Bulgaria has made a coaching change following the 6-0 loss to England in Euro 2020 qualifying that was overshadowed by rampant racist chanting throughout the match, specifically across the first half.
Krasimir Balakov resigned two days ago after the heavy defeat, following the resignation of federation president Borislav Mihaylov. Balakov did not cover himself in glory amid the racist chanting, claiming before the match that “I don’t think that we have this big problem like, for example, England do” when it comes to racism. During the match, he was caught by cameras looking visibly upset that the match was stopped to address the chanting and after the game claimed he did not hear any abuse.
On the field, the team was struggling mightily as well. After being soundly beaten by an England side motivated by the abuse, Bulgaria sits bottom of Euro 2020 qualification Group A with just three draws and no wins through seven matches, although they still have a chance to qualify for the tournament via the playoff. Balakov had only been in charge since May.
A report claims that Balakov has been replaced by Georgi Dermendzhiev who has formerly taken charge of Bulgarian clubs Ludogorets Razgrad and Levski Sofia. The 64-year-old has been without a job since parting ways with Sofia in April.
“Georgy Dermendzhiev is the new Bulgarian national team coach. All has been agreed, he’s the new manager. We’ll finalize the documents tomorrow,” Bulgarian federation vice president Yordan Lechkov said, according to quotes posted on Bulgarian publication sportal.bg on Monday. He will be on track to take charge of the mid-November qualifier against the Czech Republic.
