Bulgaria U21 goalkeeper Plamen Andreev parted ways with the youth national team with a sense of pride, but also with regret for the missed opportunity to finish the European qualifiers with a victory. The guard of the Hungarian Debrecen played his last match for the “lions“ in the 0:2 defeat by Scotland in Pazardzhik. In front of the BFC channels, he took stock of the journey, revealed what is behind the strong team in the locker room and admitted that after a difficult period he has rediscovered the joy of football.
“I definitely leave with very good feelings. My only disappointment is this match with Scotland, because so far we have left a very good impression on the pitch and have given some hope to the Bulgarian fans that a good generation is coming. On the other hand, this is only one match out of ten in these qualifiers. We wanted to win the most because of coach Todor Yanchev and his staff. They have been incredible with us this year – a year and a half. Everything has been at a very good level since we have been with them.“
Andreev singled out the atmosphere in the dressing room as one of the main reasons for the team's good performance. According to him, it was putting the national interest above personal ambitions that helped build a cohesive team.
„In the national team, you have to put your ego aside. You have to be here for the good of Bulgaria. You are one of twenty players chosen to represent your homeland, you have to be proud and happy. That is also the key to this team – everyone had put their ego aside and had no bad thoughts.“
Although he is ending his participation in the youth formation, the goalkeeper is optimistic about the future of Bulgaria in this position. He pointed out several of the young talents who, in his opinion, possess the necessary qualities to continue their development with the national jersey.
„I am very calm about the future under the framework of the national team. Great goalkeepers are coming from below - Alex (Bozhev), Andrey (Krustev), Stefan Smrkalev... I won't list them all because I will offend someone. Great goalkeepers are coming who are ready to come in here, eat the grass and give their best for Bulgaria.“
Andreev also commented on the new beginning in his club career. After moving to „Debrecen“ the former goalkeeper of „Levski“ feels happy on the pitch again. He admitted that at a certain point he lost his spark due to the lack of minutes, but his stay in Hungary brought back his motivation.
„I definitely feel very good, I feel happy because I'm playing football again. I had lost a little bit of the thrill, and I missed that a lot. I've found myself in a very good place – at a club that gives young players a chance.“
For the final, the national team returned to one of the most emotional moments in the qualifying cycle – the victory over Portugal with 2:1. After the success, Andreev sent a message to the Bulgarian fans, which reached 600,000 people on Instagram. The memory of the reaction of the supporters and the meetings with the team's youngest fans continues to excite him.
„I get goosebumps when I think about it. I felt this emotion, I felt how sad the Bulgarian fan was. Such matches turn on the little kids. Then we saw the kids at the Boyana base. They were very happy to see us because they looked at us as heroes.“