nil with the Bobbies of England, Charlton and more.
Speaker 1: In sixty six they lost to Pelez Brazil and it
Speaker 1: was Portugal. In nineteen seventy they lost to Beckenbauer and
Speaker 1: Gerd Mueller's West Germany. In nineteen seventy four they lost
Speaker 1: the It's Netherlands, and they didn't qualify in two but
Speaker 1: at least they lost to a bunch of legendary teams.
Speaker 1: You know, you can say that for them. And then
Speaker 1: in six they actually progressed to the round of sixteen
Speaker 1: on the back of two draws in the group stage,
Speaker 1: no wins They promptly lost to nail to Madelona's Argentina
Speaker 1: and then by the same score line to Los anchez
Speaker 1: Is Mexico. In their most recent World Cup match eight
Speaker 1: years earlier, had scored a wonderful goal from Mexico, a
Speaker 1: keep up E one two followed by a flying scissor kick.
Speaker 1: Up to that point, if Bulgaria was shown in any
Speaker 1: World Cup highlight reels, it would have been for that
Speaker 1: negative day goal. They have are breastfare remembered for coinceding
Speaker 1: a beautiful goal. They were considered a minnows. They were
Speaker 1: never supposed to pose any threats. It's a World Cup.
Speaker 1: So the goal for the Bulgaria team was simple, win
Speaker 1: a match one. Any match would do. They kicked off
Speaker 1: the tournament in Dallas, his Cotton Bowl Stadium against Nigeria,
Speaker 1: sun hot enough to sizzle your neck, hairs, air dry
Speaker 1: enough to choke on. This was Nigeria's first World Cup appearance. Surely,
Speaker 1: if Bulgaria was going to win one, the opening match
Speaker 1: was their chance. The Nigerian winger Finiti George and his
Speaker 1: teammates disagreed, whichever you didn't get in, but now they've
Speaker 1: got in. Yakni coming for the cross the bulgaras refreshed
Speaker 1: in the frost fiction Dallas by Julia, It ended three
Speaker 1: nailed to Nigeria. The Bulgarian coach responded by allowing the
Speaker 1: players to bring their wives and girlfriends to the hotel.
Speaker 1: A late night of smoking, drinking and pull parties ensued.
Speaker 1: Needless to say, this was unheard of in the middle
Speaker 1: of a World Cup, let alone. After a crushing defeat,
Speaker 1: they celebrated the hotel and basically they were just enjoyed
Speaker 1: their lives. Next up Greece, also making their World Cup
Speaker 1: debut at Soldier Field in Chicago. Up step Stoichkov, tofts
Speaker 1: of chest, haired, his gold chain visible under his v neck.
Speaker 1: The barrel chested forward was coming off four straight La
Speaker 1: Liga titles with Barcelona. He was fiery, brilliant, bullish. He
Speaker 1: was once suspended for two months for stomping on a
Speaker 1: referee who sent him off versus Real Madrid, but he
Speaker 1: put his foot down in a different way against Greece.
Speaker 1: A pair of penalties and goals from Jodan Letchikov and
Speaker 1: Daniel Bodhimdov gave Bulgaria a heavy four nil win. Stoichkov
Speaker 1: would go on to say quote, they got nowhere near
Speaker 1: us and well, congratulations Bulgaria, they have got their frost
Speaker 1: ever World Cup win. And basically that could have been
Speaker 1: the greatest achievement in the tournament. But then and as
Speaker 1: a miracle that happened to them, first Israel beating France,
Speaker 1: then Bulgaria beating France, now Madalona miracles. Here's how the
Speaker 1: writer I Wado Galleano put in quote, he played, he won,
Speaker 1: he pid, he lost. A phedroan turned up in his
Speaker 1: ear analysis and Maradona was booted out of the World Cup.
Speaker 1: Faith for certainly might well have had no option themselves
Speaker 1: but to tape strong action against Maradonna and aging Maradona
Speaker 1: had been ushered back from a cocaine field suspension to
Speaker 1: salvage Argentina's hopes. With him, they looked formidable once more.
Speaker 1: Maravona almost single handedly led Argentina to the World Cup
Speaker 1: title in six, had dragged them to the final four
Speaker 1: years later, and now at thirty three, would have set
Speaker 1: a record for World Cup appearances against Bulgaria. Instead, he
Speaker 1: was sent home in a cloud of paparazzi flashbulbs, fan hysterics,
Speaker 1: preening global newspaper columns and stimulants in his blood. It
Speaker 1: really looked like bug ever extremely lucky, just outrageously lucky.
Speaker 1: Everything went their way. Needing a result to qualify for
Speaker 1: the next round, Bulgaria faced the stunned Argentina back in
Speaker 1: the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, amid the turmoil of the
Speaker 1: Maradonna affair. Qualification in the group would be turned upside
Speaker 1: down in the final matches. You know, good Roddy here
Speaker 1: by Storage again Storygekov scored because of course, even having
Speaker 1: a player sent off couldn't dampen the move. That's the
Speaker 1: same this fame started playing brilliant team football vet ruin
Speaker 1: over Argentina. With the last minute goal by Sirakov. It
Speaker 1: really gave them confidence if they could do really really
Speaker 1: huge thing. Bulgaria finished second in the group onto the
Speaker 1: knockout rounds. Each game was do or die, lose and
Speaker 1: go home, win and progress. First up was another old foe, Mexico,
Speaker 1: this time in Giant Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey. They
Speaker 1: called it the Swampy Storagekov scored after six minutes, absolutely
Speaker 1: battering it straight over the on rushing post who didn't
Speaker 1: even have time to get his hands up. Mexico equalized
Speaker 1: through a penalty, and then Bulgaria had a player sent off,
Speaker 1: but instead of having to play a man down the
Speaker 1: rest of the half, Mexico had Louise Gotta see us
Speaker 1: sent off as well. Nope, not that Los gotta see.
Speaker 1: Not that other one either. That was the two other
Speaker 1: Rush sendings off. I think I'd have the same name
Speaker 1: World Cup Football, and I just don't think you can
Speaker 1: defend the referring appointment by It was a wild match.
Speaker 1: One of the Mexican defenders snapped the upright after sliding
Speaker 1: into it, and the Syrian referee handed out eight yellow
Speaker 1: cards and two reds and reed penaltist. Here we had
Speaker 1: the flamboyant j Campos in net for Mexico, the tiny
Speaker 1: goalkeeper who preferred to play striker and distracted opposing players
Speaker 1: with his self designed neon jerseys. For Bulgaria, the goalkeeper
Speaker 1: was the captain, Borislav the Wig Mikhai Love. They called
Speaker 1: him that because he was bald and wore a wig
Speaker 1: while playing. I'm serious, dude, wore a rug on the field.
Speaker 1: The nineties were awesome anyway. Mikailov's father had been Bulgaria's
Speaker 1: national team goalkeeper also, so it kind of ran in
Speaker 1: the family and it all led up to this, a
Speaker 1: penalty shootout in the World Cup. More about what happened
Speaker 1: next after the break, it was to the penalty shootout
Speaker 1: and Balakos missed the frost kick for Bulgaria, but the
Speaker 1: New Mexicans missed three in a row with a corner
Speaker 1: and then high logs correct way lanes that way. Ka
Speaker 1: I Lov saved two and saved his nation's hoax folding character.
Speaker 1: Hey con chikeese count right into a little patient World
Speaker 1: Cup history. Yes, yes, go to the titles of the world.
Speaker 1: Stotchkov was scheduled to take the last penalty, but it
Speaker 1: wasn't even needed. Stotchkov summed up the night by sighting
Speaker 1: the commentator of the Friends game quote, God was a
Speaker 1: Bulgarian Today. The players stayed up so late celebrating at
Speaker 1: their isolated hotel in Princeton that the coach gave them
Speaker 1: the next day off. The team stayed in Princeton ahead
Speaker 1: of the quarterfinal against Germany, and the Germans were a
Speaker 1: fearsome team. They had won the World Cup four years earlier,
Speaker 1: and now they were newly reunified. After the fall of
Speaker 1: the Berlin Wall, adding East Germans to an already stacked roster.
Speaker 1: An attack, Jurgen Klinsmann partnered with Rudy Valler, known for
Speaker 1: his blonde caterpillar mustache. Nobody really believed that Bulgaria could
Speaker 1: be the Jones. Bulgaria prepared for the match by racking
Speaker 1: up a massive bar tab the night before to celebrate
Speaker 1: Leschkov's birthday, and the coach was worried. Germany likely spelled
Speaker 1: the end. And before those quarterfinals against Germany, Tifoni, one
Speaker 1: of their frightening looking center back, came to the coach
Speaker 1: and told him everything is going to be okay. Ruddy fella.
Speaker 1: When he sees me, he will be so frightened that
Speaker 1: he won't be able to do anything. Tifon Ivanov was
Speaker 1: called the Wolfman, plump with sunken eyes. He wore a
Speaker 1: scraggly beard and the shaggy mullet. And the greatest story
Speaker 1: about one of by the way, is that he bought
Speaker 1: himself at tank when he was a player, just bought
Speaker 1: himself on old so the tunk and drove it in
Speaker 1: his spare time. So that was the kind of personality.
Speaker 1: He was the one to reassure his coach. Just relax,
Speaker 1: he said, Rudy Valler will fall to the ground when
Speaker 1: he feels my breath. It turns out it wasn't Volor
Speaker 1: who hit the ground. Klinsman won a penalty with some
Speaker 1: trademark diving and it was birthday boy Letchikov, who had
Speaker 1: allegedly brought him down. Has the chops now. Lotar Matteus
Speaker 1: scored the penalty in his record equalling twenty one World
Speaker 1: Cup match. It's a he check the lad What a time.
Speaker 1: Then Voler put the ball in the back of the net,
Speaker 1: but it was a fraction off side. Had it stood,
Speaker 1: Bulgaria likely would have been toast instead. Stoichkov happened in
Speaker 1: a career full of wild and wonderful goals. His free
Speaker 1: kick from twenty five yards against Germany holds up among
Speaker 1: his best. Yea prish that back in it. Three minutes later,
Speaker 1: Letsikov atoned for his earlier foul. People don't even remember
Speaker 1: that he gave up the penalty because he wiped it
Speaker 1: from memory with what came next. You're done. The magician.
Speaker 1: Leskov had a haircut like your grandfather balding, but with
Speaker 1: a little sprouting tuft on the top of his forehead.
Speaker 1: He was from Sleeven, five miles from Chernobyl, and blamed
Speaker 1: his baldness on the radiation and lev he was a
Speaker 1: hot walk in midfielder. But he wasn't especially technically gifted,
Speaker 1: he wasn't especially visionary, he wasn't especially anything. It's refreshing
Speaker 1: to see someone unapologetically bald. I think the world needs
Speaker 1: more bald icons. And that head proved mighty instrumentally. Yeah,
Speaker 1: let's draw. Yeah, the celebration is Letchikov peeled away is legendary,
Speaker 1: his arms high in a v then jumping to punch
Speaker 1: the sky. They worn against both Angelina and Germany, the
Speaker 1: finalist of the previous World Cup, and now they've themselves
Speaker 1: just one step from their own World Cup final, which
Speaker 1: was so extremely incredible that the whole country just went
Speaker 1: absolutely mad After that, typically bullish Stoichkov said after the
Speaker 1: match quote, to be honest, it was an easy win.
Speaker 1: Spoiler alert listener, it was not. Bulgaria, a country that
Speaker 1: had barely smuggled their way into the World Cup, was
Speaker 1: in a semi final. They once again stayed put at
Speaker 1: Giant Stadium to face the next giant in the fixture list.
Speaker 1: That would be Italy, meticulously led by Roberto Baggio, better
Speaker 1: known as the Divine Ponytail, a k a. The greatest
Speaker 1: nickname in the history of soccer. He got it because well,
Speaker 1: he rocked a full on rat tail throughout his entire career.
Speaker 1: Divino cordino, veto bajo. He kind of defied description because
Speaker 1: he was so good. He was an incredibly gifted player,
Speaker 1: and there's just something about him and the way that
Speaker 1: he the dignity that he always had, and the grace
Speaker 1: he had. Baggio inscribed Buddhist sayings onto his captain's armband.
Speaker 1: He was flowing, he was fragile. He was phenomenal, of course,
Speaker 1: but he seemed the way that he moved on the
Speaker 1: field for me was a little bit like a leaf
Speaker 1: skipping along on an autumn breeze. He would just seem
Speaker 1: to glide along. Baggio put Italy ahead with two precise
Speaker 1: finishes that Bojankov admitted when he turned fifty that the
Speaker 1: first goal still hurt. He should have fouled Baggio. Stoichkov
Speaker 1: pulled one back with a penalty just before halftime, but
Speaker 1: the comeback never fully materialized. The referee that day was
Speaker 1: a Frenchman named Joel Knu And now listen, I'm not
Speaker 1: accusing him of anything, but maybe revenge was in the
Speaker 1: cards because he swallowed his whistle in this one a
Speaker 1: bit at one point clearly handled inside the box and
Speaker 1: didn't get a penalty. And later Italy brought down Letchkov
Speaker 1: in the box and also didn't get a penalty. So
Speaker 1: just saying final whistle, Italy to Bulgaria, one Bulgaria had lost.
Speaker 1: They would not play in the final, Italy would right
Speaker 1: has Italy through. After the game, Stoichkov was asked if
Speaker 1: God was still a Bulgarian. Yes, he said, but the
Speaker 1: referee was French. Yeah, I mean the Bulgaria phenomenon was.
Speaker 1: I mean, it was a shooting star, right, and it
Speaker 1: came out of nowhere, and then it exploded in glory
Speaker 1: and then went away and diminished very very quickly. The
Speaker 1: emergence of this Bulgaria team. Yeah, I guess, I mean
Speaker 1: Cinderella esque. Right, Bulgaria's run had come to an end.
Speaker 1: Stoychekov shared the Golden Boot with Russia's alex Alenko. The
Speaker 1: way in which they played the Freedom in which they played,
Speaker 1: and you know this phenomenon that you do see at
Speaker 1: World Cups where a team within that that moment, you
Speaker 1: know that that brigadoon ish type of bubble that is
Speaker 1: a World Cup where anything is possible and anything can happen.
Speaker 1: You know, they harness that energy and they harness that
Speaker 1: power to run to semifinals. Sparked huge celebrations in Bulgaria.
Speaker 1: It put them on the map and provided some glimmer
Speaker 1: of hope for a country struggling to establish itself. When
Speaker 1: you live the power of a World Cup, it provides
Speaker 1: opportunities and a lot of those players on that team
Speaker 1: were given opportunities that without doing it on the world
Speaker 1: stage in front of the world, they wouldn't necessarily have
Speaker 1: been given. And you know the fact that that you
Speaker 1: bring up Bulgaria or that I remember Bulgaria, they are
Speaker 1: a part of the fabric and the story and the
Speaker 1: narrative of that World Cup. Listen, you know that I
Speaker 1: am a living example of the power of a World
Speaker 1: Cup and what it can do and how it can
Speaker 1: change an individual. The years after weren't so kind in
Speaker 1: euro Stoichkov scored in every game, but they still crushed
Speaker 1: out in the group stages with just four points. Ben
Speaker 1: It was fired as coach France knocked them out in
Speaker 1: a small act of revenge for the tragedy in Paris
Speaker 1: three years earlier at World Cup, which France one. Bulgaria
Speaker 1: went out in the group stages as well. They've never
Speaker 1: qualified for the World Cup since. I think back fondly
Speaker 1: about what Bulgaria was and what it brought to that
Speaker 1: tournament innet but there's a sadness that they haven't been
Speaker 1: able to recapture that and the players well. Ilyan Kiryakov
Speaker 1: lost his bonuses from the government in a Swiss pyramid scheme.
Speaker 1: Ivanov died at the age of fifty of a heart
Speaker 1: attack in Milan. Tried to buy Letchikov after World Cup,
Speaker 1: but while negotiating a deal at a restaurant, the waite
Speaker 1: staff brought the wrong appetizer. Latchikov then furiously pelted the
Speaker 1: waiter with breadsticks and in it backed off immediately, and
Speaker 1: Letchkov went to be seek Gusts in Turkey instead. He
Speaker 1: was then banned from soccer for several years in his
Speaker 1: prime because of a contract dispute. After retiring, he became
Speaker 1: the mayor of his hometown of Sliven. In two thousand
Speaker 1: and ten, he was officially removed with seven counts of corruption.
Speaker 1: He received a suspended two year jail sentence. He was
Speaker 1: once pulled over for speeding through his idea at the cops,
Speaker 1: flipped them off and sped away. Borislav Mikhailov became president
Speaker 1: of the bull Garyan Federation. The Prime minister then demanded
Speaker 1: Mikhailov's resignation for failing to condemn races chance in a
Speaker 1: game against England. He has been caught drunk in public
Speaker 1: several times. Letchikov, who was the federation vice president at
Speaker 1: the time, tried to proclaim himself the new president, which
Speaker 1: got him immediately fired. After leaving Barcelona, Stouichkov returned briefly
Speaker 1: to CSKA before retiring in two thousand and four. He
Speaker 1: had spells in Saudi Arabia and Japan, as well as
Speaker 1: a stint in Major League Soccer, where he became a
Speaker 1: cult figure with the Chicago Fire. He also played for
Speaker 1: d C United in MLS, and while he was there,
Speaker 1: Stoichkov was sued for five million dollars for breaking a
Speaker 1: college freshman's leg in a friendly. He's now a commentator
Speaker 1: for Univision. All of the unruly self belief served them
Speaker 1: all so well, has been less kind in the years since.
Speaker 1: But for one glorious, sweltering summer in America. The chest hair,
Speaker 1: the mullets, the brashness, it all came together perfectly for
Speaker 1: a bullish group of players, for a nation. For Bulgaria
Speaker 1: World Cup semifinalists. The Best Soccer Podcast in the World
Speaker 1: is a production of Exiled Content Studios in partnership with
Speaker 1: I Hearts Michael podcast Network and is hosted by me
Speaker 1: Nando Villa, produced by An and Zach Lee Rigg, Written
Speaker 1: by Zach Lee Rigg. Production assistance by Stella Emmett. Our
Speaker 1: executive producers are Isaac Lee Rose Reed and myself named Avila.
Speaker 1: Our executive producers that I Heart are Gasel Bancees and
Speaker 1: ar Lean Santana. Sound designed by Uglo Mendoza Are Awesome.
Speaker 1: Theme song is by lu j Special Thanks to all
Speaker 1: of the voices that participated in this episode, Michael Yoakin,
Speaker 1: James Richardson and Alexi Lalas. For more podcasts, listen to
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Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.