Hristo Stoichkov: The Bulgarian Messiah

"There are only two Christ’s; one plays for Barcelona, the other is in heaven," so said Hristo Stoichkov before collecting his award for European Footballer of the Year in 1994.

With Hristo directly translating as Christ, you could be forgiven for thinking he was joking and that it was a play on words...but you'd be wrong. Stoichkov had three massive elements to his person, a God-given skill, a God-sized ego, and a Devil of a temperament.

Dimitar Berbatov Out For Bulgaria, On Current Form It's a Bad Move For Ireland

With Giovanni Trappatoni worrying over the fitness of Shay Given and Aiden McGeady ahead of Ireland's crucial World Cup Qualifiers against Bulgaria and Italy he was hit with the hammer blow news that Dimitar Berbatov has pulled out of the Bulgaria squad.

The Manchester United striker has failed to deliver on his £30m stg price tag this season and his last few performances in the famous red shirt of United have been abject at best...