Iliev to become Levski boss at end of season
Reuters - Friday 06 April 2012, 16:10
Beroe Stara Zagora coach Ilian
Iliev will take charge of Levski Sofia at the end of the season
following the resignation of Georgi Ivanov after only nine days
in the post, the Bulgarian club said on Friday.
Levski have put club scout Yasen Petrov and assistant coach
Viktorio Pavlov in temporary charge of the 26-times Bulgarian
champions until then.
"Ilian Iliev will be appointed as Levski coach after the end
of the season. He will sign a three-year contract," Levski's
chief executive Ivo Tonev told a news conference.
"I hope that all Levski fans will support Iliev and I want
to see him staying here for a long time. There are too many
coaching changes in recent seasons and we all see that the
results are not good."
Ivanov replaced Nikolay Kostov last Tuesday but during his
short tenure as Levski coach the Sofia-based club suffered a 1-0
defeat at champions Litex Lovech and a home loss to Ludogorets
by the same scoreline.
"I'm not Levski coach anymore," Ivanov, twice Bulgarian
Footballer of the Year, earlier told reporters. "I resigned
because Levski now need an inner peace and there has been a lot
of recent criticism."
Levski are fifth in the standings with 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.
Former Levski midfielder Iliev, who has been at the helm of
Beroe since 2006 and led them to the Bulgarian Cup in 2010, will
have to deal with a demanding and impatient fan base.
"I think that Levski have a psychological problem at the
moment," the 43-year-old told local media.
"But I'm still coach of Beroe and we still have matches
until the end of the season, so I just want to concentrate on
it.
"The game between Levski and Beroe (on May 11) will be the
most difficult in my career," added Iliev, who enjoyed a
successful playing career in Portugal and won the domestic cup
with Benfica in 1996.