Balakov: We Thrashed Germany a Second Time to Confirm It Wasn't a Fluke

Legendary playmaker Krasimir Balakov recently sat down for an interview with Sportal.bg, surrounded by a treasure trove of memorabilia from his illustrious career. The former Sporting Lisbon and Stuttgart star spoke at the "60 Years of Krasimir Balakov, Powered by BETANO" event in central Sofia, which showcased numerous jerseys and photographs from the football icon's journey.

"My memories from Etar are truly unique – full of interesting and wonderful moments. I had signed contracts with CSKA, Larissa, and Etar; those were different times, and I was young and inexperienced. Ultimately, I returned to Etar, from where I later moved to Sporting – it was simply meant to be. My national team debut came against Denmark in 1988. It's quite an experience; you pretend to be composed, but it's a huge moment. With Sporting, I played 168 matches and we won the Portuguese Cup. I'm the only one who never changed my 'Copa Mundial' boots; at Stuttgart, I only changed their color. I once tried playing with more modern, very light boots, but the 'Copa Mundial' is simply the best for me. In 1994, when we beat Germany, rumors spread that it was a fluke, but then we thrashed them again, just to confirm it with a definitive stamp."

"In Germany, they made a documentary about the 1990 World Champions, but the film covers the period up to 1996, when they also became European champions. For us, there was a lot of freedom, but it's interesting to see what it was like in their camp – we always thought they were disciplined, but it was a bit different for them. With Stuttgart, we reached the Cup Winners' Cup final against Chelsea, but unfortunately, we lost 1-0 in Stockholm. Zola surprised us; he was slightly injured, came on in the second half, and scored. We couldn't react. At France '98, there was already a generational shift. Bonev was there, we had a mix of young and older players, and we hadn't gelled as a team. We also lacked a bit of luck, being drawn into a tough group."

"World Cup, European Championship, World Cup – qualifying three times in a row. The more people ask me about Euro 2004, the more I think I made a mistake by retiring, but there's no way to fix it now. It's history. The medal from USA '94 cost a lot of sweat and effort. It was known beforehand that we and the Swedes would get bronze medals, and that played a very bad trick on us. The Swedes are a disciplined nation, but if you tell us we're playing for nothing, it means we play for nothing. But there's always something to play for – for prestige and morale. We took a step back; personally, I didn't like it. The Bulgarian mentality showed itself at the last moment. However, no one can take away our success and our medal," Balakov concluded.