SOFIA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian football player and coach Dimitar Penev, who led the national team to a fourth-place finish at the 1994 FIFA World Cup for its best-ever result, died at the age of 80, the Bulgarian Football Union announced on Saturday.
Tributes were paid by football clubs, players and coaches, as well as the Bulgarian outgoing Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov.
"The man who made us fourth in the world! The man who shaped dozens of us as people and as athletes! Rest in peace, Boss! You will never be forgotten," Hristo Stoichkov, one of Bulgaria's most successful football players, wrote on Facebook.
Penev spent 13 years with CSKA Sofia in his playing career and was regarded as one of Bulgaria's top center-backs. He represented the national team at the 1966, 1970 and 1974 World Cups, earning 90 international caps, and was named Bulgarian Footballer of the Year twice.
As a coach, Penev remained active until 2012, winning three Bulgarian league titles, four Bulgarian Cups and one Bulgarian Super Cup. He returned to CSKA Sofia as a consultant in 2019. ■
