Bulgarian football

I read a little snippet on the state of Bulgarian football atm. So far this season, 13 coaches/managers have been sacked or resigned, 12 players from 2 teams banned for joining in with a riot in the crowd, corruption galore etc, etc. Sounds a bit mental over there. Maybe BarryX can shed some light on this?

Barry - What the £#%&! is going on?

it's berbatovs fault

sell him

Originally Posted by Jack's Smirking Revenge

it's berbatovs fault

sell him

Originally Posted by Jack's Smirking Revenge

it's berbatovs fault

sell him

Like he could be bothered joining in a riot the lazy @#%&!

Originally Posted by wiganste

I read a little snippet on the state of Bulgarian football atm. So far this season, 13 coaches/managers have been sacked or resigned, 12 players from 2 teams banned for joining in with a riot in the crowd, corruption galore etc, etc. Sounds a bit mental over there. Maybe BarryX can shed some light on this?

Barry - What the £#%&! is going on?

Well Ste, I am not really an expert, but have watched a few games over here. My favourite, and local team, is Loko Plovdiv (refered to by other clubs as the gypsy's club). They have got a very lively set of fans and were the local underdogs when I first came over in 94...

In summary a lot of people over here claim the sport is corrupted and often Mafia related. Look at the following from wiki's Other Bulgarian mafia-related assassinations:

* Georgi Kalapatirov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1995.
* Georgi Prodanov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1995.
* Petar Petrov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1998.
* Georgi Iliev - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in August 2005.
* Nikolai Popov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 2005.[10]
* Alexander Tasev - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in May 2007.

Now imagine that happening back in blighty

Matches themselves are highly indisciplined - You often see players getting stuck into referees, with boots or fists, or jumping into the crowd to slap a fan. The fans are also still quite racist and it can get pretty rough on derby days...

One of the problem is that there's not much of a grass roots game over here. They take the talented (and connected) kids from a very young age and embed them in the local clubs youth system. There are no real Sunday leagues, interschool games, etc that I know of for the kids, which is quite sad really. However it does mean that talented youngsters get alot of training, and attention, and the results have been quite good (Stoichkov is a local lad as I think I've mentioned, and has a very typical temperament for Bulgarian players). Berbatov, on the otherhand, is certainly the most laid back and seeming intelligent Bulgarian player I have ever seen.....

But as I said, the general opinion seems to be a feeling that there is widespread corruption, coupled with a general lack of discipline and respect on the pitch for anything. The corruption bit I can understand, BUT considering how discplined and respectful the folk are over here in everyday life I don't quite understand their manners on a football pitch.

Dimitar probably had a head start in all respects as his dad was a pro as well.

Originally Posted by BarryX

Well Ste, I am not really an expert, but have watched a few games over here. My favourite, and local team, is Loko Plovdiv (refered to by other clubs as the gypsy's club). They have got a very lively set of fans and were the local underdogs when I first came over in 94...

In summary a lot of people over here claim the sport is corrupted and often Mafia related. Look at the following from wiki's Other Bulgarian mafia-related assassinations:

* Georgi Kalapatirov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1995.
* Georgi Prodanov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1995.
* Petar Petrov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1998.
* Georgi Iliev - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in August 2005.
* Nikolai Popov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 2005.[10]
* Alexander Tasev - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in May 2007.

Now imagine that happening back in blighty

Matches themselves are highly indisciplined - You often see players getting stuck into referees, with boots or fists, or jumping into the crowd to slap a fan. The fans are also still quite racist and it can get pretty rough on derby days...

One of the problem is that there's not much of a grass roots game over here. They take the talented (and connected) kids from a very young age and embed them in the local clubs youth system. There are no real Sunday leagues, interschool games, etc that I know of for the kids, which is quite sad really. However it does mean that talented youngsters get alot of training, and attention, and the results have been quite good (Stoichkov is a local lad as I think I've mentioned, and has a very typical temperament for Bulgarian players). Berbatov, on the otherhand, is certainly the most laid back and seeming intelligent Bulgarian player I have ever seen.....

But as I said, the general opinion seems to be a feeling that there is widespread corruption, coupled with a general lack of discipline and respect on the pitch for anything. The corruption bit I can understand, BUT considering how discplined and respectful the folk are over here in everyday life I don't quite understand their manners on a football pitch.

They were one of the clubs mentioned in the article. Them and their main rivals (whose name escapes me)

It just sounds crazy that a league can be run in those circumstances and you have to wonder what the point is really. It's almost uncivallised which is £#%&!ing mental in this day & age and particularly as Bulgaria is a decent country with booming tourism etc.

Head scratching stuff really.

sounds better than the SPL

Originally Posted by wiganste

They were one of the clubs mentioned in the article. Them and their main rivals (whose name escapes me)

It just sounds crazy that a league can be run in those circumstances and you have to wonder what the point is really. It's almost uncivallised which is £#%&!ing mental in this day & age and particularly as Bulgaria is a decent country with booming tourism etc.

Head scratching stuff really.

the country was like the wild west in the early - mid nineties when I first came here. total madness, with the fall of the soviet union, and no higher authority for it to fall into line with. corruption was rife, mafia wars prevailed, and local football was at its all time high (thanks to USA 1994). courts would just get bombed if a major player* looked like he was going down. but none of it really effected the average local, who is as nicer person as you could ever meet. street crime then, as is now, virtually non existent.

coincidentally after joining the EU a couple of years ago the first real objective was to stamp out corruption entirely. This guy, an ex National karate team instructor, and body guard to the King has just become the new PM:



He really is £#%&!ing nails.

One of the first things he has done is to announce that 8 of the teams from the first division are under investigation for major tax fraud. He wants all the Chairman arrested (maybe some players too). Therefore expect a change






* in the Marlo gangster sense/not in the football sense.

wait wait, hold up. Your local club had had its last six chairmen assassinated?

Originally Posted by Johnaldo

wait wait, hold up. Your local club had had its last six chairmen assassinated?

yup, the local team I support

actually I only knew about 3 of them before I read that article in Wiki. the last guy was the well known head of one of the two biggest 'firms' over here, and was surrounded by security guys when he got whacked by a sniper at a restaurant down at the coast. a few years after they got his brother in the same way....fortunately for me I got paid by them to make a party at one of their clubs in the mid 90's

really don't think the deaths were football related

Originally Posted by BarryX

Well Ste, I am not really an expert, but have watched a few games over here. My favourite, and local team, is Loko Plovdiv (refered to by other clubs as the gypsy's club). They have got a very lively set of fans and were the local underdogs when I first came over in 94...

In summary a lot of people over here claim the sport is corrupted and often Mafia related. Look at the following from wiki's Other Bulgarian mafia-related assassinations:

* Georgi Kalapatirov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1995.
* Georgi Prodanov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1995.
* Petar Petrov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 1998.
* Georgi Iliev - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in August 2005.
* Nikolai Popov - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in 2005.[10]
* Alexander Tasev - Chairman of Bulgaria's football team Lokomotiv Plovdiv, shot dead in May 2007.

Now imagine that happening back in blighty

Matches themselves are highly indisciplined - You often see players getting stuck into referees, with boots or fists, or jumping into the crowd to slap a fan. The fans are also still quite racist and it can get pretty rough on derby days...

One of the problem is that there's not much of a grass roots game over here. They take the talented (and connected) kids from a very young age and embed them in the local clubs youth system. There are no real Sunday leagues, interschool games, etc that I know of for the kids, which is quite sad really. However it does mean that talented youngsters get alot of training, and attention, and the results have been quite good (Stoichkov is a local lad as I think I've mentioned, and has a very typical temperament for Bulgarian players). Berbatov, on the otherhand, is certainly the most laid back and seeming intelligent Bulgarian player I have ever seen.....

But as I said, the general opinion seems to be a feeling that there is widespread corruption, coupled with a general lack of discipline and respect on the pitch for anything. The corruption bit I can understand, BUT considering how discplined and respectful the folk are over here in everyday life I don't quite understand their manners on a football pitch.

Why would anyone take the job at Lokomotiv Plovdiv?

Originally Posted by koppas

Why would anyone take the job at Lokomotiv Plovdiv?

I was actually think of applying

Originally Posted by BarryX

I was actually think of applying

Could u give Koppas the job of Chairman ?

Originally Posted by BarryX

I was actually think of applying

Originally Posted by sudored

Could u give Koppas the job of Chairman ?

Oi!

Originally Posted by koppas

Oi!

£#%&!ing hell that was fast.

Barry, not a football question (though I'd love to hear more, sounds more unbelievable than most films!) but how much has Bulgaria changed since you arrived there in terms of living standards, public opinion etc?

Did a lot of swotting up on East European countries that went through their transitions (political, economic and otherwise) in the early 90s. Interesting that you say the average bloke on the street is as nice as pie then a total psycho in a football stadium

Croatia was much the same when I was over a couple of months back. Locals were sound but once you got to the ground

Originally Posted by Shegger

Barry, not a football question (though I'd love to hear more, sounds more unbelievable than most films!) but how much has Bulgaria changed since you arrived there in terms of living standards, public opinion etc?

Did a lot of swotting up on East European countries that went through their transitions (political, economic and otherwise) in the early 90s. Interesting that you say the average bloke on the street is as nice as pie then a total psycho in a football stadium

Croatia was much the same when I was over a couple of months back. Locals were sound but once you got to the ground

Shegs - I've had two major spells over here 95 - 02 (on and off most the time - first came over during Perestroika though and had several holidays) then 2006 - present. The first spell was certainly 'madder' than the current one. as it seems things have progressed alot and settled down into more a Western thinking society.

Living standards of the average family are pretty basic, as much now as they were then, although people (as always) easily adapt. I'd say they are much more contented than your average British family. They can get buy on pickled veg, homemade booze and make the meat last for example. Whilst wages have gone up 'a bit', they are nowhere near on a par with the rest of the EU, whilst living costs are very high indeed, (Electricity and supermarket shopping is probably more expensive than back home). People moan about it, but they get by as it is not something new to them.

The middle class is certainly growing, but the divide between the very rich and the poor is much wider than anywhere else I have ever been. The amount of top end cars, you see everywhere, is staggering. Nearly everyone I know who visits me comments on this.

Public opinion I can't really comment on. As I said above your average Joe does like a moan, and rightly so. Especially the OAP's whose pensions are a joke. However the fact that nearly every family are home owners (most multiple) and live life without mortgages, means that every step forward in the economy is beneficial to them. Wages will rise when the Euro takes over the local currency. People will have more free cash to spend then their Western Neighbours (As they are don't need to pay any mortgages of course). And credit will be easily attainable (again). When I point this out to people, and tell them that good times are coming, they tend to get optimistic again and agree.

It is a beautiful country. The nature here is stunning. Mountains, lakes, long hot coast line in the summer, mineral water everywhere. The chances of getting involved in a violent crime are about 25 times less than in England (statistically, although I'd say even less chance here than that). Sure the economy is shite, but when life is as easy going as this, money becomes secondary. Me and the boys love it.

Originally Posted by wiganste

I read a little snippet on the state of Bulgarian football atm.

Worth buying any property over there?