If it worked against the Ottomans…
By: Bob | April 9th, 2007
When your back is against the wall, your team is in danger of being relegated and there is speculation that some of your players might have thrown a match, it is time to dig deep into the coaching playbook and to break out a ritual that worked so well against the Ottomans in the 19th Century.
The coach in this case is Dimitar Sokolov, who heads up the Bulgarian second division club Minyor Bobov Dol.
Coach Dimitar Sokolov, angered by rumours that his players had accepted money to lose a match, decided to revive a traditional ritual established by Bulgarian rebels during their fight for liberation from Ottoman rule in the 19th century.
The players were made to swear under oath in front of the Bible, a pistol and a knife used in World War Two that they would try their utmost to win the match.
“I cursed the person who wanted our team to lose by bribing my players,” Sokolov told 7 dni sport daily before the game against local rivals Velbuzhd on Saturday. “I know that the curse will reach him.”
It might have reached the meddling briber but it did not reach the Minyor Bobov Dol players. They lost 2-1 and are in danger of being sent down to the Bulgarian amateur division.
Sokolov shouldn’t feel too bad. The good luck charms haven’t worked for Celta Vigo in Spain either. Despite the garlic and rabbits feet they still lost their last two games.
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Tags: Bulgaria, Celta Vigo, Dimitar Sokolov, Europe, Minyor Bobov Dol, Superstitions, World Football, World SoccerSubscribe
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