Mihaylov minor makes major waves

Used to playing second fiddle to his father in Bulgaria, a penalty save may have helped young goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov to create a legendary reputation of his own in the Netherlands with FC Twente.

Ante up
The 21-year-old is the son of Bulgarian Football Union president Borislav Mihaylov, who became a national hero when he made two saves in a famous penalty shoot-out against Mexico in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and captained his side to the semi-finals. By that stage, Borislav Mihaylov had long since stepped out of the shadow of his own father Bisser Mihaylov, another former Bulgaria custodian, but his achievements further ratcheted up the ante for Nikolay once he embarked upon his own goalkeeping career.

Red card
Leaving PFC Levski Sofia for Liverpool FC, and then joining Twente on loan, gave the youngest Mihaylov a chance to strike out on his own, even though club legend Sander Boschker – with 510 league appearances to his name – is the undisputed No1 at the Enschede side. However, when the 38-year-old Boschker was dismissed 27 minutes into last week's 0-0 draw at Sporting Clube de Portugal, Mihaylov seized his opportunity to impress, immediately saving João Moutinho's penalty.

'Fantastic game'
"I knew where he would put it," said Mihaylov of his spot-kick save. "I was ready for it, but Sander Boschker gave me a tip too." Boschker concurred: "When I was passing him on the way off, I wished Mihaylov good luck and reminded him that Moutinho would hit it to the left. Obviously he did a tremendous job; even though Moutinho did as we expected, Mihaylov made a fantastic save – I saw it in on a screen in a small dark room somewhere in the stadium. I saw Nikolay save the penalty and after that he had a fantastic game."

Tremendous performance
Coach Steve McClaren was quick to credit goalkeeping coach Theo Snelders who had analysed the Lisbon side's penalty takers before the game, saying: "They did their homework very well before the match." However, that can take nothing away from Mihaylov's efforts, as he went on to make a string of fine saves with Twente becoming the first Dutch team in seven visits not to lose at Sporting.

Boschker suspended
Mihaylov added: "It was very hard for me as I came on without having any preparation. I just put my gloves and went in goal. Of course, the penalty save gave me some confidence. The fans were also great and helped me a lot. Now we have the second leg at home and we have the chance to decide the tie in front of our own fans." With Boschker suspended, Mihaylov is expected to start on Tuesday in a game which could further enhance his own blossoming reputation and add another chapter to his family's famous goalkeeping fable.