Matthäus backs Bulgaria to make their mark

Fourth in the five-team Group G and already seven points adrift of section leaders Montenegro, the writing might appear to be on the wall for Bulgaria but their new coach Lothar Matthäus is not about to give in.

Replacing Stanimir Stoilov after Bulgaria lost their opening two qualifiers, Germany's most capped player marshalled his new side to a 1-0 win in Wales in his first qualifier in charge. Now he is looking to get one over Ottmar Hitzfeld, his former coach at FC Bayern München, when Switzerland visit on 26 March. "We have to take it one game at a time," Matthäus told UEFA.com, "but I will say this: don't write off Bulgaria."

Given that one of his greatest career disappointments was losing to Bulgaria with Germany in the quarter-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, it is perhaps a surprise that Matthäus has found himself in Sofia. He opened the scoring in that game, but Hristo Stoichkov and Yordan Lechkov struck back in what was perhaps Bulgaria's greatest footballing moment.

"Back then Bulgaria had players like Stoichkov, [Krassimir] Balakov, Lechkov, [Borislav] Mihailov, [Emil] Kostadinov and many more," remembered Matthäus, who had captained West Germany to World Cup glory four years earlier. "We do not have players like that now, but football is always changing. We have a nice blend of experienced players and talented young ones and I think Bulgaria may spring some surprises."

The 49-year-old continued: "When I first came here, I knew Bulgaria were not the side they were 15 years ago, but while there is a lot to be done here, I have found some fantastic players in the current national team who are professional and have strong characters. I really enjoy working with them and I think they feel the same about me.

"I knew how good players like Stiliyan Petrov, Martin Petrov, Chavdar Yankov and Blagoy Georgiev were, but I was really surprised to find other great young talents like [FC Twente] goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, [Gaziantepspor] forward Ivelin Popov and [FC Alania Vladikavkaz] defender Ivan Ivanov," added Matthäus.

Matthäus won two of his seven German titles under Hitzfeld at Bayern, and is excited at testing his charges against his old master when Bulgaria meet Switzerland. He has nothing but respect for Hitzfeld, saying: "Ottmar is a fantastic coach. I played under many great coaches, but the one I learned most from is Ottmar. I know I can always rely on him for advice."

The 62-year-old's advice has also, Matthäus believes, made Switzerland into an even more impressive side. "Switzerland were solid even before Hitzfeld arrived," he said. "Under him they are even stronger. They are also more experienced, having reached the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and co-hosted UEFA EURO 2008 with Austria. They are the favourites in our game, but we will not give up without a fight."