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After the home match against Albania in the European Championship qualifiers ended in a draw on Wednesday, the Bulgarian national team coach Hristo Stoichkov faced harsh criticism. Fans started demanding the coach's resignation.
However, standing by the side of the legendary former footballer in the past was his former teammate in the national team, current president of the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) Jordan Lechkov.
"Fans started demanding Hristo's head. However, changing the coach is not a one-day job, there is no need to rush," said Lechkov.
Famous for his impressive play, Hristo Stoichkov took over as the coach of the Bulgarian national team in the autumn of 2004, replacing Plamen Markov. However, he failed to lead his country to the 2006 World Cup. In the qualification round for the 2008 European Championship, Bulgaria has 9 points after 5 matches in Group G, trailing the Romanians in second place by two points. The closest two matches are in June against the semifinalists of the 1994 World Cup, Belarus.
Stoichkov himself is not panicking at the moment and is calming the critics: "I don't think we have lost our chances to successfully overcome the qualifying barrier. There are still many matches left, and we will show our best game and qualify for the final tournament."
