Peter Hubchev outlined the main problems facing Bulgarian football and said that the country needs its own approach, more training and greater patience with young players. The former international and national team manager spoke to the BNT programme “Arena Sport” at the unveiling of a memorial bas-relief dedicated to Ferario Spasov in Lovech.
The bas-relief was initiated and created by the “Lovech Football Veterans” Foundation. Hubchev recalled Ferario Spasov as a coach who was able to watch matches calmly, without insulting colleagues and without compromising his objectivity.
“At the moment, football in Lovech is at zero. We have the facilities in Lovech, but we do not have a team. I have no idea how things came to this. All kinds of sport are facing problems in Lovech,” Hubchev said.
According to the former national team manager, Bulgaria cannot mechanically copy the models of the leading football nations. He cited France and Germany as examples with which the country cannot be compared given the current volume of training.
“We look at the world powers in football and want to transfer things exactly as they are. We have to take our mentality into account. We train far too little to measure ourselves against the major powers,” Hubchev said.
He added that there are too many presidents in Bulgarian football who have nothing to do with the sport. Although he is no longer directly involved in football, Hubchev said that he constantly thinks about it.
“I often stay at home alone and constantly think about football. I am not involved in football and I do not want to impose my opinion on anyone,” he said.
Hubchev also linked the national team’s performances to the limited involvement of Bulgarian footballers at the country’s two most popular clubs. He recalled the traditional view that strong CSKA and Levski are a prerequisite for a strong national team, but questioned how this could happen given the small number of Bulgarians in their squads.
“How many Bulgarians played in the last derby? CSKA started with one. Levski with two or three. What does this have to do with the national team?” the former national team manager asked.
According to Hubchev, young talents are often given excessively high ratings after just two or three good matches. He warned that early discussions about transfers can create false expectations among footballers.
Hubchev cited a conversation with Felix Magath as an example, saying that, according to him, a 19-year-old player must maintain a high level for three years. “We turn them into great talents after three matches. We need more training and more patience,” he said.
Hubchev, who won a bronze medal at the 1994 World Cup, said that he preferred to stay away from the media noise and live with his family. He described the comments surrounding football as harsh and expressed his gratitude to the professionals he had worked with.
Source: bntnews.bg