Stoitchkov Earns Letter in His Debut
Hristo Stoitchkov wants it known that his name is spelled with two Ts, not one.
It’s Stoitchkov, not Stoichkov, as Major League Soccer had been spelling it in the weeks leading up to the Bulgarian striker’s arrival in the United States.
After his sparkling debut last Saturday, Stoitchkov can spell it any way he wants, as far as MLS is concerned. His two first-half goals for the Chicago Fire against the Dallas Burn at the Cotton Bowl were reminiscent of the two scored by Johan Cruyff in his debut for the Los Angeles Aztecs at the Rose Bowl in the old North American Soccer League.
It took Stoitchkov only 43 minutes to get his first MLS goal, on a powerful header just inside the right post. The other was scored on a lethal left-foot shot just inside the left post.
Both included the swagger that characterized his style of play six years ago, when he led Bulgaria to fourth place in the USA ’94 World Cup.
There was even a glimpse of that cold Stoitchkov stare, this one directed at a linesman who made what the Bulgarian believed was a poor offside call.
Despite Stoitchkov’s goals, the Burn won the MLS season opener, 4-2, on the strength of two goals by Ariel Graziani. That was enough to upset Stoitchkov.
“I am not surprised the way I played, but we lost and that is bad,” he said. “It is sad to lose, even though I scored two goals. My teammates are disappointed and so am I.”
So confident is the Bulgarian that, even though he had been with Chicago for only two or three days, he immediately took charge when Fire captain Peter Nowak was ejected for a foul in the second half.
“It is important to be a team player; that is why I grabbed the captain’s armband and was directing my teammates,” Stoitchkov said. “I was trying to help them. I think the Fire is a good team and in the next few games we will be better. Everyone has to learn from our mistakes.”
Once Stoitchkov settles in with the Fire, he could cause opponents all sorts of difficulties.
“It’ll be scary when he gets in rhythm in two or three weeks,” Fire midfielder Diego Gutierrez told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“For me, everything in life is new right now,” Stoitchkov said. “New league, new country, everything is new. It has been six years since I was in the United States. This seems like a good league and lots of players here have good experience. The U.S. had a good World Cup in 1994, and now [it has] an improving league. My teammates and coaches have received me well, and I am very happy.”
DISTANT STAR FOR GALAXY
Even though MLS has signed a handful of top foreign stars this season, don’t look for one in the Galaxy’s immediate future.
Ivan Gazidis, the league’s vice president for player relations and operations, says that while the search for a top-flight Mexican player continues, it will be May “at the earliest” before such a player joins the Galaxy.
Francisco Palencias and Luis Hernandez are among the names most frequently mentioned.
“Because of the way the Mexican season runs and because of the economics of any deal, it is unlikely that we will be getting a Mexican player before the end of the Mexican season, regardless of when we are able to finalize that deal,” Gazidis said.
Finances, within reason, will not stop a transaction from being completed, he added.
In the meantime, three more high-profile players will make their MLS debuts this weekend. Iran’s Khodadad Azizi will be playing for the San Jose Earthquakes against the Crew in Columbus on Saturday. Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus and Colombia’s Adolfo “El Tren” Valencia lead the New York/New Jersey MetroStars against the Miami Fusion in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Sunday. The latter game will be televised live at 2 p.m. PST on ESPN2.
