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In Bulgaria, a new Stoichkov has emerged. Many Bulgarian football specialists and fans are convinced of this. The striker, who will soon move to , will strive to prove it to the whole world. He has a great opportunity to repeat Christo Stoichkov's feats in Catalonia.
plays in the Bundesliga for Leverkusen. The Bulgarian, who has scored 11 goals, is the club's top scorer. In the national team, Berbatov plays the role of the "magic wand," having scored 15 goals in 27 matches. His contribution to Bulgaria's qualification for the European Championship without major problems is huge. Probably only the team captain Stilian Petrov can match the influence of the promising striker.
In a friendly match against the Russian national team, Berbatov confirmed his status as the main striking force of the Bulgarians by punishing the Russian defense twice for its mistakes. Particularly noteworthy is Berbatov's second goal, when he cleverly protected the ball in a duel with Ignashevich, one of Russia's most experienced defenders, and neatly placed it in the far corner.
Immediately after these matches, during which it was known in advance that representatives of Barcelona and Christo Stoichkov himself would be watching, information appeared in the Bulgarian media that the Catalan club had made a concrete offer to Bayer for the purchase of the Bulgarian.
Barcelona, long planning to strengthen its attack with a promising and at the same time prolific striker, is willing to pay 10 million euros for Dimitar Berbatov. If this transfer happens, it will be the most expensive in Bulgarian history. After all, the club paid 8 million dollars for Stoichkov. However, today the sum of 10 million euros may surprise, probably only the countries of Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria.
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard will likely part ways with his compatriot Patrick Kluivert, who has long been the main striker for the Blaugrana. For this reason, the purchase of Berbatov is just right for the young Barcelona coach. It is difficult to say whether Berbatov will have a leading role in Rijkaard's tactics. It is even harder to predict whether he will conquer Catalonia as Stoichkov did. But already, with 70 days left until Euro-2004, all of Bulgaria is praying for this talented youngster.
