Fulham’s Stanislav Manolev could win his 30^th cap, and team Captain Ivelin Popov – his 40^th. Surprisingly Penev didn’t find room in his squad for Alexander Tonev from Lech Poznan, who is Bulgaria’s leading goal scorer in the World Cup Qualifying campaign. His place is taken by Spas Delev from CSKA Sofia.

Bulgaria squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Nikolay Mihailov (Twente), Plamen Iliev (Levski), Mihail Ivanov (Levski), Vladislav Stoyanov (Ludogorets Razgrad)

Defenders:  Ivan Ivanov (Partizan Belgrade), Stanislav Manolev (Fulham), Petar Zanev (Volyn), Veselin Minev (Botev Plovdiv), Yordan Minev (Ludogorets Razgrad), Radoslav Dimitrov (Slavia), Georgi Terziev (Chernomorets Burgas), Alexander Alexandrov (Cherno More), Ilia Milanov (Litex)

Midfielders: Georgi Iliev (Cherno More), Georgi Milanov (Litex), Vladimir Gadjev (Levski), Hristo Zlatinski (Lokomotiv Plovdiv), Stefan Velev (Levski), Svetoslav Dyakov (Ludogorets)

Forwards: Valeri Bojinov (Vicenza), Ivelin Popov (Kuban), Emil Gargorov (Ludogorets), Spas Delev (CSKA Sofia), Ilian Mitsanski (Ingolstadt)

At “Parken”, the hosts started brightly, creating a couple of good chances in the first half. The Bulgarians seemed nervous and were lucky not to concede, after Christian Eriksen and Nicolai Stokholm both had great opportunities to score.

Bulgaria came out for the second period looking braver. Stanislav Manolev put his team ahead in the 51^st minute, after an excellent counter attack and a perfect cross by Alex Tonev from the left wing. 12 minutes later the Danes equalized though. Iliya Milanov fouled Andreas Cornelius in the box, giving Turkish referee Fırat Aydınus no choice but to award a penalty. Daniel Agger levelled from the spot, although there were suspicions that the ball hit Cornelius’ arm before the incident.

Denmark kept on attacking, but the Bulgarian defence was extremely solid, despite the first half injury of key player Nikolay Bodurov. The visitors fought bravely and deserved their point. This was their fifth draw in a row against the Danes in Copenhagen, and the fourth consecutive 1-1 result.

“We weren’t bad, but we were lacking efficiency. Some of the players didn’t play as well as they did against the Czechs. I can’t blame them, they tried hard, but we were messy. It’s going to be really difficult to qualify for the World Cup now, we must win all our remaining games”, said Morten Olsen, Denmark’s head coach.

“I had promised not to talk about the referees, but maybe next time we should come with the national handball team. A Danish player handballed twice, yet the ref was pretending there’s nothing wrong. That’s not fair play! I wouldn’t call this a game of football, but rather basketball”, said Penev.

Bulgaria’s next match is away to Italy in September, while Denmark welcome Armenia in June.

The Italians are leaders in Group B, and after their victory against Malta, they are unbeaten in 35 WC or Euro qualifiers since September 2006, winning 28 and drawing seven. Mario Balotelli scored twice for the 2-0 win, and he has now netted nine goals in nine appearances for club and country since joining AC Milan. The game in Ta’Qali will also be remembered for Gigi Buffon’s 126^th cap for Italy, who has now joined Paolo Maldini in 2nd place of all time Italy appearances.

In the other match, Armenia failed to take advantage of the crisis in the Czech Republic team and lost 0-3 at home. The first half ended 0-0, but after the break Watford starlet Matej Vydra scored twice, and Daniel Kolar added a third in injury time.

GROUP B

Standings      GP      W        D         L          GD      P

1. Italy 5          4          1          0          12-4    13

2. Bulgaria     6          2          4          0          11-4    10

3. Czech R.   5          2          2          1          6-4      8

4. Denmark   5          1          3          1          6-5      6

5. Armenia     4          1          0          3          2-7      3

6. Malta          5          0          0          5          1-14    0

Team News:

The hosts might be without midfielder Christian Eriksen and forward Michael Krohn-Dehli, as they are both injured. The Ajax starlet is expected to make it at least to the bench though. Dennis Rommedahl, who came on as a second half substitute against the Czech Republic on Friday will probably start against the Bulgarians, while Nicolai Jorgensen will be left outside the starting 11.

Bulgaria’s head coach will have to find a replacement for right back Yordan Minev, who’s suspended. Fulham’s Stanislav Manolev might take his place, having in mind that his natural position is exactly at RB, although Penev prefers playing him in midfield. Defensive midfielder Svetoslav Dyakov is also back in contention, after serving his ban against Malta last week.

Recent form:

Denmark had gone 8 games without a win before beating the Czechs 3-0 in their last match. This was only their third victory since the start of 2012, the other being against Australia (2-0) in a friendly last June, and then 1-0 against Netherlands at the European Championship.

The visitors are undefeated in an official game since Penev took charge in October 2011. Since he became manager, they’ve lost only twice – in the friendlies against Turkey (0-2) and Ukraine (0-1) last year.

Players to watch out for:

Andreas Cornelius scored his first goal for the national team against the Czech Republic. He’s definitely one of Europe’s brightest talents and could provide lots of problems for the Bulgarian defence.

Georgi Milanov is one of Bulgaria’s best young players. The midfielder has performed admirably both at national and club level recently, and it’s no surprise that some of the big European clubs are interested in him. The latest rumors have linked him with a move to Juventus.

Prediction:

Denmark and Bulgaria have played 4 times in Copenhagen, and the result has been a draw on all occasions. It will be difficult for the visitors to come out with a win, but judging by Denmark’s recent form, another draw might be on the line.

1.   Aaron Ramsey back to his best

Its difficult to comprehend that Aaron Ramsey is still only 22 years old.  Despite being in the spring of his footballing career, he has had an eventful career to date including an FA Cup Final appearance with Cardiff, a multi million pound transfer to Arsenal, been on the end of a horrific leg breaking challenge and been made captain of  Wales and had the same title taken away from him.

Over recent years, it can be argued that Ramsey has not hit the heights his talent has threatened with a series of solid rather than spectacular performances in a stuttering Arsenal midfield. But last night was arguably Ramsey’s finest game in a Welsh shirt. Although he was sent off in the final minute of stoppage time, it did not mask what for me was a man of match performance from the Arsenal man.

His deeper position in the midfield allowed him more time and space on the ball. With such ingredients at his disposal, he was able to continually offer himself as an option for both his attackers and defenders to pass him the ball. His metronomic passing and unpredictable movement caused the Scottish defence major problems throughout the contest.

His penalty was expertly dispatched, cannoning into the net from the underside of the crossbar.

The only sour note for Ramsey is that he will miss Tuesday’s match vs. Croatia thanks to a late red card after a professional foul on James McArthur.

2.    Who is the best man to partner Ashley Williams at Centre back?

This is a point  that I alluded to following Wales’ 2-0 defeat at the hands of Mexico. But since Coleman’s first game in charge, Wales have struggled to find a partner for skipper Ashley Williams in the heart of the defence. Lets take a look at the candidates:

Chris Gunter – struggled to contain a lively Mexican side and in particular  Aldo De Negris. More competent attacking full back than centre back.

James Collins – sent off in the 25^th minute vs. Belgium. Has not carried his club form onto the International stage

Darcy Blake – Has partnered Williams on three occasions since Coleman took charge including the 2-1 victory against Scotland in October. However, he was also part of the defence that shipped 6 goals against Serbia in September.

Last night, Sam Ricketts was the man called upon to partner Williams having performed well last time out against Austria. On first glance, Ricketts has the attributes to be a centre back given that he’s tall, quick and strong.

It may seem a bit unfair on Ricketts being singled out for criticism, after all he made some excellent blocks from threatening Scottish shots. But like Gunter, he is not a natural centre back and that weakness was exposed on the stroke of half time as Grant Hanley got the better of the Bolton man to head home and stun Wales after dominating the opening 45 minutes.

As a small footballing nation, there isn’t an abundance of talent to choose from. However, it is an issue that needs to be resolved quickly as Wales have failed to keep a clean sheet since a 1-0 victory away at Bulgaria in October 2011 – some 9 games ago.

3.   Assured debut from Jonathan Williams

Bringing off an injured Gareth Bale and replacing him with Jonathan Williams, a 19 year old winning his first international cap could be perceived by anyone as a risky move from Chris Coleman, particularly when it was suggested earlier this week that his job security would be called into question should Wales lose in both games of this international double header.

But the cynics did not need to worry as Williams adapted to international level with an enthusiastic and mature display that left Welsh fans around the world hungry to see more from the Crystal Palace youngster.

While Wales’ dominated the first half proceedings, they can be accused of doing very little with the ball as they created very few clear goal scoring opportunities. Williams offered a more creative spark in the midfield and was eager to get Wales moving forward at every opportunity.

He was integral in the build up to the second Welsh goal, as his run set up Andy King whose pinpoint cross was navigated into the back of the net by Hal Robson Kanu.

A bright future in the game awaits this young man should he remain injury free.

4.    Welcome to the party Hal Robson Kanu

Alongside Boaz, Hal is my favourite Welsh name. With Robson-Kanu lining up on the left side of midfield, the obvious comparisons between the Reading winger and Bale were already being prepared.

But the 23 year old looks to have developed his game during his maiden season as a Premier League player. Offering himself as a wide outlet whenever possible, he gave Alan Hutton a torrid time. His excellent performance was rounded up with a well deserved goal as he rose superbly to meet Andy King’s cross.

5.    The Team Effort – Not just a team made up of Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is a special player. There’s no point even trying to avoid that fact. His raw pace, his eye for goal and his set piece delivery is deadly but aside from this, he has that quality where by he can change a game in a single moment of brilliance. Only the richest of teams can put a price on that attribute.

Its no secret that Bale was struggling this week and given his recent dazzling form, this wasn’t a game that will go in the Career Highlight DVD when he eventually hangs his boots up. He was restricted to just one long range shot which troubled Allan Mcgregor in the Scottish goal and was withdrawn at half time after aggravating an injury.

But what would have pleased Coleman and the Welsh fans the most was the way that Wales fronted up and took the game to Scotland despite the loss of their talismanic striker. They proved that they were far more than a one-man team. There were moments where Scotland threatened, the most obvious of which was Robert Snodgrass hitting the post with a curving shot , but Welsh heads never dropped. They continued to play the passing game that saw them dominate proceedings but behind on the score sheet. Their endeavours were eventually and deservedly rewarded with two goals in 83 seconds late on.

I include Chris Coleman in this praise. Having inherited the job in tragic circumstances, following in Gary Speed’s footsteps was always going to be a difficult ask for Cookie.

Since the Serbia game, Coleman has began putting his own hallmark on the side whilst keeping the principles first implemented by Gary Speed. His team selection last night and his substitutions were spot on. Possession was retained with ease and had you tuned in half way through the match, you would have been forgiven for believing that Wales were the home side such was their dominance. This coupled with Andy King and Jonathan Williams coming off the bench to offer Wales more attacking bite, for me it was Coleman’s finest hour in his current position.

6. Bring Back Home Internationals

Now this personal point may not have anything to do with the game itself, but anyone that watched the game on Television or attended in person would testify to how good the atmosphere was inside Hampden Park last night. The battle cries of 39,365 passionate Celts could clearly be heard reverberating around the snow filled air that filled the famous old Stadium. It certainly was a refreshing change from the empty stadiums that usually accompany international matches between two countries with little hope of qualification.

International rivalry can only bring positive rewards. The trips are short (in comparison) which allows fans to travel in their droves. The friendly rivalry engrosses even the most passive of supporters, which increases media coverage, ticket sales and will ultimately result in an increase in the popularity of International football in this country.

With Wales vs. Ireland and England vs. Scotland already penned into the calendar for August, it will hopefully lead to a lot more of these fixtures in the coming years.

The champions opened their 2013 season with a match against what is thought to be a very decent Chicago Fire franchise. And while expectations were for a close game, nobody was ready for what happened in reality. At the Home Depot Center, the hosts won 4-0, 3 of the goals coming from Mike Magee.

So what, one might think! Many players score hat tricks, it’s no biggie. Oh, but it is, at least in this case, having in mind that Magee’s MLS career-high in a whole season is 7 goals.

In his first season in the league, exactly 10 years ago, he got those 7 while playing for the New York MetroStars. The Bradley Cooper lookalike is considered a striker, yet he’s not one with an outstanding scoring record. 39 goals in 226 games is by no means an amazing achievement, especially for someone with an attacking role. Even Brazilian goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni has netted the ball more than him in the last decade – 83.

With his hat trick against the Fire, Magee certainly showed that he can be one of Galaxy’s leaders this season. But one of the most peculiar incidents of his career so far takes us back to 2011, when the forward was forced to play as a…goalie.

On the 25^th of June, his team was visiting the San Jose Earthquakes at the Buck Shaw Stadium. In the 21^st minute Quakes forward Ryan Johnson collided with LA goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, resulting in a fractured left ulna for the Jamaican keeper. Reserve shot stopper Josh Saunders came on, but less than 20 minutes later he was sent off. Someone had to go in at goal, and this someone was Mike Magee.

“I think I was just the closest guy to him [Arena] after it happened, Bruce was having choice words with the ref and I was just standing next to him and it finally caught my attention that someone had to play goalkeeper,” says Magee.  “I looked at him and asked, ‘Bruce, who is going to play goalie?’ I can’t even say his words at the moment, but then I said, alright ‘I’ll go in.’”

The striker didn’t have a lot to worry about, after all there were just a couple of minutes left till half time.

“When I decided to play goalie, I figured I could play ‘til the end of the first half and that was all I was thinking,” goes on Magee. “At halftime, I thought we’d have a better plan than just sticking me back out there— which is what happened. But I remember sitting there at half and Bruce was saying that we have to block shots because we got Mike in there. That’s when it hit me that I can’t make any mistakes.”

And he didn’t. The match finished 0-0, and Magee won the ‘Save of the week’ award, after blocking a Steven Lenhart effort in the 89^th minute.

While he doesn’t remember much about that day, he remembers the reaction of the traveling Galaxy fans.

“I remember the fans to the left [of my goal], they were great because they were having some fun,” said Magee. “They were probably the ones that got me through it because they were doing chants the whole time so that was pretty cool.”

Tell you what – I wasn’t there, so I don’t know how cool the fans were. But what Magee did then was super cool. As was his hat trick against the Fire on Sunday, for that matter.

Many famous footballers came to the USA, and expectations towards them are huge. 38-year old Brazilian playmaker Juninho Pernambucano joined the New York Red Bulls, while the Peruvian national team goalkeeper Raul Fernandez signed for FC Dallas. Wales international Robert Earnshaw strengthened Toronto FC, and the Portland Timbers acquired Frenchmen Frederic Piquionne and Mikaël Silvestre. The list could go on forever, but I’d rather tell you about the top 5 players I expect to shine for their new teams.

5. Rafael Teixeira de Souza (DC United)

Rafael is a 20-year old Brazilian striker, who joined DC United as a young designated player on a one-year loan from Bahia in his native country. He’s played 36 games for them, scoring 10 goals. Rafa, as his teammates call him, has already appeared for the U20 national side 3 times, though he’s yet to score his first goal for A Seleção.

His nickname is “The Gladiator”, as he’s famous for his physical style (standing at 1.83 m., it’s not hard to explain why) and his thumbs-down celebrations. He faces a tough task, as he’s supposed to replace compatriot Maicon Santos, who was let go on a free transfer and was later signed by the Chicago Fire. Rafael is said to be “the club’s biggest acquisition this offseason”, and fans are hoping he’ll be able to contribute straight away.

The new #9 faces fierce competition for a starting 11 spot, as United already have Chris Pontius, Dwayne De Rosario and Lionard Pajoy up front, plus they also signed Casey Townsend. It’s not going to be easy for Rafa, but he seems more than capable of slotting perfectly into the team and becoming a key player for them.

4. Andrew Driver (Houston Dynamo)

Houston are one of the teams that are tipped to do well this season, and there’s no reason as to why not. They’ve got a great side and a very good manager, who knows lots about football, and is great on the transfer market.

Dom Kinnear hasn’t signed many players so far, and while Omar Cummings is the biggest name to join the Dynamo ranks, Andrew Driver brings a wealth of experience with him. He played for Scottish side Hearts for the past 7 years, where he was a first team regular (168 games between 2006 and 2013).

The left winger had trouble with injuries for the last couple of seasons, but recently showed that he’s returning to form. Cash-strapped Hearts probably didn’t want to let him go, but being one of the top earners, the deal made sense.

Driver has the quality and the experience to produce for Houston. The only problem is that captain Brad Davis plays at his position, but I guess Kinnear has something in mind. Otherwise this deal would be a total waste of time.

3. Claudio Bieler (Sporting Kansas City)

Bieler is an Argentine-born Ecuadorian striker, who joined Kansas City from LDU Quito in December. He’s one of their Designated players, and rightly so.

He has 110 league games for his former club, scoring 57 goals in the process. He’s also played for Atletico Rafaela and Newell’s Old Boys, where he was also impressive.

Bieler is expected to play strictly as the center forward at the head of head coach Peter Vermes’ 4-3-3 formation, although Vermes himself has stated that he doesn’t want to rush his new boy.

The forward is supposed to fill in the gap left by the departure of Kei Kamara, who was loaned to Premier League side Norwich. Bieler and Teal Bunbury can form a decent partnership, but it remains to be seen how well the Ecuadorian will settle in his new team.

2. Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers)

Diego Valeri is one of those South American players you’d expect to move to a major European club sooner rather than later. In all fairness, the ex-Lanus man had a short spell with Porto in 2009/10, where he won the Portuguese Cup. He also played for Almeria in Spain, but it never really worked out for him in any of these teams.

The Argentine playmaker, who has 3 games for the national side to his name, is a magician with the ball at his feet. Portland fans should be really happy to have him in their team. He didn’t let them down during the offseason, now he needs to carry on with his good performances during the regular season. And hopefully, he’ll lead the Timbers to more than the 8 wins they managed last year.  

1. Nigel Reo-Coker (Vancouver Whitecaps)

Signing Reo-Coker should be considered something of a coup for the Whitecaps. The midfielder is a high-profile player, who has over 20 games for England’s U21, and even used to captain the side. He’s played for teams such as West Ham, Aston Villa and Bolton. He had an unsuccessful spell at Ipswich, before deciding to try his luck outside England for the first time in his career.

Nigel Reo-Coker is a proven leader, and wore the captain’s armband for Vancouver just three days after joining the franchise.

Martin Rennie has to be praised for making this transfer, and mind you, supporters at the BC Place have every right to be excited – their team has a new leader, and an excellent player in Reo-Coker.

Boj, as his teammates call him, had only one path in life-to play football. First – because he was incredibly talented. Second – because his stepfather is the former Bulgarian international Sasho Angelov. Near the end of his career, the ex-defender, who had played for some of the best Bulgarian teams, including CSKA Sofia and Lokomotiv Sofia, went on to play some semi-pro football in Malta. Valeri, of course, went with him, and joined the youth team of Pieta Hotspurs. He made a good impression and was noticed by Pantaleo Corvino, then sports director of Italian side Lecce. The Giallorossi signed him for 15 000 euro when he was 14.

Bojinov was working hard to improve and develop his talent, and this was appropriately noticed by the Lecce coaching staff. So in January 2002, aged just 15, Valeri made his debut for the team in the Serie A, becoming the youngest ever non-Italian player to play in the top flight. This was definitely a proud moment not only for him and his family, but also for all Bulgarians. The whole nation was excited – had ‘the new Hristo Stoichkov” been discovered?

Obviously, at such a young age he couldn’t be a key player for any team, even as small as Lecce. So over the next 2 years he played mainly for the reserves and youth sides, occasionally making appearances in the first team. In one of these rare games with the men, on the 6th of January 2004, Bojinov scored his first goal for the club. Just 17 years old at that time! The youngest ever non-Italian player to score a goal in the Serie A! Again, a historic moment.

From that day on, he became a first team regular for Lecce. And he was repaying them for the faith shown in him by scored goal after goal. Was it Lazio, AC Milan, Inter or Juventus against them, he didn’t care. He kept on scoring, and the big clubs started showing interest in him. Lecce was becoming too small for his potential.

It came as no surprise when Fiorentina bought him for 13 million euro in the winter of 2005. He had made a name for himself in southern Italy and was ready to make the next step. Meanwhile, Boj had the chance to pick which national side he wanted to play for- Bulgaria, Malta or Italy. He chose Bulgaria. First wrong step!

By the way, he couldn’t really fit in the Fiorentina squad, which is why he was loaned to Juventus for the 2006/07 season. The Old Lady had just been relegated to Seria B after the Calciopoli scandal. But still, we are talking about Juventus here – one of the greatest clubs in the world. He did well for them, scored 7 goals in 21 games and helped the team win promotion the same season. Even so, the Juve board decided not to offer him a permanent deal. Is he to blame for this? Yes, he is. Because he had the chance to play in a great club alongside legends such as Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedved and Gianluigi Buffon and he didn’t take full advantage. Had he secured a permanent deal, things might have been so different. Second wrong step!

By that time Fiorentina no longer wanted Bojinov in their squad, and he was sold to Manchester City. Not as rich as they are now, still, City were gaining up speed by 2007 and it seemed like a good move for the striker. He didn’t have much luck at Eastlands though, as he had trouble with injuries during his stay there. He managed just 11 league games and 1 goal over the two seasons he spent with The Sky Blues.

Even so, when fit Valeri was an integral part of Bulgaria’s national side. But as mentioned above, it was a wrong choice to pick Bulgaria ahead of Italy, or even Malta, for that matter. He used his time while in the country to go to nightclubs and ‘play’ with pretty girls. Instead of becoming a legend of Manchester City, he became a legend of “Sin City” (a popular nightclub in Bulgaria). He even got married to a Bulgarian singer, Alisia, with whom he has a son.

Anyway, the Citizens soon got tired of Bojinov’s injuries and loaned him to Parma for the 2009/10 season. And it seemed that he was back on his feet again. Injury-free, married and with a kid, he was at the top of his game once again, scoring goals and helping Parma avoid relegation. So impressed were the Crusaders that they bought him from City for 5 million euro.

And then it started going downhill. He was once again busy with parties, cars and pretty women. He even got divorced, after it was revealed that he was having an affair with a famous Bulgarian model, Nikoleta Lozanova. Third wrong step! And his game was suffering because of this. 3 goals in 33 games during the 2010/11 season is not a very good record for a striker.

Of course Parma were not happy with his poor form and logically tried to sell him. Amazingly, they did. To a good team, that is. In the summer of 2011 Bojinov signed a 5-year deal with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon. He also got married again, this time to the model in question, Ms. Lozanova.

And while he wasn’t shining, he was doing more or less okay for his new club, although mostly used as a substitute. Until last winter, when everything fell to pieces…again! In a League Cup game against Moreirense, Sporting were awarded a penalty in the 92 minute, with the score being 1-1. Bojinov pushed regular penalty-taker Matias Fernandez, and insisted on taking the penalty himself, obviously trying to become a hero. But he missed. His actions led to him getting banned from the first squad and his access to the stadium and training facilities denied. Fourth wrong step!

The Portuguese club sent him on loan to his former team, Lecce, till the end of the season. He played 10 games for them, mostly coming on as a substitute, and scored one goal. It wasn’t enough to secure a transfer, so he went back to Sporting. Not exactly, to be fair, because they sent him on another loan during last summer, this time at Verona, in the Italian Serie B. It was supposed to be an year-long deal, but he failed to impress. As the January transfer window opened, there was much speculation as to what Bojinov’s future might be. Funnily enough, there were rumors that Celtic are interested in him.

“It’s true, I could have gone to Celtic, but I had to wait until the 31^st of January for their decision. And I didn’t want to risk it. I could have come back to Bulgaria to play for Botev Plovdiv, but in the end decided to stay in Italy and join Vicenza. It’s a step backwards, the second one in a row. But all I want to do is play regularly, and if I do so at Vicenza, many doors will open for me. I believe that I have class, I just need to show everyone what I can do. It depends on me really. If I perform well in the next 6 months, I’ll be back. I’m not saying I’ll be back at the top, but I can at least move to a Serie A team. I want to play in every game, and this way I’ll stand a better chance of receiving a call-up for the national team”, said Bojinov in a recent interview.

Thing is, Boj will be 27 in less than a month, he’s already been married twice, and he’s made all the wrong choices a professional player can make. He’s been part of some great teams, he had a chance to become one of Europe’s greatest strikers.

“I watched Bojinov 6-7 years ago while he was still at Lecce. He was one of the brightest talents in the world, he was better than Wayne Rooney”, declared Lothar Matthaus, the former Bulgarian national team manager, in 2011.

Some might say that it just wasn’t meant to be. But that’s not true. He was destined for glory, he was meant to become an amazing footballer, he was meant to make people stand up from their seats while watching him. But no, he was busy chasing after girls, going to clubs, and not working hard enough. He was a lad who could have become a Juventus or Manchester City icon, but now he’s just an average player in a mediocre team fighting for its survival in the Italian Serie B.

There’s this great song by Sunrise Avenue called ‘Fairytale gone bad’. The first line of the lyrics is: “This is the end, you know…” Valeri Bojinov has one last chance to save his career before the end arrives for him. To be honest, the future doesn’t look too bright for him. And he can blame no one but himself for this. Because his life could have been a fairytale! It certainly started as one. But now the fairytale’s gone bad…really bad!

Bath City Currently play their football in the Conference South

But the club’s supporter’s society has done its utmost to ensure that Bath City continues to have a football club within its city. The society is currently the clubs largest shareholders, owning just over 16% of the club.

Despite this, the club is still facing testing times. A recent admission from chairman Manda Rigby suggests that the club faces a decision to ‘Move or Die’ in order to survive.

The society disputes this claim and is searching for funding in order to conduct their own research into this claim.

One such way is the hosting of a unique film night “Political Incorrectness! Too dangerous to view!” hosted by Ken Loach.  The event on Friday February 1^st   beginning at 7pm and is being held in the football team’s clubhouse Charlie’s and Randall’s, Mayday Trust Park.  The uniqueness is due to the fact that when Loach originally produced the three films being showcased in the event, they were all banned for various reasons.

Film Maker Ken Loach will be guiding you through his controversial films before offering the opportunity to pose your questions to him.

Clips from The Save The Children Fund, Which Side are you on? and Questions of Leadership will be shown with discussions on the three pieces to follow. This unique opportunity will bring a chance to see these previously banned films and discuss them with the filmmaker himself.

The Save The Children Fund Film was commissioned by the Charity with funding from the Charity itself and from London Weekend Television.  However, shortly after filming finished, it was banned as it portrayed class prejudice in the way aid was distributed in in Kenya.  Only now, 40 years after its filming is it being screened. Despite receiving its funding from a Television station, it has never appeared on Televsion.

“What Side are you on?” is a film depicting the miner’s strike through the songs and poems of the time. It was originally commissioned by the South Bank Show but was quickly banned as the show became more political rather than cultural. It was eventually shown in 1985 on Channel 4 although a programme counter arguing immediately followed it.

The final film, Questions of Leadership is a four part documentary series about the failure of Trades Union leaders to organise against the attacks by Thatcher. Originally scheduled to be broadcast in1982, it was withdrawn after pressure by union leaders.  A year later it was announced they were never to be shown. It has remained that way to this very day.

Its hoped that this kind of event will attract people from a wide demographic including those within Bath who don’t follow the city’s football team. The profits from the film night can fund their research as well as some money going to the Bath City Foundation, spawned as a result of the Society’s community based activities.  It aims to bring football and education to disadvantaged youngsters around the city.

If you wish to support this event and save the city’s football team, you can purchase tickets for the event by emailing bathcityfcsociety@gmail.com, online at  www.bathboxoffice.co.uk, by phoning 01225 313247 or in person from your Abbey Churchyard office in the centre of Bath. Tickets are priced £10 for adults and £8 for concessions.

His previous deal had been due to expire in 2013 and Buffon said he had asked for a one-year extension but the Serie A club had offered two.

“Juventus has become a way of life for me. When something gets inside you, you can’t see yourself in another shirt,” Buffon, who joined from Parma in 2001, told a news conference.

The 34-year-old, who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, said he had no plans to retire and had one eye on the European championship in 2016.

“I never put limits or deadlines on my career.

“In a year and a half there is a World Cup and in three and a half years a European (championship). I think I can get to that,” said Buffon, who has 123 caps.

Source: Reuters