Stoichkov to quit if Bulgaria miss out on Euro 2008

Bulgaria coach Hristo Stoichkov said yesterday he would step down if the national side failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 finals.

Stoichkov has come in for heavy media and fan criticism in recent months after his side's lacklustre performances.

"I'll be the first one who will walk away if we don't qualify but this is normal," Stoichkov told Bulgarian television btv. "I can't ask for more.

"I was given enough freedom to work in the national team and I have full support which gives me a lot of confidence."

Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) vice-president Yordan Lechkov hinted last week that Stoichkov will not keep his post if the national team miss out on the tournament to be co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland.

Bulgaria are second in Group G with eight points from four games. They laboured to a 1-0 victory away at Luxembourg in their last qualifier and lost 3-1 in a friendly against Slovakia in November.

Struggling Primera Liga side Levante sacked coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro yesterday after a poor run of form left them 17th in the table. Levante were thumped 3-0 by neighbours Valencia on Saturday and had only one win from their last 10 games in all competitions. Lopez Caro joined the promoted club in July when he suddenly switched from Racing Santander, whom he had joined at the beginning of June from Real Madrid. He had been promoted from the youth team to replace Vanderlei Luxemburgo at Real Madrid in December 2005.