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Hristo
Stoitchkov(Bulgaria)
One
of Europe’s best players over the last decade,
Hristo Stoitchkov, started his professional career in
CSKA Sofia. He soon caught the eyes of many scouts
because of his talent, but also for his temperament
which caused him some problems over the years. Hristo
was a player who was difficult to mark because of his
pace and quick movements and most defenders were left
behind when he had his sight on goal. Having scored 38
goals in his last season with CSKA, a total which won
him the Golden Boot as topscorer in Europe, Stoitchkov
then left Bulgaria for bigger challenges in Barcelona
in the summer of 1990.
He lived up to his
reputation both as a lethal striker and trouble-maker
in his first season at the Nou Camp. He was suspended
for weeks having stamped on a referee’s foot on
purpose, but he delivered the goods when he was on the
field. He had many successful seasons in Barcelona
which saw him win four straight league championships
and a European Cup.
He took part in his
first big tournament for Bulgaria in the 1994 World
Cup in USA. Bulgaria reached the semifinals against
all odds and Stoitchkov was the key to their success.
He proved on soccer’s biggest scene that he was one
of the world’s best players scoring 6 goals and
shared the topscorer title with Russian Salenko. He
scored a great goal against Mexico in the second round
and a well executed free-kick against Germany in the
quarterfinal when Bulgaria came from behind to
knock-out the defending champions. Stoitchkov won at
the end of the year the European Player of the Year
award with a record winning margin.
He later had a short
spell with Parma before returning to Barcelona for
another couple of years although not with as much
success as in his first period. At the age of 32, he
was included in the Bulgarian squad for the World Cup
in France, but neither he or the team could produce
the form of four years earlier. Stoitchkov retired in
1999.
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