Berbatov spurs Bulgaria onwards

Dimitar Berbatov returned to his majestic best for Bulgaria after scoring both goals in their 2-0 victory against Belarus in Minsk on Saturday night.

Finals dream
Having not scored for his country at all in 2006, the Tottenham Hotspur FC striker has now struck four goals since the turn of the year and his contribution at the Dinamo Stadium has kept alive Bulgaria's chances of reaching UEFA EURO 2008™. With a return fixture to come on Wednesday against Belarus in Sofia, Bulgaria will have every confidence of keeping the pressure on Group G's top two Romania and the Netherlands, who sit just two points ahead with all having played six matches.

Deserved victory
"We played very well and we deservedly won," said Berbatov, who was quick to praise the input of stand-in coach Stanimir Stoilov. "We have a new coach and higher expectations. The win is very important for us as we kept our chances of reaching EURO 2008™ alive. Now we have a job to do in our next game." He certainly did just that on Saturday, embarking on a mazy run that saw four defenders left in his wake before scoring the opener on 28 minutes. He then added the second just after the break with a clinical finish.

Shooting practice
"We played good attacking football and I think we entertained well," added the Bulgaria captain. He could have easily scored a hat-trick, but saw one notable effort crash against the bar and also missed other good chances. "I really turned the stadium into a shooting ground, but sometimes luck in not your side," joked Berbatov, who has scored 23 goals in his first season at London club Tottenham and made it into the Premier League team of the season.

Hat-trick wanted
His goals in Minsk have left him just two goals short of Stoilov's predecessor Hristo Stoichkov's tally of 37 goals for the national team, while Bulgaria's leading goalscorer is Hristo Bonev with 47 goals from 98 games. Berbatov holds Bulgaria's record for scoring twice in games, having done so eleven times, but a hat-trick at international level still eludes him. In fact, no Bulgarian has hit three goals in one match since 1982, when Georgi Slavkov did so against Malta.

'Completely focused'
Stoilov, who agreed to take temporary charge for the June qualifiers after leading PFC Levski Sofia in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League, paid tribute to his side. "The players were completely focused," he said. "They were calm and confident. I am happy for the result and for them. This is the way forward. Now we must approach the second game against Belarus in the same way with full motivation. We need that win and with a little more luck we may finish second."