Stoichkov To Be Named as Litex Coach in Days - Report

So far Stoichkov's coaching career hasn't come close to emulating his glory days on the pitch. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Hristo Stoichkov will be officially presented as coach of Bulgarian champions Litex Lovech within a week, the state news agency reported.

Stoichkov, one of Bulgaria's most prominent football players in history, will replace Atanas Dzhambazki, BTA said.

He is reportedly expected to arrive in Lovech, where the club is based, on January 6, bringing at least two new football players and part of the team that helped him in his work at South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns.

The club management in Lovech has declined comment.

If the appointment is confirmed, Stoichkov will become the second former player from the most successful Bulgarian football generation of the 90s, who is taking over Litex. Lyuboslav Penev, who was recently appointed coach of the national team, also was at one point at the helm of the champions.

Earlier in December, rumors emerged that Stoichkov may engage in promoting the products of Chinese car company Great Wall Motor Co.

Bulgaria's Litex Motors and China's Great Wall Motors recently unveiled their first vehicle assembled in the plant near the northern Bulgarian city of Lovech,where the team of Litex is based.

Hristo Stoichkov is the most internationally renowned Bulgarian footballer, a winner of the World Cup Golden Boot and the Golden Ball, both in 1994.

He played for Barcelona FC in 1990-1995 as part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team".

Stoichkov, who managed rather unsuccessfully Bulgaria between 2004 and 2007, last worked as a coach at the South African team Mamelodi Sundowns.

He has never coached a club in his native country.

Called 'Kamata' (the Dagger) in his homeland, Stoichkov's fiery reputation is well known both at home and abroad. His aggression has not been limited to the pitch alone, and his outbursts, particularly aimed against referees and journalists, are in a league of their own, the stuff of folklore.

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