One of the greatest goalkeepers of the 20th century, Northern Irishman Pat Jennings, does not remember his matches against Bulgaria. He admitted this himself in a conversation with financier Kiril Evtimov.
Jennings and Evtimov were caught in the box of the "Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium" in London, where they watched the 1:1 Premier League draw between "Spurs" and Leeds.
„I don't remember anything from the matches against Bulgaria, but to be honest, I also miss many other matches, after all, I have over 800 matches in his career. I know nothing about Bulgarian football. However, I remember your strong performance at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. Now I'm only interested in Tottenham saving themselves from relegation“, Pat Jennings told our countryman.
With the Northern Ireland team, the goalkeeper played three times against Bulgaria in the period 1972-1979, recording 1 loss and 2 wins. The victory on October 18, 1972, when we beat the guests 3:0 in Sofia, remains memorable for the home national team. Hristo Bonev scored two goals from penalties, and Bozhil Kolev added one. For the “green-white army“ then played the iconic George Best.
At club level, 80-year-old Jennings played for arch-rivals Tottenham and Arsenal, remaining in the hearts of fans of both teams. In June 1986, he became the world record holder for the most caps for the national team, 119. His achievement came exactly four years before another British goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, surpassed him during the World Cup in Italy.
After the match between Tottenham and Leeds, Evtimov met with Yorkshire captain Ethan Empadu, who wished a speedy recovery to his injured teammate and our national team player Iliya Gruev.