Interview

Hristo Stoichkov:
"If you play football, you get injured. If you don't play, you'll hit your head or bruise yourself at some other spot"

21.8.2003
The most successful Bulgarian footballer, Hristo Stoichkov, had his routine surgery. In the orthopedic clinic at Fairfax, Virginia, doctor Chris Anunciata removed the injured portion of Stoichkov's inner left meniscus. Hristo got hurt in the last match of D.C. United against his former club Chicago Fire. In the 65-th minute, his ex-teammate C.J. Brown took him down with a dangerous blow to his knee. Stoichkov had to be replaced by the youngster Alecko Eskandarian. D.C. United reacted immediately, purchasing a 28-year old Salvadorian national player Roland Ceritos currently playing for the Dallas Burn.
The operation on Stoichkov's knee was successful and he is expected to recover in less than 3 weeks.

Itso, are you OK?
Fine, everything's normal.

How are you, you disappeared?
When people, who don't know on what type of pitch to play, are involved in football many injuries result. I've always said that football must be played on grass, not on an artificial turf. Most persons, who govern the game, do not know what I'm talking about. One of the reasons why I got hurt is because I wasn't able to turn quickly enough and my cleats got caught on the artificial surface thus injuring my knee. But this doesn't affect me. Everything went smooth. I'm expecting to return in 3-4 weeks, exactly for the play-offs.

You are already thinking of the play-offs?
I've always been an optimist and have often said that if you play football, you get injured. If you don't play, you'll hit your head or bruise yourself at some other spot. Our job is completely different.

Apart from this, how do you feel?
Frankly, after the news I've been getting recently from Bulgaria, a friend of mine named Fatik has passed away. It is time for everyone to understand that the current leadership in Bulgaria is useless. They have no regard for their own people and we can all see that everything is worsening. They are simply trying to cover up. With the way things are going right now, Bulgaria will have a hard time integrating in the European Union.

I assume you are aware that there are shootouts in Bulgaria, every other day. Is there a chance for the country to improve and move forward with the current leadership?
Well, I can see where everything is headed... One guy promises to fix the coutnry in 800 days, another promises financial trusts, third resigns, fourth is asking for taxes... But all this is for their sake. I feel sorry about the Bulgarian nation, because they have been deceived once more, regardless of voting. Elections must be done fairly and the people should know what the situation is. Anyway, that is what the reality is and we must accept it.

What is your take on it?
The top few are stuffing their pockets, while the majority are starving. It's the truth. They're going on vacations wherever they please and the country pays them. After that, they're looking for more by ficticious privatization and unclean deals. Do you know how many are unemployed in Bulgaria? No one cares about them. To cover their tracks, the government has just lowered the price of bread with 3 stotinki (1.2 Cents). But this means nothing, they're trying to get by. Still, they can see that their turn is coming.

Itso, you're well informed about the affairs in Bulgaria regardless that you just underwent surgery. What would you like to say to the average Bulgarians?
In the last few years, the person who has contributed the most to Bulgaria's reputation is Nadejda Mihailova. She opened the door of international travel to many Bulgarians. This is how things stand for now. Ivan Kostov has left, Peter Stoianov left, Zhelio Zhelev left. You cannot rely on people who have lived outside of Bulgaria to fix the situation. It can't be done. It would be as if I went back to Bulgaria to fix the football issues, considering that Ivan Vutzov has been there for 30 years.

Is that why you're not coming back to Bulgaria? There are rumors that you have unpaid taxes or that you are mad at everything here.
This subject is very deep and I can talk about it for hours. Unpaid taxes?! The taxes are not a problem for me, but I won't pay them. I've said it a thousand times. They should stop bringing up this issue because I will come back unexpectedly and we can discuss it in person.

Do you feel an urge to come back to Bulgaria?
No. My kids are here in America, my family is here in America. Apart from this, I would definitely come back to visit my friends and relatives.

That is what i meant. There are probably many people who miss you here.
I have no plans for visiting, since my children started school. There are about ten more matches that I have with D.C. and I'll be busy until December (2003).

How would you comment CSKA's defeat in the Champions League?
It's normal. Galtasaray are a good team. Let's not forget that they beat Liverpool just a few days ago. Regardless of what happens and all the talk, Bulgarian teams are not good enough for the Champions League. They just won't allow us to enter. The same thing happened to Levski (Sofia) in the past few years. We must not fool ourselves.

Do you think that CSKA lost because of poor coaching?
Naturally, it is common to blame the coach in these types of cases. Still, we must look at the players first. Stoicho Mladenov does not play, nor does his assistants, nor does Vasil Bojkov. Is it their fault that CSKA allowed two goals in the first 5 minutes? The mentality of the footballers has to change. We're talking about the European Championship. In this type of tournament, the matches are not set up, so it's hard to win.

Zidane and Beckham have complained about the tournaments in Asia. Is Real a big publicity scheme for you?
I'm sure that with the new board at Barcelona, thing will change. Barca will achieve what they weren't capable of for the passed 5-6 years.

Itso, I'm not sure if you've heard of the statement which Stoicho Mladenov made about Levski. He called their stadium a "boor's pit." Do you think this would have been accepted in Spain or the US?
I fully justify Stoicho's reaction. In fact, we should call him Dvoicho (Double-er). Years ago, he scored two goals against Liverpool. Nobody noticed it back then. 15 years later, we remembered that he scored those two goals. Well, everyone knows him as Stoicho, but we might as well call him Dvoicho. Just because his team received three goals we shouldn't get carried away. Levksi got beaten 5-0 by Milan. Are we supposed to call them Petkovtsi (Five-rs). The journalists are causing conflicts before the start of the championship. These are desperate measures in our football... A club president accuses his players of accepting bribes, another accuses the referees. It's time to leave them alone. Our footballers know how to work, they know how to kick the ball in the goal. Obviously, I'm not wanted in Bulgaria.

Do you think many Bulgarians adore you?
Yes, I saw how they adored me just a few months ago. So let's call him Dvoico from now on and not Troicho (Three).

We started by talking about politics. A friends of yours has been killed. What message would you like to give to Bulgaria's leader (Simeon)?
He should be wherever he's needed. Our paths are completely opposite, I went from Bulgaria to Spain, he came to Bulgaria from Spain.

Where do you think is his place?
His place? The are politicians around him, who constantly tell him what to do. Look, you cannot put an end to the national Bulgarian television and replace it with a foreign programme. It's absurd!

I cannot follow?
You cannot overlook the national television programme and broadcast a foreign channel. It's true, in the West there are different channels in Spanish, French, German, Greek... But they are separate. You cannot use the national programme to show foreign broadcasts. It's the same thing with the Bulgarian national squad. They are inviting people who were not born in Bulgaria. What is the deal?! They're only here to get as much as they can and then... That is why Simeon came back. He wants to regain his former estates and investments... Whatever he has, I have. Bulgaria is not his property.

Do you think this is the reason why he came back?
Well, I watch the news. He came back to get his money an then he'll leave. What's the problem? Bulgaria managed without him for 1300 years. They can get rid of him again.

Tomislav Rusev, Darik Radio / 24 Chasa