Zhelyu STANKOV, "Topic sport":
Apparently, the tourists on the beaches of Marbella will wait a little or will accept someone else, not Julio Velasquez, to hand out sun loungers to them this summer. It wasn't just Emil Velev, many of us were the ones who doubted the capacity and abilities of Levski's Spanish coach and, more precisely, whether he was the right person for the blues at this moment.
Well, he is! The man, typically European and with the breadth inherent to broad-minded individuals, passed all criticism and even ordinary remarks and followed his path, which coincided with that of Levski. And this summer, as we predicted, was colored in blue, at first pale, and now it is already saturated.
Eight matches with a European stamp at least, three times full stadium “Georgi Asparuhov“ and now once again a full “Vasil Levski”, cheerful and radiant people, many of them children, discussions about tickets, arrangements for trips abroad – all this already looks like a new fairy tale. Comparisons with past editions are not very relevant, times are different, money is different, but we have news and it is the way the blues play.
It is not easy to define in one word or phrase what exactly Levski's style is under this coach. But there is no doubt that the team demonstrated how to approach a foreign field, regardless of the location and level of the opponent. Velasquez's bold choice to go with Rupanov, and not with Everton Bala, meant an attempt to break with the recent and distant past.
Julio is certainly aware of European history and what breakthroughs his predecessors have made over the years and what geographical discoveries they have in their large collection.
There are probably quite a few of these fans who, in those 10-15 minutes in the second half in Baku, when the Blues were defeated, painted their predictions in black - with an equalizer there was time for another one in Vutsov's goal and then the horse could have gone into the river and everything would be as before. But this time Levski was truly European, fully aware of Sabah's low level. The Bulgarian team was very strong in behavior, quite mature in the implementation of the coaching plan and, most importantly, demonstrating the self-confidence of a team that is capable and believes in its strengths. There is no delay in time, no pushing towards the end of the match, no throwing the ball in the river, no typical panic, seen more than once. Even from Sofia, Levski started with the clear idea of how to surround this opponent, chew them up and at the end of the 90th minute in Baku spit them out. Without ever instilling a drop of doubt and uncertainty in the final success in the general public. This is what Levski wanted to see in the blue part of Bulgaria and he waited for it.
This team does not have an abundance of class, but there is a sufficient presence of players who know where they are and what is expected of them. Assen Mitkov and Gasper Turdin - this is not the dream pair of inner midfielders, but the transformation of the two, carried out by Velasquez, has a dream effect. And not only that. The leader and captain Tsunami is a reserve! The coach always, under all circumstances, has several collaborations of probabilities.
In Baku, the coach could make internal shifts and external interventions that would not put the organization of the game in doubt, this one replaces that one, the second one goes to the position of the third one, who becomes so-so. Julio Velasquez produced all this himself, and what it cost him to get out of the speculations about a separation and reach the status of an unshakable one, we will find out in time. But it is clear that whenever that moment comes, the Spaniard's departure will take place through the grand entrance of “Guerena“.
From here on, the blue icing on the cake is coming. AZ Alkmaar is on a different level, but what does it matter now who the next opponent is and what the real class of Levski is. Now there is talk of cramped stadiums, tickets will be sought, a party to be held and so on until next time.