Bojinov eager to stake Bulgaria claim

Valeri Bojinov is eager to inspire Bulgaria to a fine performance against Malta and boost his chances of holding down a regular place in the team.

The Parma forward, who had a short spell with the youth team of Division One club Pietà Hotspurs in season 1999-2000, landed in Malta yesterday with the rest of the Bulgarian squad ahead of this evening's friendly at the Hibs Ground.

Coach Stanimir Stoilov has picked a strong squad as the likes of Bojinov, Bulgaria captain Dimitar Berbatov, who plays for Manchester United, and Aston Villa midfielder Stilyan Petrov, have made the trip to Malta.

Bojinov (Bozhinov in Bulgarian) said the friendly against Malta is an ideal opportunity for Bulgaria to start their preparations for the 2012 European Championship qualifiers on a positive footing after their failure to reach next year's World Cup finals.

"Missing out on qualification to the World Cup finals hurt us a lot," Bojinov said.

"We have a very strong team but unfortunately we failed to deliver in key matches during the qualifying campaign. Now, we want to prepare well for the the 2012 European Championship qualifiers and victory over Malta would be an ideal start for us."

Bojinov is happy to be back on Maltese soil, the country where his prospects of reaching the top levels of European football received a massive boost in the shape of a move to Lecce when he was only 14. However, the powerful forward insisted that there will be no room for sentiment once today's warm-up kicks off.

"Malta has a special place in my heart," Bojinov said. "I have a lot of friends who always make me feel welcome every time I come here. This is my second visit to Malta with the national team and I'm looking forward to it.

"My objective here is to play a very good match against Malta as I want to convince the coach that I deserve a regular place in the team.

"We are under no illusion that this will be an easy match. Maltese football has made steady progress over the years and this is clearly reflected by the team's performances against some top sides like Sweden.

"We will surely not underestimate Malta."

Bojinov, whose career in the last two years has been disrupted by a cruciate knee injury, is currently on the books of English Premier League club Manchester City but he is playing on loan at Parma in the Italian Serie A. The former Fiorentina forward wants to stay in Italian football after the end of his one-year loan spell with Parma.

"I'd like to remain in Italy," Bojinov said. "I really enjoy playing in the Serie A and my experience with Parma has been very positive so far.

"I still have a year left on my contract with Manchester City but I will try to negotiate a definite return to Italian football at the end of my season-long loan spell with Parma."