Bulgaria buoyed by Bozhinov effort

A 3-0 win against Slovenia has given Bulgaria reason for hope, with young Juventus striker Valeri Bozhinov's stamina deserving special mention.

On track
After a 2-2 draw in Romania in their UEFA EURO 2008™ opener on Saturday, Hristo Stoichkov's men hit form for Slovenia's visit to the Vassil Levski stadium to leave them well placed for their next qualifier, against Group G leaders the Netherlands on 7 October. "I am satisfied with our display over the 90 minutes," said the coach. "The boys overcame their exhaustion and played really well. When you have confidence in your players, they bounce back. A player grows on the pitch in front of a full stadium and our fantastic fans helped us a lot."

Endurance test
Bozhinov, 20, came in for particular praise for a personal feat of endurance whereby he played against both Romania and Slovenia as well as in Sunday's 2-1 UEFA European Under-21 Championship victory against Croatia. Having scored in the latter match, he broke the deadlock against Slovenia after 58 minutes before being replaced by Hristo Yovov. "I promised Valeri that I would substitute him if he scored," said Stoichkov. "He needs a rest, but we know his qualities and he proved once again that we can always rely on him."

U21 conflict
Bozhinov added: "Every point is vital for us. We have achieved nothing yet - the win against Slovenia is just the next step. Of course, I am a little tired, that's normal." The question now is whether Bozhinov will represent the seniors against the Netherlands next month or take part in the play-off that could send Bulgaria to the 2007 U21 finals in the Netherlands. "That depends on the decision of the Bulgarian Football Union," said the Juve forward.

Captain marvels
Meanwhile, captain Stilian Petrov was thrilled with the progress of Stoichkov and company. "We played much better than against Romania and we got a good result," said the Aston Villa FC new boy. "But we will take it game by game. Our group is very strong. I am happy with the newly called-up players Hristo Yovov and Dimitar Telkiyski, who are very skilful and are capable of changing the game. It is too early to talk about the Netherlands, but whatever the outcome of that match in Sofia, nothing will be decided in the group."