Ivanov leaves Levski job after nine days
Reuters - Friday 06 April 2012, 06:58
Georgi Ivanov has resigned as
Levski Sofia coach only nine days after replacing Nikolay
Kostov, the Bulgarian club said on Friday.
"I'm not Levski coach anymore," Ivanov, twice Bulgarian
Footballer of the Year, told reporters. "I resigned because
Levski now need an inner peace and there has been a lot of
recent criticism."
Former striker Ivanov's third stint as Levski coach lasted
just over a week with the Sofia-based club suffering a 1-0
defeat at champions Litex Lovech and a home loss to Ludogorets
by the same scoreline.
Levski are fifth in the standings on 45 points from 22
matches, nine behind leaders and bitter city rivals CSKA Sofia,
and are likely to miss out on a trophy for a third consecutive
season.
Ivanov scored 120 goals in 205 matches during his three
spells at Levski as a player between 1997 and 2009 and was
instrumental in helping the team win six league titles and four
national cups.
"I feel sorry for him, I saw tears in his eyes when he
informed me about his decision" Levski owner Todor Batkov
admitted. "I didn't want to accept his resignation.
"Let's give him a rest and I hope one day he'll be back, the
door is always open for him."
It remains unclear who will succeed Ivanov with Levski
playing at city rivals Lokomotiv on Sunday.
Levski, 26-times Bulgarian champions, have already held
talks with former Bulgaria coach Stanimir Stoilov over the
vacant post but have yet to reach an agreement.
Crowd favourite Stoilov guided Levski to the UEFA Cup
quarter-finals and the Champions League group stages in 2006.