Nice to see someone else who appreciates Stoichkov!

I have a friend a year and a half older than me (I am 27) who didn't have a clue who Stoichkov was when I mentioned him, shocking.

I fell in love with his ability (so to speak) mainly from the 4-0 thrashing we received at the hands of Barcelona in the Champions league and the '94 world cup. Great player who barely gets a mention and even people of my age are unaware off!

Van Basten, Gullit, Giggs, Gazza, Schillaci, Baggio.

Had a sift spot for them.

Remember him playing for barca when the drubbed united 4-0 back in the nineties, along with his mate romario, however on the night it was bakero who was the stand out player, but more often than not stoichkov and romario we're the deadly duo.

*soft

SAF, I'm 27 and Stoichkov was the guy i loved watching when i was a youngster. God knows how you're friend has never heard of him That's what i mean by under appreciated.

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Said on another thread that Van Basten was the best centre forward I've ever seen and taken from the game far too early.

Agreed on Hristo but disagree that he never got the recognition because he didn't play with an established nation, less so if he had I'd say as players off his quality shine when they are the main men, Hagi of Romania been an other EG.

Admin,

You had a love for all things Serie A in its heyday I gather?

He was a class act Don and that was a time when the Eastern bloc countries produced some special talents and teams more over. He was a bit mad but it gave him that edge that made him so good.

The football that Red Star team played in the late 80s early 90s and Steaua a little earlier although they bored everyone to tears in the European Cup final.

Prosinecki, Mihajlovic and the incomparable Savicevic accompanied by Pancev. What a team and what football Red Star played but similarly to Steaua despite being so talented they played so negatively in the final after wowing everyone throughout.

Then there was the Maradona of the Carpathians, Gheorge Hagi. One of the greatest players to never win a European Cup.

What times.

Don he doesn't love his football as much as me but has some decent level of knowledge which is why I found it so shocking...

I wouldn't even bother mentioning his name to my younger friends though one would probably know off him.

Batistuta

Igor, yeh true but i just think Stoichkov might of been recognised as a world great like Zidane if he were playing for Brazil.

comment by The Galloping Major (U7010)
Robert prosinecki...................now you're talking, what a classy footballer.

You made me think about this.
Perhaps for me Ledley King is the young player I saw grow up at Spurs, step into the first team at 18 years old, get touted as a future international, and then spend the rest of his career fighting a congenital bone condition in his knees.
He could have been even more than he was.

It's all all in the temperament though Don, and would not have had the same feistiness as a Brazilian.

Agreed Kagooney

Imagine how good Lentini was going to get!

Lentini, wow, a blast fron the past.

i remember the riots in turin when they sold him to milan.

Hristo Stoichkov was a class act, from the same period I also liked Zvonimir Boban - I hadnt thought about either of those for years until this article - takes me back to those early FIFA games

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oddiy, yeh i know I think guys in their late 20s like me probably have fond memories of these sort of players (90s world cup players) because it's part of watching football growing up as a kid.

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Koeman was another class act.
......................................

Greatteams,

He was and although he won Barca a European cup a couple of years earlier he should never have been selected over Laudrup for the 1994 final. A decision that had huge ramifications for Barca's Cruyff era.

On another note, one of the big 'what ifs' has to be what if that Yugoslav team hadn't broke up at the turn of the 90s, what could they have achieved?

They'd have certainly been good for one trophy wether that be a World Cup or a Euro. Sad really we never got to see them through a golden era.

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Anyone remember Riqelme's performance against england in 2005? as good an individual performance as you're likely to see.