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May 3, 1990 was one of the largest transfers in the history of Bulgarian football. Hristo Stoichkov moved from CSKA to Barcelona, where he became one of the club’s greatest legends. 30 years later, he told Kama in detail about this transfer to the official site of the Catalans.
Hristo Stoichkov: Guardiola’s work was easy
“He knew the players well in youth training”
“Exactly 30 years ago, on May 3, 1990, I signed the contract that made me a Barcelona soccer player and the happiest person on the planet. Let’s start from the beginning …
My move to Barcelona actually started a little over a year earlier. In April 1989, with my then club CSKA we played against Barça in the CNC semifinals. I was lucky to score three goals in these games: two at Camp Nou and one in Bulgaria, although the opponent qualified for the final in Bern. Certainly, however, these successes were of great importance to my later career as a footballer.
One of the smartest people in the situation was Josep Maria Mingeya, the Barcelona agent and mediator, who transferred my transfer to Barca with the late Paco Ventura, who was the club’s vice president. After the CSKA matches with Barcelona and after my development, they recommended me to Johan Cruyff, who gave the green light to my transfer.
There have been months of uncertainty. At the end of 1989 I signed a preliminary contract with Barça … but I didn’t tell anyone, not even my wife and parents! I didn’t want to be wrong and I kept it a secret until it was officially initialed in May 1990. Can you imagine?
Were there others willing to take me? I will not lie: there were some. During the 1989/90 season, I won “The Golden Shoe” with Hugo Sánchez, and there were already teams knocking on my door. Others loved me before. Who I was I will mention only one: Panathinaikos, who was one of the largest teams in Europe in the late 1980s. They offered me a lot of money, but I was very young, I was 20 years old and few, and I thought that if I stayed in Bulgaria for another season would help me improve. You should know that CSKA was a military team and that discipline was very important. Furthermore, there were many strong players on the team: Trifon Ivanov, Lyuboslav Penev, Emil Kostadinov …
When I finally got to Barcelona, I quickly got used to the club. I received a lot of advice from Mingay and his people. Almost every day he was with them at the Pompeii tennis club, near the Montjuic hill. In addition to playing tennis, playing other sports, swimming. I had the opportunity to meet many people there.
What about the food? Beans, beets (sausages), cake, rice, bread and tomato dishes … All these local dishes that I love are very close to Bulgarian cuisine.
On my first stay in Barcelona, when I had a day off, I went to explore Catalonia. I used to visit many country towns by car. I remember that one of my first trips was to Kalongee and Gimera, a small town in Leida. All the people were very nice to me, it was incredible. From the beginning, I felt part of them. People still stop me on the streets and thank me for not fooling me. This happens not only in Catalonia, but also in Malaga, Salamanca, Mallorca and León. People stop me to thank me.
So whenever I get the chance, I always try to pay attention to it. When we won the Copa del Rey in 1997, we celebrated in the Sant Joume square. Then I hugged the President of Catalonia, Jordi Puyol, and the President of Barça, Josep Luis Nunes, and the three of us jumped for joy. This is an iconic moment that people still remember today. There were happy times when I tried to get the attention I had received over the years.
For the same reason, when my teammates helped me win the Ballon d’Or in 1994, I wanted to give them a replica of the award as a reward for what they did for me. I asked for four copies of the Ballon d’Or. One is at the Barcelona Museum, the other is at CSKA, one is with President Puyol and another I gave to Bulgarian President Zhelyo Zhelev. It may seem exaggerated, but these heads of state were representatives of the Catalan and Bulgarian people, and that was my thanks to them.
Another person to whom I owe a lot or even everything is Johan Cruyff. The first thing I want to thank you for is the trust you had in me and you supported me constantly. I remember when I got to Barcelona, he said, “Listen, I will work with you until you win the Ballon d’Or.” At the time, I was a little-known child, and hearing those words from Cruyff made me extremely motivating. Then, in many other cases, he had a fight with me, but in the end I discovered that only more energy poured into me in the desire to win. Johan was a great motivator. He has done so much for me and my family that I will always be grateful to him.
Initially, it wasn’t easy for me on the field, as I had to get used to owning the ball and learning that I shouldn’t be running after it. When I learned this and understood the concept of soccer as a team player, everything fell into place. The extremely positive team environment was key.
I remember the day when Cruyff was unable to be with us for a match in Bilbao, as he underwent cardiac surgery. With the team we wanted to dedicate a victory to him and we won 6-0 at San Mamés. That day I scored one of my best goals for Barça.
As I said, there were great people on the team, good teammates. That explains why we get along so well in the field. Now, three decades later, we continue to congratulate ourselves on birthdays and maintain our friendship.
Who was the leader in the team? Obviously, Johan Cruyff was the leader of the whole project, but when I arrived in Barcelona, the locker room manager was José Ramón Alesanco, a great captain. Then there were Bakkero, Subisareta, Kuman … They had a lot of experience and everyone listened to them. Eusebio was No. 1 behind, Julio Salinas was the lost bass champion, Laudrup was the best to taste the wine … I remember after drinking, he said to the waiter: “That’s not good, bring me something else” .
There were others: Goyokoyeya was the man who brought the best lettuce, asparagus, and peppers, Nadal delivered sausages and pasta, and the young players brought bread and tomatoes. We never missed anything.
Each of them helped me a lot during my stay in Barcelona, and it wasn’t just them. For example, when I was the referee during a derby with Real Madrid, the whole team tried to reassure me. I was very young and Cruyff and Rexach tried to tame me. I have always had a strong character and this is something difficult to change.
Since this incident, I learned to play a little more relaxed. Cruyff kept telling me, “Don’t do this, don’t do this.” I have to admit that after all these years, I have an incredible connection to that judge Urisar Uspitarte. I want to visit him in Bilbao and he was presenting my biography in Bulgaria. However, this is part of my soccer career.
Many people have helped me in my successes in Barcelona. In addition to Cruyff and assistant coaches Rexach and Bruins Slot, these are beloved Carles Naval and Rodolfo Paris, fitness trainers Angel Vida and Joan Malgosa, massage therapists Angel Moore and Jaume Lang, doctors Carles Bestit, Josep Borel and Fernando Bano Arnedo and Salva Hellin.
Also Josep Luis Nunes and his wife, who played a key role in my return to Barcelona after moving to Parma. Without a doubt, leaving the club in 1996 was the worst decision of my career. If I had a magic wand and could only change one thing, I would change that moment. Fortunately, I returned only a year later. I don’t want to miss Joan Gaspar, Anton Parrera, Nicolau Cassus, Amador Bernabeu or the aforementioned José María Mingea and Paco Ventura. They are all very important to me and my family.
I am very grateful to all of them and the fans. There were moments when I missed incredible situations, and seconds later, the Camp Nou was on its feet, cheering me on. Not just me, but the whole team. Without them, those years would not have been so memorable.
From Miami, I send you my best wishes in these difficult times of all time.
Long live Barça! 100%! “
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