Bulgarians bid last farewell to legendary football coach Dimitar Penev

Hundreds of citizens are paying tribute to legendary Bulgarian football coach Dimitar Penev, who passed away on January 3 at the age of 80. A memorial area was set up in front of the central entrance of the “Bulgarian Army” Stadium in Sofia, where admirers of Penev - known affectionately as Penata - lit candles and laid flowers and mementos.

Dimitar Penev led Bulgaria's national football team to the bronze medals at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. He was also in charge of the national side during its first-ever participation in the European Championship in 1996 in England. He was named Bulgaria’s Coach No. 1 of the 20th century and was awarded the state order “Stara Planina.”

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“He had an incredible instinct for dealing with players; the way he communicated with us was very easy and gave room - especially to the more experienced players - to express themselves. He knew how to put us at ease so that we could give our best. He is a great figure in the history of Bulgarian football not only as a coach, but also as a footballer,” said one of the heroes of USA ’94, Nasko Sirakov, speaking to Nova TV.

The public farewell with Dimitar Penev will take place today at 10:00 a.m. at the National Stadium “Vasil Levski.”

CSKA football club announced that the club’s future youth academy will bear the name of the great coach.

Edited by Diana Tsankova
English version: R. Petkova