Bulgaria's former striker Hristo Stoichkov said
on Thursday he would not play again after being
appointed assistant to the head coaches of the country's
two national teams. <br>``I do not think of playing
any more or anywhere,'' the 33-year-old Stoichkov
said in an interview in sports daily 7 Dni Sport.
<br>``This is a very hard moment as such a decision is very
painful,'' Stoichkov said. <br>The newspaper interview
offered the firmest word so far from Stoichkov that he
would not resume his playing career after his contract
with Japan's Kashiwa Reysol expired a couple of months
ago. <br>After 17 years and 37 goals for his country,
Stoichkov retired from international soccer in June after
Bulgaria's European qualifying match against England, his
83rd appearance for the national team. <br>Earlier
this week he was appointed as assistant to Dimitar
Dimitrov and Stoicho Mladenov, head coaches of the senior
and under-21 teams respectively. <br>[... part 2]