Balgarianovinite.com Former football player and coach Dimitar Penev passed away at 80, the Bulgarian Football Union reported on Saturday. Legendary player and coach of both CSKA and the national team, he led Bulgaria to its greatest football success – the fourth place in the 1994 World Cup.
Born in 1945 in the village of Mirovyane, he started his playing career in Lokomotiv Sofia but quickly moved to CSKA Sofia where he spent 13 years and recorded 329 games, scoring 24 goals for the team. Regarded as one of the country’s best centre backs, he also participated in three world cups in 1966, 1970 and 1974, accumulating 90 matches for the national team. He was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year twice in his career.
His managerial career is even more illustrious. He was Bulgaria’s head coach when the country reached its greatest footballing moment – the fourth place at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He took over the so-called “Golden Generation” of Bulgarian football in 1991. The squad was filled with players playing at high level in some of the best leagues in the world – the biggest star, Hristo Stoichkov, finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 1992 before becoming the only Bulgarian ever to win the award in 1994. However, up until 1994, the national team had never won a single World Cup match. The Bulgarians almost did not make it to the biggest competiton – a 90th minute winner was needed in the qualifying match against France in 1993 to their tickets to the US.
The 1994 World Cup kicked off with another disappointment for Bulgaria after a 0-3 defeat to Nigeria, but under Penev’s management the squad managed to turn things around and scored not one but two long-awaited victories in the group stage – 4-0 against Greece and 2-0 against star-studded Argentina. The tournament saw the end of Diego Maradona’s World Cup career, as he failed a drug test just before the match against Bulgaria. In the round of 16, Bulgaria sealed a dramatic penalties win over Mexico before handing one more big surprise: a 2-1 win over one of the favourites Germany – a team featuring players like Jurgen Klinsman, Lothar Matthaus and Oliver Kahn. Two goals by Roberto Baggio crushed Bulgaria’s dreams in a 2-1 loss to Italy in the semi-finals, followed by a 0-4 loss to Sweden in the match for the third place, but nation-wide celebrations filled the streets in the country for days.
Penev’s coaching career continued until 2012, leaving 3 Bulgarian championship titles, 4 Bulgarian Cup wins and one Bulgarian Super Cup triumph under his resume. He returned to CSKA Sofia as a consultant for the 2019 season and was named as the club’s honorary president in 2016. Legendary Bulgarian Football Player and Coach Dimitar Penev Dies at 80 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-03 12:53:15 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law