November 11, 1987- Bulgaria 0-Scotland 1

November 11, 1987

Bulgaria 0-Scotland 1

European Championship Qualifying-Group 7

Venue: Sofia- Vassil Levski Stadion (Vassil Levski Stadium)

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Helmut Kohl (Austria)

Goalscorers: (Bulgaria): None

 (Scotland): Gary Mackay 87

Lineups:

Bulgaria:

1-Borislav Mikhailov (Fudbalski Klub Vitosha –Sofia) [38 caps / 0 goals]    

2-Plamen Nikolov (Idrottsklubben Brage-Borlange / Sweden) [48 caps / 1 goals]    

3-Krasimir Bezinski (CFKA (Centralnij Fudbalski Klub Armija) Sredets-Sofia)   [12 caps / 0 goals]    

4-Petar Petrov (Fudbalski Klub Vitosha –Sofia) [47 caps / 0 goals]    

5-Nikolay Iliev (Fudbalski Klub Vitosha –Sofia) [20 caps / 1 goals]    

6-Plamen Simeonov (Fudbalski Klub Slavia-Sofia) [8 caps / 0 goals]      (14-Ljuboslav Penev (CFKA (Centralnij Fudbalski Klub Armija) Sredets-Sofia) [2 caps / 0 goals]      88)

7-Hristo Stoichkov (CFKA (Centralnij Fudbalski Klub Armija) Sredets-Sofia)   [3 caps / 0 goals]    

8-Anyo Sadkov (Druzestvo za Fizkultura i Sport Lokomotiv-Plovdiv) [60 caps / 6 goals]    

9-Petar Aleksandrov (Fudbalski Klub Slavia-Sofia)  [8 caps / 1 goals]  (15-Ilia Voinov (Fudbalski Klub Vratsa) [8 caps / 0 goals]      42)

10-Nasko Sirakov (Fudbalski Klub Vitosha –Sofia) [31 caps / 10 goals]    

11-Bojidar Iskrenov (Fudbalski Klub Vitosha –Sofia) [43 caps / 4 goals]    

Coach: Hristo Mladenov

Booked: Plamen Nikolov

Team Captain: Nasko Sirakov

Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Adidas

Uniform Colors: White Shirts, Green Shorts, White Socks

Scotland:

1-James Leighton (Aberdeen Football Club Limited) [38 caps / 0 goals]    

2- Stephen Clarke (Chelsea Football Club-London / England) [3 caps / 0 goals]    

3- Maurice Daniel Robert Malpas (Dundee United Football Club) [17 caps / 0 goals]    

4- Robert Sime ‘Roy’ Aitken  (The Celtic Football Club-Glasgow) [33 caps / 1 goals]    

5-Alexander McLeish (Aberdeen Football Club Limited) [49 caps / 0 goals]    

6- Gary Thompson Gillespie (Liverpool Football Club / England) [2 caps / 0 goals]    

7-Stephen Nicol (Liverpool Football Club / England) [13 caps / 0 goals]    

8- Paul Michael Lyons McStay (The Celtic Football Club-Glasgow) [25 caps / 5 goals]     (15-Gary Mackay (Heart of Midlothian Football Club-Edinburgh) [1 caps / 1 goals]     57)

9- Graeme Marshall Sharp (Everton Football Club-Liverpool / England) [10 caps / 0 goals]    (16-Gordon Scott Durie (Chelsea Football Club-London / England) [1 caps / 0 goals] 71)    

10-Brian McClair (Manchester United Football Club / England) [5 caps / 0 goals]    

11- Ian William Wilson (Everton Football Club-Liverpool / England) [4 caps / 0 goals]    

Coach: Andrew Roxburgh

Booked: Clarke

Team Captain: Robert Sime ‘Roy’ Aitken

Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Umbro

Uniform Colors: Navy Blue Shirts, White Shorts and Navy Blue Socks

Notes:

-Match number 399 for Bulgaria and number 497 for Scotland.

-This was only the third meeting between the nations.

-Bulgaria has not defeated Scotland to date.

- The previous match between the nations was the first leg of this European Championship qualifier on September 10, 1986 in Glasgow that ended in a scoreless tie.

Scottish players: Leighton, Malpas, McStay and Aitken and Bulgaria players: Mikhailov, Nikolov, Petrov, Iliev, Simeonov, Sadkov, Aleksandrov, Sirakov and Voinov were the players still remaining from that match.

This was Scottish manager Andy Roxburgh’s first match as Scotland manager.

- Scotland’s previous win over Bulgaria had been a 2-1 win in a friendly in Glasgow on February 22, 1978.

This was also the first ever match between the nations.

Bulgaria’s Plamen Nikolov was the only player still remaining from that match.

In fact he earned his first national team appearance for Bulgaria in that match.

- This was the first ever match between the nations on Bulgarian soil.

- The next match between the nations, as well as the next in Sofia, would be a 1-1 tie in a UEFA European Championship Qualifier Friendly on November 14, 1990.

Bulgaria players: Mikhailov, Stoichkov, Penev and Sirakov and Scotland players: Malpas, Gillespie, Durie and McClair were the players still remaining from that match.

-Scotland’s next win over Bulgaria would be on Japanese soil (Kobe) for the 2006 Kirin Cup on May 11, 2006 and a 5-1 win.

Borislav Mikhailov’s son Nikolay also played as a goalkeeper in that match.

Hristo Stoichkov managed Bulgaria for that match.

-Bulgaria only needed to hold onto a tie to advance to the Euros in West Germany. Scotland’s win eliminated them and enabled Republic of Ireland to qualify.

-Republic of Ireland qualified from this UEFA European Championship qualifying group. Besides Scotland and Bulgaria, the rest of the group consisted of Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

-This was Scotland’s first away win since defeating Israel 1-0 in Tel Aviv on January 28, 1986. And it was their first away win in an official match since defeating Iceland in Reykjavik for a World Cup Qualifier on May 28, 1985.

-This was Bulgaria’s first home loss since losing to West Germany in a Friendly in Varna on February 15, 1984. This was also their first home loss in an official match since losing to Yugoslavia (0-1) in the same stadium for a European Champiosnhip Qualifier on November 17, 1982.

-Scotland players Maurice Johnston, Ally McCoist, Richard Gough, Murdo McLeod, Jim Bett and Gordon Strachan were unavailable for this match.

-Bulgaria captian Georgi Dimitrov was injured and unavailable for this match. Sirakov skippered in his place. Krasimir Bezinski took his place in the squad.

- Stephen Clarke is the current assistant manager of Liverpool FC.

-This was Scottish Gillespie’s only second cap. Both Scottish substitutes Mackay and Durie earned their first caps for Scotland. In Mackay’s case also his first goal.

-Plamen Nikolov was the only foreign based player on the Bulgarian team/.

-All Scotland players were British based.

-Scotland’s Gillespie/Nicol (Liverpool FC) and Sharp/Wilson (Everton FC) were Liverpool based.

-Bulgarians Petar Petrov and Ilia Voinov earned their last caps for Bulgaria.

-Both goalkeepers earned their 38^th cap.

- Ljuboslav Penev has just been appointed as the manager of Bulgaria. His uncle Dimitar Penev is also a former manager of Bulgaria.

-Hristo Stoichkov has also managed Bulgaria.

- Alexander McLeish also became manager of Scotland.

-The match referee, the Austrian, Helmut Kohl (born February 8, 1943) was a namesake of then West German Chancellor, He passed away on September 26, 1991, aged 48.

- Borislav Mikhailov is the current president of Bulgaria’s Soccer Federation and is also on UEFA’s executive committee.

He played in the United Kingdom in the 1990s for Reading FC.

-Future European player of the year, Hristo Stoichkov had returned to active duty that season after being suspended for over 2 years for his part in the 1985 Bulgarian Cup Final brawl between CSKA and Levski.

-Mikhailov, Stoichkov and Sirakov were part of the Bulgaria squad that finished fourth in the 1994 World Cup.

-Neither team had up to this point qualified for the Finals of a UEFA Euro Championships. Scotland would manage it for the first time in 1992 (also 1996) and Bulgaria would do so in 1996.

- Petar Aleksandrov had to be substituted out because of a shoulder injury in a collision with Scottish defenders.

Match Reports:

 Scotland, The Complete International Football Record, Author: Richard Keir

Match Video / Highlights:

New Addition: Soccer Memories

Another new feature that I will be doing on this blog is to take a topic and discuss and analyze it.

The first such topic that I have chosen pertains to the 1982 Italy World Cup squad about the lead up to and the aftermath of its triumph.

Photo from: Calcio2000-April 1999

(Italian squad for the 1982 World Cup Final vs. West Germany)

Back row from left: Dino Zoff, Francesco Graziani, Giuseppe Bergomi, Gaetano Scirea, Fulvio Collovati and Claudio Gentile. Front row from left: Bruno Conti, Paolo Rossi, Gabriele Oriali, Antonio Cabrini and Marco Tardelli.

www.Zani.co.uk  have been kind enough to post this article on their website.

Here’s the link
What went wrong with the Azzuri (Before, After and even during the World Cup)

What went wrong with the Azzuri (Before, After and even during the 1982 World Cup)?

The 1982 Italy squad is forever immortalized in history as World Cup Champions, Italy’s first in the post-war era.

The names of Paolo Rossi, Dino Zoff, Bruno Conti, Antonio Cabrini and manager Enzo Bearzot are forever part of Italian soccer folklore.

Their victory over the pursts’ favorite Brazil (containing Zico, Socrates, Falcao, etc.) regularly ranks as one of the greatest World Cup victories ever.

However, what is rarely mentioned is Italy’s lackluster and poor displays in the final qualifiers for the World Cup, the friendlies before the tournament and even the first round itself.

More astonishingly was their inability to win a single match for over a year after the World Cup win, which included a humiliating away tie to Cyprus months after the World Cup.
To analyze all this one must go back to the 1978 World Cup.

This Italian squad’s foundations were laid back in 1978. Enzo Bearzot was initially appointed as manager in 1975, however, he jointly managed with Fulvio Bernardini as technical director.

Starting the fall of 1977, he was appointed as sole manager.

Many of the players who took part in the 1978 tournament were also present in 1982.

These included the 40-year-old goalkeeper and captain Dino Zoff.

Many critics had considered him too old at 36 during the 1978 tournament after he conceded many long-range goals vs. Holland and Brazil, but he was always Bearzot’s first choice.

Inter’s Ivano Bordon had been elevated from third choice goalkeeper in 1978 to being Zoff’s understudy for this tournament. The third choice was now Giovanni Galli of Fiorentina.

Juventus defenders Antonio Cabrini, Claudio Gentile and as libero the late Gaetano Scirea were ever present.

The notable change from 1978 was the inclusion of AC Milan (and later Inter) defender Fulvio Collovati as central defensive partner of Scirea, at the expense of Mauro Belluggi.

Juventus midfielder Marco Tardelli and Fiorentina’s Giancarlo Antognoni were still first choices in their positions. Antognoni had missed most of the season after a collision with a goalkeepr in a league macth had left him with a double fracture of the skull.

So severe was the collision that apart from the internal bleeding, it also caused caused Antognoni’s heart to stop beating for almost half a minute.

Former Juventus star Franco Causio was now a substitute; in his position the starter was AS Roma’s Bruno Conti.

The defensive midfielder position was also up for grabs with Romeo Benetti being out of national team reckoning. His position was disputed between Inter pair of Gabriele Oriali and Francesco Marini, with Oriali being the eventual starter.

Had Juventus’ Roberto Bettega not been injured in the fall of 1981, he would most certainly have been a starter in the team.

Bearzot could count on Francesco Graziani, the former Torino striker and now a Fiorentina player as cover.

Bearzot’s most surprising selection was the inclusion of striker Paolo Rossi, the revelation of the 1978 tournament.

He had been suspended in 1980 as part of a match fixing scandal. He had just returned to action only weeks prior to the World Cup. He had in fact only played three league matches with Juventus.

However, Bearzot knew that he could be counted upon.

Added to this mix were Inter striker Alessandro Altobelli, Torino midfielder Giuseppe Dossena, Fiorentina defender Pietro Vierchowod, 18-year-old Inter defender Giuseppe Bergomi , Cagliari’s Franco Selvaggi and uncapped players such as AC Milan’s Franco Baresi and Fiorentina’s young striker Daniele Massaro.

Italy began the World Cup qualifiers in impressive fashion by winning its first 4 matches (all 2-0 wins) vs. Denmark, Yugoslavia, Greece and Luxembourg.

However, starting 1981, Italy started with the poor displays. An unimpressive Mundialito tournament was followed by heavy losses to a European Selection in a charity match and to Denmark in a World Cup Qualifier.

The year was concluded with further poor displays vs. Greece (1-1 tie) and a 1-0 home win vs. Luxembourg.

Italy did not fare better in early 1982 with friendly losses vs. France and East Germany and a tie vs. Switzerland.

Italy went into the 1982 Tournament without still a win in the calendar year. 

The first round of the World Cup was just as unimpressive as Italy tied all its three Group matches. A scoreless draw vs. Poland was followed by one-one ties vs. Peru and Cameroon.

Italy was tied in points with Cameroon, but qualified at their expense due to having scored more goals.

Italy was placed in the second round with South Americans Brazil and Argentina.

It was starting this round that Italy was transformed to world-beaters.

After the first round, in protest against Media’s criticism of bonuses received for qualifying to the second phase, Italy’s squad voted 18-4 to boycott the media. The media had voiced disapproval over the bonus payments after a mediocre first round display.

Many claim this as a catalyst for their turn-around. Without the media pressure they were able to concentrate on their game.

Italy defeated defending Champion Argentina 2-1 in the first group game, a match remembered for Claudio Gentile’s violent marking of Diego Maradona.

Gentile once remarked that Soccer is “not a game for ballerinas” and his equally brutal treatment of Brazil’s Zico in the next game confirmed it (He ripped Zico’s shirt).

This next match vs. Brazil was the match that Paolo Rossi came to life in and scored a hat trick and single handedly eliminated the most impressive team of the tournament.

This win was followed by a 2-0 win in the semifinal vs. Poland (2 Rossi goals) and a victory in the Final vs. West Germany (3-1 win) with Rossi scoring his sixth goal, and even Franco Causio entering the match in the last minute.

These four wins were incredibly the only four wins of the calendar year.

Italy followed the World Cup with virtually the same players with a home loss to Switzerland and two home draws vs. Czechoslovakia and Romania in the European Championship qualifiers.

The year 1983 was simply catastrophic, a humiliating 1-1 draw with minnows Cyprus was followed by losses vs. Romania and Sweden, which virtually eliminated Italy from the European Championship finals.

Italy managed to defeat Greece in a friendly in the fall of 1983 (Their first win since the World Cup).

This was followed by its worst home defeat in 28 years vs. Sweden in Naples (0-3 loss) and another loss vs. Czechoslovakia.

A final win vs. Cyprus at the end of the year was merely a consolation.

So how can one explain an impressive run of four matches during a tournament sandwiched between two dismal calendar years?

How can a team defeat Brazil and West Germany yet struggle vs. Cyprus a few months later.

The English Football Writer, Brian Glanville, who is very knowledgeable about Italian Soccer having lived and worked there once credited the late Enzo Bearzot’s ability to “detoxify” the Italian players from the pressures of Serie A. That might explain how he was able to make the team raise its game for few weeks.

As for what happened alter, perhaps after winning a World Cup the team was simply burnt-out and not hungry anymore who knows.

Certainly Rossi never reached the same heights. Zoff, Antognoni, Causio, Oriali, Graziani and Bettega played their last matches for Italy in 1983.

Bearzot managed Italy in the 1986 World Cup and resigned after a disappointing tournament.

His successor Azeglio Vicini naturally turned to his under-21 graduates to start a new era for Italy.

Enzo Bearzot passed away on December 21^st of 2010, and will always be remembered as the World Cup winning coach, but his achievement in those short few weeks seems even more impressive given the condition of the team before and after.

Articles on Teams and Events-Part 3

An article about Paulo Futre’s transfer saga from Atletico Madrid to Benfica, when it seemed that he might join his original club Sporting Lisbon

(Magazine / Language : World Soccer, March 1993 / English)

Paulo Futre

Photo From: World Soccer, April 1991

(Paulo Futre in action for Atletico Madrid 1990/91)

An article about Maradona’s horrific injury by Athletic Bilbao’s Andoni Goikoetchea (See Trivia part 8)

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, January 1984 / French)


Maradona Injury

Photo From: Mondial, January 1984

(Andoni Goikoetchea’s foul on Maradona)

Player Profiles-Part 3

A profile on German Andy Moller during 1989/90 season, at a time when he was being groomed as Germany’s future star

(Magazine / Language : World Soccer, October 1989 / English)

Andreas Moeller

Photo From: Sport Bild, June 9, 1998, number 24

(Andreas Moller and Marco van Basten, June 18, 1992 UEFA Euro Championships, Holland 3-Germany 1)

A profile on West German captain Karl-Heinz Rummenigge during his first season at Internazionale FC Milano in Italy’s Serie A  

(Magazine / Language : Foot Magazine, March 1985 / French)

Karl-Heinz Rumenigge

Photo From: Onze, December 1984

(Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in his first season with Internazionale FC Milano, 1984/85)

Interviews-Part 7

An interview with Danish Morten Olsen

(Magazine / Language : World Soccer, December 1990 / English)

Morten Olsen Interview

Photo from: Onze, April 1988

(Morten Olsen vs. Spain’s Ramon Caldere, June 18, 1986 World Cup Spain 5-Denmark 1)

An interview with the late Belgian manager Raymond Goethals

(Magazine / Language : Foot Magazine, May 1988 / French)


Raymond Goethals Interview

Photo from: Mondial, November 1982

(Raymond Goethals as manager of Standard Liege, 1982/83 season)

Old Team and Match Photographs-Part 8

Photo from: Onze, July 1985

(Brazil squad, June 23, 1985 World Cup Qualifier, Brazil 1-Paraguay 1 at Maracana)

Photo from: Onze, September 1992

(Germany’s Andreas Brehme with Real Zaragoza)

(AS Monaco, France champions 1981/82, Back row, from left to right : Jean-Luc Ettori, Didier Christophe, manuel Amoros, Perais, Ralf Edstroem, Vitalis, Front Row, from left to right : Patrice Liegeon, Dominique Bijotat, Alain Couriol,Umberto Barberis, Valadier)

Photo : from Onze, July 1977

(Uli Stielieke vs. Franz Beckenbauer, Beckenbauer ‘s last match for Bayern Munich, May 21, 1977 Bayern Munich 2-M’Gladbach 2)

Photo from:World Soccer, June 1993

(German Rudi Voller in action for France’s Olympique de Marseille in 1992/93 season)

Photo from:World Soccer, June 1990

(England’s Paul Gascoigne, April 25, 1990 England 4-Czechoslovakia 2 at Wembley)

Photo : from Onze, August 1983

(Brazil’s Pita vs . Wales, June 12, 1983 Wales 1-Brazil 1 in Cardiff)

(Special Thanks for Vlad Zelenuk of Russia for providing this photograph)

(Argentina squad, May 18, 1974 France 0-Argentina 1)

Photo : from World Soccer, August 1965

(April 24, 1965-World Cup Qualifier Czechoslovakia 0-Portugal 1 in Bratislava)

Photo from:  Soccer International, March 1990

(England squad, June 29, 1950 World Cup England 0-USA 1 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil)



Photo From: La Seleccion , a traves de sus cronicas, Author: Bernardo de Salazar

(January 26, 1947-Portugal 4-Spain 1 in Lisbon)



Photo From: Ireland on the Ball, Author: Donal Cullen

(Republic of Ireland squad, May 17, 1937 Switzerland 0-Republic of Ireland 1 in Berne)



Photo From: Il Libro Azzuro, Author: Walter Perosino, 1998

(December 1, 1929-Italy 6-Portugal 1 in Milano)



Photo from: L'Equie de Suisse, Authors Guy Balibouse, Roger Felix, Pierre Tripod, 1993

(Switzerland’s Otto Fehlmann vs. Italy in Torino, January 31, 1915-Italy 3-Swizterland 1)



Photo From: France Football, Issue 2700, January 6,1998

(France Lineup, April 22, 1906-France 0-Belgium 5)

Photo from: Onze, June 1982

(France squad for 1982 World Cup)

(Back row from left to right: Patrick Battiston,Maxiem Bossis, Rene Girard, Jean Castaneda, Dominique Baratelli, Jean-Luc Ettori, Manuel Amoros, Gerard Janvion, Phillipe Mahut, Christian Lopez

Middle Row, from left to right: Jean-Francois Larios,Bernard Genghini, Marius Tresor, Michel Platini, Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, Michel Hidalgo (manager)

Front row, left to right: Dominique Rocheteau, Alain Couriol, Bruno Bellone, Bernard Lacombe, Didier Six, Gerard Soler)