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New Bulgaria coach Lothar Matthaus is facing an
uphill battle to persuade Dimitar Berbatov to return to the
international fold.
The Manchester United striker announced his retirement this
summer, having achieved his ambition to break the Bulgarian
national goalscoring record.
United certainly seem to be benefiting from the decision, with
Berbatov having scored seven times this season in all competitions,
including his brilliant hat-trick against Liverpool last
weekend.
However, Matthaus is keen to speak with the 29-year-old after
being confirmed as Bulgaria's new coach following their dismal
start to their Euro 2012 qualification campaign.
A heavy defeat to England at Wembley, followed by a surprise
home loss to Montenegro in Sofia earlier this month has left
Bulgaria struggling to reach the finals in Poland and Ukraine
already.
While Matthaus believes Berbatov could provide the springboard
for an improvement, the player himself appears happy with his
decision.
"I promised to myself when I was nearly 30, if I didn't do
anything with the national team it would be best to retire and give
chances to younger players," Berbatov told MUTV.
"I wanted to let them see what it is to have the national team
on your shoulder."
As Berbatov's words were delivered before Matthaus' appointment,
they cannot be taken as a definitive statement.
Yet, having reached the 48-goal mark against Malta last season
it is difficult to see what else he can realistically achieve for a
country who have not reached the finals of a major competition
since Euro 2004.
"I wanted to reach the record before I retired," he said.
"It was a goal I had in front of me but it was difficult.
"I tried not to think about it too much because if you want to
score every game, you are going to have a problem.
"When I did break the record it was one of my proudest
days."