Dimitar Iliev believes that fans are already used to the Bulgarian national football team losing to teams from Luxembourg, as happened at the start of the Nations League. One of the most iconic figures in the history of Lokomotiv Plovdiv described the situation for the “lions“ as sad.
In the “Arena Sport“ show on BNT, Iliev did not miss talking about the situation related to the “Smurfs“.
“It is difficult to talk after this match. I was at the stadium, I had completely different expectations and the saddest thing is that people are used to thinking that it is normal for us to lose to teams like Luxembourg. Before the match, I said that I expected difficulties, considering the absence of one of the classiest players in the person of Kiril Despodov, Filip Krastev and Ivaylo Chochev. These are people with experience in the national team and are useful in offensive terms, so perhaps this contributes to the poor performance, especially in attack. Apart from the goal that the team scored, I don't think we created any problems for Luxembourg. The other thing is that in the Luxembourg squad I saw players who can make the difference when the two teams are on the same level. There is a lack of a leader, there are people who can take responsibility when it is difficult. I hope that the next matches will correct this mistake, because this may be one of the teams with which we will argue for the first place. Losing at the start in front of your own audience makes what you have achieved extremely difficult, and the goal is first place," he began.
The former football player also commented on the words of Alexander Dimitrov, who said that there are psychological problems in the ranks of the "Lions".
“When the results have been poor in recent years, the players cannot be in a good mood, but ultimately this is the job of the staff - to predispose them, to prepare them for the upcoming cycle of matches. It is clear that the expectations are high, although in recent years they have not been so high. Most of them are young guys, perhaps they do not have enough experience to bear the burden of expectations. We need to talk to psychologists, because I am convinced that the qualities they show have potential, but in every cycle they say that we should come out unburdened. Perhaps this goal, which was set for the first time to chase the first place, made it difficult.“
The former striker, who left a huge mark on the history of Lokomotiv, also commented on the recent events related to the withdrawal of Hristo Krusharski as the owner of the club.
„I am a bit of a bystander, because I do not know what happened in detail. In recent years, I have become accustomed to this uncertainty. This is not new, but has been for quite a long time. The team and the boys are suffering extremely much, they need support, especially when the season started so difficult. It is very difficult to work in such an environment, my wish is for there to be concrete development as soon as possible and for someone to come who has a vision to change things for the better and even use the momentum of this new stadium. It is a shame that in a team like Lokomotiv, such things happen every year in the upper echelons of management. As a fan, I wish things would have a very quick and positive outcome“, Iliev concluded.