site.btaNovember 24, 1971: Bulgaria Beat Spain 8-3 in Munich Olympics Qualifying Match in Sofia

On November 24, 1971, the Bulgarian national football team hosted the Spanish national team at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in front of 15,000 spectators. The match was a qualifier for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Bulgaria won the match scoring 8 goals against Spain’s 3. The Bulgarian national team consisted of: Yordan Filipov, Ivan Zafirov, Dimitar Penev, Stefan Velichkov, Dobromir Zhechev, Georgi Denev, Mladen Vasilev (2 goals), Hristo Bonev (1 goal – from a penalty kick), Petko Petkov (2 goals), Atanas Mihaylov (3 goals), and Dinko Dermendzhiev.

In the first round of the Olympic qualification, Bulgaria managed to eliminate Great Britain after a 0-1 defeat at Wembley and a decisive 5-0 victory at home. The second phase consisted of groups of three teams, and Bulgaria was placed in a group with Spain and Poland. According to the International Olympic Committee regulations at the time, only amateurs could participate in the Olympic Games. Western football complied with this and sent players with amateur status, rather than their big stars. The system of departmental clubs, in which athletes were employed but trained in a completely professional manner, allowed socialist countries to field their best players. Nevertheless, for the match in Sofia, the Spanish team, selected by former Real Madrid player Hector Rial, came with several players of very high calibre: Real Madrid goalkeeper Mariano Garcia Remon, Barcelona midfielder Juan Manuel Asensi, and one of the best strikers in the history of Spanish football, Enrique Castro Gonzalez, known as Quini. 

The match was wild, with many goals, three Spanish red cards, and heavy criticism of the Portuguese referee from the Spanish side, which accused him of bias. Bulgarian media praised the convincing win but criticized the team’s defensive mistakes. Spain later drew the return match 3–3, and Poland ultimately qualified for the Munich Olympics.