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One of the popular names in the Bulgarian championship in the 90s Todor Kiselichkov gave an interview to BLITS SPORT, in which he commented on the difficult situation with the coronavirus pandemic, the lack of matches and the problems in Burgas football. Their great pain is that there is a division of fans in the coastal city, and that the two teams do not have their own home.
The legendary Neftekhimik midfielder, 44, is currently Ether’s assistant coach.
Most of his career, Kiselichkov spent with the sheiks, and in the end led the teams of Nessebar and Chernomorets (Burgas). After that, he entered the coaching trade and worked at Chernomorets, Petrochemical, Master (Burgas), Pirin (Gotse Delchev), Hurricane (Boyadzhik), Botev (Plovdiv) and Lokomotiv (Gorna Oryahovitsa). The interview with one of the most technical players in the Bulgarian Championship of the late 20th century was conducted with the help of popular soccer fan Kiril Evtimov.
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– Toshko, hello! Is it normal enough for me to ask you in this strange situation in which I find it and if it complies with the measures and recommendations of the National Headquarters of Operations in relation to this coronavirus?
Hello I fully comply with the requirements of the crisis staff. My family and I strive to be disciplined. We are trying in some way to contribute to full compliance with the rules and help overcome this situation faster. It is really strange and unpleasant, but unfortunately it is part of life.
– I guess in Burgas. Can you tell us a little more about how your day is going?
– Yes, I am in Burgas. You know we can’t play soccer right now, so my day is entirely up to my family. The children learn electronically and in the morning we try to help them. My wife and I go to the store to buy what we need and we go home. We wear masks. I go everywhere with a disinfectant in my pocket. There is not much diversity, but the situation is unfortunate. It is very difficult for me as I am an athlete who has been on the field and on the court all the time. However, it is possible that it is not in the field at the moment, but somehow we need to overcome this coronavirus.
– We have been in this situation for more than a month. Did you miss soccer or did you need to rest a little more?
– In truth, the time you spend with the family is very valuable. Everyone needs to be with their loved ones, but I miss soccer. I miss training, games and soccer with friends. I see that children also suffer this isolation. They are used to being outside, to training. At the moment they are boiling with energy, but cannot consume it. The situation is unpleasant for everyone. As much as it is said that at home you can train, but another very different one is the real football we need.
– You are currently connected to Ether (Veliko Turnovo). There are ongoing discussions about how to end a championship, whether it should be completed or have a playoff. What is your opinion on this?
– There are people who will determine how the championship will end. I want to have soccer and sports. I want this situation to end as soon as possible, but there are people who decide when it will be possible to play sports. However, it all depends on when the pandemic will end. The BFS will make a decision. Also, it takes time for teams to prepare because they are athletes, not robots. After such a long break, we cannot immediately return to the matches. I believe that the people involved in managing our football will make the right decision.
– Let’s go back to the years when I was a soccer player. Basically he played in the Petrochemical, and in his strongest period. Now, from the distance of time, how do you evaluate your career and regret not having traveled abroad or in one of the capital cities?
– From the distance of time, I think it should have been better to have a professional development outside Burgas, but it happened that during my stay I stayed in Petrochemicals for almost my entire career. In recent years, as a player, I have undergone three surgeries that have prevented me from having some kind of football longevity. I gave up before, but on the other hand, it was a real pleasure to play in Burgas. The experience with my teammates would not replace it with anything else. Perhaps each of us has secretly dreamed of trying on the Grands or abroad. Realistically speaking, I don’t regret it, since I’m from Burgas and the achievement brought me great pleasure.
– Did you know of any foreign club offer for you?
– I don’t know how real it was, but there was interest in the field of soil probing. I have not received specific offers from abroad. It was then that things got that way, we had a president who took care of everything around the team. If they wanted a soccer player, they had to negotiate with him. From my conversations with Hristo Portochanov I don’t know if there was any suggestion for me. The offers went to Sakaliev, Chilikov, Kishishev. These are great soccer players who have been sold.
– How close was Petrochemical in the second half of the 1990s to becoming champion?
– We were closer in 1997. This was our strongest year. We have recorded incredible matches in which we have won 5-6 goals several times as a guest. We had a team to which each rival felt exceptional respect. We stayed at the foot of the summit. CSKA became a champion under the leadership of Georgi Vassilev. We haven’t gotten a bit. This is the closest we get to the title. In other years we also played very good, beautiful and interesting football, with many goals, but even so it happened that in certain games we lost points.
– The 1999/2000 season was also very successful. It was then that you played one of your best games in a 4-1 victory over CSKA Sofia. You scored two goals. This match was in late February 2000. Twenty years have passed. What are your memories since then?
– Despite the many years that have passed, the memory of this fight is very clear to me. This is one of my best games. In the second half I scored two goals in 3-4 minutes, but after another 5-6 minutes I was injured. It was an extremely good game for me and it remains in history forever. I also remember what came before him. It was the first spring round and we were preparing a lot for CSKA. The week before, we camped on the basis of the Council of Ministers in Sunny Beach. This helped us to present ourselves very strongly to the Army. Also, we had very strong players and if the game started, as it happened that day, all the teams could be fine. We scored four goals, but we also had more situations that we lost. This is a memorable match for the Petrochemical, which certainly remains in history. Personally for me this season has been very good since I became the team’s top scorer. After recovering from the injury I received, I had almost no game without a goal. During this season we had a stronger performance in the Championship and the Bulgarian Cup. We made it to the Cup final, but Levski lost a lot in the closing minutes. In the championship I think we finished fourth.
“Are you mad at this lost ending?” Many of his teammates at the time claim that Stanimir Dimitrov’s net goal was canceled. The ball was half a meter behind the line.
– I’m angry! It was a great moment that we had with my colleagues. The Hristo Botev stadium in Plovdiv was crowded. Botev fans supported Neftekhimik. This is unforgettable. The quality match was nothing special. There was a situation where, after a corner kick, the ball seemed to go behind the line. We are sure he entered the door. Perhaps Levski is convinced that the line has not passed. So the judge decided not to count such a blow. In my opinion, the ball was really in. In the final minutes, a glamorous performance by Gonzo uncovered the result, and then, in the extra time, Biser Ivanov finished us off. The party was very intense. Unfortunately we did not manage to win the Cup, but the memory is pleasant.
– We remember the good times of Petrochemical, but in recent years Burgas football has stagnated. What happened to get to this situation? He has been a coach for many years at Petrochemical and Chernomorets. Then you must have your own point of view.
– Burgas football is really in a position where it doesn’t fit. The situation is difficult for both teams. I can’t say what led to this. Some of them are to blame for management, in part for spending money. I am not the type of person who can judge. I can tell what I see now and what I think should happen. I don’t like to see the fan divided. I was a kid when Neftekhimik and Chernomorets fans watched games together. I remember the great Chernomorets teams with Pritargov, Madjarov, Deliminkov … At the same time, I remember Petrochemical with Stoyanov, Gosho Damyanov, Bozhidar Todorov, Panayot Gorov, Alexi Zhelyazkov. I remember the passing of Diane Petkov, Simeon Chilibonov and Zlatko Yankov. So I know Vlado Stoyanov, Nikolay Rusev, the Chernomorets people. There was an understanding and there was no animosity between these people. At the moment, this animosity that we see between fans and executives is something that I personally don’t like. The worst part is that both teams do not have their own home. This is the most pernicious thing in Burgas soccer. Once a team is homeless, nothing will happen. First, these teams have to acquire some kind of foundation, somehow to think about building it. It is good for Mr. Boshnakov in recent years that he has been helping Petrochemist. Chernomorets also has sponsors, but it is also very difficult for them. This is not the way. Only the holes are fixed in this way. Children’s and youth soccer also suffers from this. We cannot retain any children. Which shows a little more than others and immediately goes somewhere else. Then slowly, drop by drop, we come to what the Burgas teams are at the moment. There are personnel specialists. Burgas has always had strong players. There are good children right now, but we don’t know how things will happen. We need to be able to support these children to raise the bar for soccer in the city.
– You are one of the last important players to leave the Yuri Gagarin Sports School. Before you Kishishev, before him Ilian Ilchev, Ilian Banev, Misho Ganev, Chilibonov … This is a picture of people who suddenly stopped. Why it happened? Currently only 4-5 school children are involved in soccer. You used to be a lot of people, and it was always one or two graduates who started playing on one of the two teams.
– That’s right, I’m an employee of a sports school. At the moment I can list many of the most famous Burgas soccer players who left this school. Among them are Rossen Petrov, Petar Zhabov … I will not list them because I will forget someone and it will not be correct. Times were different then. The state paid a lot of attention to sports. I was the first graduate in Sports, who was in Petrochemical, but I know how many men trained at Chernomorets. There were terribly good conditions: nutrition, recovery, camps, equipment, medications, order, and discipline. There was also a barracks. These are the things that have contributed to the strong development of soccer. There were no foreigners. Most of the teams were made up of local boys and there were always strong teams that fed the men’s teams. Sports school gave me a lot and it was a very good business for me. I don’t know what it is right now, I don’t know what the school’s resources, budget and grade are. There may be other priorities for children. Now they are more interested in computers, language learning, and parents themselves clearly don’t want to send their children to a sports school. There is no real idea of what the situation is and it may not be objective. However, I can say that the sports school in Veliko Tarnovo is doing extremely well. All the kids on the teams are in sports class and everything is at a very good level.
– During your career, you played with very good players. Can you identify someone who has always enjoyed your time on the field and inspired you with your skills?
– There is no way to name a single person, given that in my early years I respected older players. I am talking about experienced players like Tsonko Simeonov, Stancho Tzonev, Rosen Kavrakov, Hristo Gotkov, Dimitar Stoychev, Plamen Mihov, Stefan Mindov … I will miss someone. We remain teammates with some of them. I can’t stress any of the following as it was a great pleasure playing with them. They were people who knew and could play soccer, from the first person to the last.
– Did the full positions you played in also likely influence good results?
That’s right. Back then, there were no games on television every day. At that time, the Burgas fan was very polite, correct and yearned for quality football. Lazur was full in almost every game. There were always 18-19,000 spectators. Then we camped at a hotel and when we went to the stadium an hour and a half before the game, the stadium was almost full. Currently, this cannot happen anywhere in Bulgaria. So people wanted to see good and interesting football and we offered it to them. In those years we met the true love of fans. There was no lubrication or envy. On the contrary, people loved us very much, respected us and made us happy. I recently saw a record of the game with Levski, in which we won by 4: 1. Whoever has seen it knows how the report begins with a detour around the stands, with no empty space. This was the case in 90% of the parties.
– You are currently developing yourself in the coaching profession. What are your ambitions in the future? Would you return to lead a team in Burgas? And which coach has impressed you the most during your career?
“Now I’m an assistant coach at Ether. I was invited by Rosen Kirilov, an extremely polite and good boy. Also a very good coach. Now I work with another excellent specialist, Petko Petkov. A man who understands soccer very well. My plans are to develop myself in this profession. I want to get a PRO license and upload. Of course I would go back to Burgas. Everyone wants to work in his hometown, where his family, relatives and friends are. Hopefully one day this will happen. I have learned from absolutely all the coaches I have worked with. I will not forget Hero, who was the first specialist to align the game in Bulgaria in defense. I respect him very much. I keep in very good contact with absolutely everyone in the city that I have worked with. And Diane Petkov, Alexi Zhelyazkov and Dimcho Nenov, Stanimir Dimitrov, Nikolay Krastev, Georgi Chilikov, Ivan Tsvetanov. Many of the guys I played with became good coaches. It is good to talk to them about soccer.
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