FRANCE 98 – MatchQuotes
Match Number 7 PAR – BGR Quotes Paulo César CARPEGGIANI, PARAGUAY (Group D) coach :
“We think it’s an unfair result–we had a lot of chances. We should have made full use of the advantage we had over the Bulgarians. We made some tactical errors–and our poor finishing was due to a lack of calm, talent and serenity.”
Hristo BONEV, BULGARIA (Group D) coach :
“We’re very disappointed not to have won because we were better than PARAGUAY. In the first half were in a good position to score. We had lots of chances but we just couldn’t pull it off. Maybe the penalty that the referee didn’t blow at the beginning of the match could have changed the outcome. But I still think we played very well.”
Jose Luis CHILAVERT GONZALEZ (1), Captain and Goalkeeper :
“We felt really at home in MONTPELLIER. That should have helped us to win. We played well and I’m quite happy. I’m proud of our quality of play.
This match showed that you should be wary of preconceived ideas, such as PARAGUAY being an easy team to beat. That just wasn’t true and I want to say how proud I am. Of course it was a draw, but it’s still a good result for our country.”
Miguel BENITEZ (15), Midfielder:
“I had a lot of chances. I kept a level head and thought I could get the better of them, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.
We’ve made a lot of progress in defence and that’s important for the rest of the competition.
Jose Luis CHILAVERT GONZALEZ (1), Captain and Goalkeeper is a key element in our team.”
Roberto ACUNA (10), Midfielder:
“We weren’t able to score, our finishing was poor. We’re going to try to win the next match (against SPAIN (Group D) on Friday June 19th, 1998 in SAINT ETIENNE), and not lose our calm for the rest of the competition.”
Trifon IVANOV (3), Captain:
“We dominated the first half, but unfortunately we didn’t follow all our chances through. We became very tired in the second half, because of the huge physical effort we put in, and because of this PARAGUAY gave us a lot of trouble. Emil KOSTADINOV (7) came on too late in the game. If he’d come on sooner we might have been able to keep it up. He should be in the starting line-up. We don’t play the same without him.
We’re looking for revenge against NIGERIA (Group D, Friday June 19th, 1998) because they beat us three-nil in the last World Cup.”
Ilian ILIEV (11):
“In the first half we played better than PARAGUAY and should have taken the lead early on. But the Paraguayans changed tactics and got back into the match.
In the second half they strengthened their left flank, and that put us off psychologically. On top of that the wind was against us and we slowed down. Now we’ve got to beat NIGERIA (Group D)–an opponent we know well.”
Krassimir BALAKOV (10):
“I got a head injury in the 17th minute following a clash with the defender SARABIA (11). My huge bandage put me off during the first half. Fortunately, it didn’t bother me anymore after the medical treatment I had at half-time. PARAGUAY ‘s excellent defensive organisation didn’t surprise me in the least.
Our lack of organisation in the second half isn’t worthy of a team that finished third in the World Cup in America. This is probably because KOSTADINOV (7) has been out of the team for too long. So, of course, I’m not satisfied with a draw, because we really had to win before playing against the formidable team from NIGERIA.”
Sami AL JABER (9): “It was difficult to play against the French team after our full back was sent off. In my opinion, the sending off was unwarranted. In fact, Bixente LIZARAZU (3) should have got the card. I was really impressed by Thierry HENRY (12), a devil of a footballer. The French based their game on very good midfield players who spread the play and found open spaces. We gave away a second goal and started to make too many individual mistakes. I think that ZIDANE (10), even though I’m flattered that he has said nice things about me, deserved to be sent off. Now we are going to play SOUTH AFRICA with the pressure off. We’re really up for it and we’ll try to have a good time.”
