“My Story” - the joint project between Bulgarian Football Shirts and Sportal.bg has launched!
Bulgarian Football Shirts and Sportal.bg present their joint production, “My Story.” To share more about this new documentary series - and to reveal which legendary Bulgarian footballer will be its first featured guest - Milen Nikolov and Petar Gavrailov, the project’s creators whose mission is to preserve Bulgaria’s football heritage for future generations, joined Filip Drumchev in the Sportal.bg studio.
“We thank Sportal.bg for the trust and support in bringing this project to life together. In ‘My Story’ we’ll tell the football journeys of players through the prism of the shirts they’ve worn in various matches over the years. Why through them? Football has three main elements – the shirt, the boots, and the ball – but it’s the shirt that carries the emblem, the colors, the name, the number. It’s a time machine that, with just one glance, can take you back to a specific day, hour, moment, emotion,” said Petar Gavrailov.
“Bulgaria has a rich football history, and it must be preserved and valued. Some of Europe’s greatest champions have bowed their heads before our finest players and teams. We haven’t been taught to truly appreciate what we’ve achieved – and that’s exactly why Bulgarian Football Shirts was born. In ‘My Story’ we’ll bring together many footballers with the shirts they wore 20, 30, even 40 years ago. For me, these kinds of encounters are truly exciting experiences,” added Milen Nikolov.
In a conversation with Filip Drumchev, author of the book “When God Was Bulgarian,” the collectors not only spoke about their passion for gathering football memorabilia of historical value – they also showcased a small part of the iconic shirts in their collection.
Viewers of the pilot episode of “My Story” will see Petar Zhekov’s shirt, gifted to Panathinaikos captain Giorgos Ionios after the memorable matches between PAO and CSKA in 1972; shirts of Hristo Bonev and Arie Haan from the 1974 World Cup; Iliya Iliev’s kit from the Juventus–Beroe match in 1979; Lyuboslav Penev’s from Bulgaria–Scotland (1987); Petre Grigoraș’s from Levski–Werder Bremen in 1993; and Petar Hubchev’s from USA ’94.
“We should be proud to be part of an elite ‘Club 10.’ Only 10% of all countries in the world have ever won medals at a World Cup. Only 10% of those have produced a Ballon d’Or winner and can boast both a league title and a top-scorer award in the Premier League. We hope that through our joint project we can remind people of these achievements and inspire the heroes of the future. Bulgaria has played many great matches against some of the biggest legends in world football. It has produced countless great players, and it’s important for the next generation to know that where it once flowed – it will flow again,” added Petar Gavrailov.
The first episode of the “My Story” series by Sportal.bg and Bulgarian Football Shirts will be officially released next week! The guest will be the “magical” playmaker of the national team and one of only two Bulgarians ever included in the World’s Best XI (1994) – Krasimir Balakov.
Bulgarian Football Shirts and Sportal.bg present their joint production, “My Story.” To share more about this new documentary series - and to reveal which legendary Bulgarian footballer will be its first featured guest - Milen Nikolov and Petar Gavrailov, the project’s creators whose mission is to preserve Bulgaria’s football heritage for future generations, joined Filip Drumchev in the Sportal.bg studio.
“We thank Sportal.bg for the trust and support in bringing this project to life together. In ‘My Story’ we’ll tell the football journeys of players through the prism of the shirts they’ve worn in various matches over the years. Why through them? Football has three main elements – the shirt, the boots, and the ball – but it’s the shirt that carries the emblem, the colors, the name, the number. It’s a time machine that, with just one glance, can take you back to a specific day, hour, moment, emotion,” said Petar Gavrailov.
“Bulgaria has a rich football history, and it must be preserved and valued. Some of Europe’s greatest champions have bowed their heads before our finest players and teams. We haven’t been taught to truly appreciate what we’ve achieved – and that’s exactly why Bulgarian Football Shirts was born. In ‘My Story’ we’ll bring together many footballers with the shirts they wore 20, 30, even 40 years ago. For me, these kinds of encounters are truly exciting experiences,” added Milen Nikolov.
In a conversation with Filip Drumchev, author of the book “When God Was Bulgarian,” the collectors not only spoke about their passion for gathering football memorabilia of historical value – they also showcased a small part of the iconic shirts in their collection.
Viewers of the pilot episode of “My Story” will see Petar Zhekov’s shirt, gifted to Panathinaikos captain Giorgos Ionios after the memorable matches between PAO and CSKA in 1972; shirts of Hristo Bonev and Arie Haan from the 1974 World Cup; Iliya Iliev’s kit from the Juventus–Beroe match in 1979; Lyuboslav Penev’s from Bulgaria–Scotland (1987); Petre Grigoraș’s from Levski–Werder Bremen in 1993; and Petar Hubchev’s from USA ’94.
“We should be proud to be part of an elite ‘Club 10.’ Only 10% of all countries in the world have ever won medals at a World Cup. Only 10% of those have produced a Ballon d’Or winner and can boast both a league title and a top-scorer award in the Premier League. We hope that through our joint project we can remind people of these achievements and inspire the heroes of the future. Bulgaria has played many great matches against some of the biggest legends in world football. It has produced countless great players, and it’s important for the next generation to know that where it once flowed – it will flow again,” added Petar Gavrailov.
The first episode of the “My Story” series by Sportal.bg and Bulgarian Football Shirts will be officially released next week! The guest will be the “magical” playmaker of the national team and one of only two Bulgarians ever included in the World’s Best XI (1994) – Krasimir Balakov.
