Bulgarian coach Stoilov resigns
Bulgaria's national team coach, Stanimir Stoilov, has resigned, claiming that captain Stiliyan Petrov is also considering quitting the national team.
Stoilov chose to abandon ship after Bulgaria suffered a 1–0 defeat to Montenegro on Tuesday evening.
"This was my last game as coach of Bulgaria," said Stoilov, who had been in charge of the national team since May 2009. "We lost and our chances of progressing are disappearing. Losing to Montenegro was too much."
Weak record for Bulgaria
Stoilov's exit comes on the back of a disappointing run with the Bulgarian team. After failing to reach this year's World Cup, Bulgaria suffered friendly defeats to Poland, Belgium and Russia this year. In May, the team played 1–1 against South Africa in Johannesburg.
Bulgaria participated in its last international tournament in 2004, at the European Championships in Portugal. The team's greatest achievement to date came in the 1994 World Cup, when star midfielder Hristo Stoichkov led the team to the semi-finals.
Bulgarian FA president, Borislav Mihaylov, confirmed Stoilov's resignation after the game, adding that it was too early to speculate as to who would succeed the 43-year-old coach.
Mihaylov also said that the FA could not afford to appoint a foreign manager, as many other national teams have in recent years.
Petrov may also quit
Stoilov added insult to injury by saying that Stiliyan Petrov, the national team captain, may also quit after only two qualifying games for the next European championships. "But I hope he will [Petrov] change his mind and I also want [Dimitar] Berbatov to change his mind. Bulgaria need them."
Berbatov, who plays his club football at Manchester United, quit the national team in May this year, citing a lack of motivation, criticism of his performances and personal matters as reasons.
Bulgaria travel to Wales on October 8 for their next qualifying game.
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