Home Exclusive Inter Clubs Worldwide – Bulgaria

Inter Clubs Worldwide – Bulgaria

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This week we are traveling to Southeast Europe, to the Land of Roses, yogurt and the amazing 1994 Ballon D’or winner Hristo Stoichkov! I had the pleasure to get in touch with Ivan Ivanov, founder, former chairman and current member of the management board of the Inter Club Bulgaria and get a better sense of what being neroazzurri means for them.

When and how was your club created? 

Our fan club was founded on 18.04.2009 by 20 people. As of the summer of 2010 we are the official fan club of Inter in Bulgaria; The initiative to set up a fan club is mine. After my first visite at the Giuseppe Meazza for the Milan derby, played on February 15, 2009, (which we won with 2 at 1) together with some friends and acquaintances from an Inter forum we decided to set up a fan club.

How many members did you have at the beginning? and How many do you have now

We started with 20 members in 2009. Ten years later we gathered  155 fans!

How often do you meet up and where?

Unfortunately, we do not meet to watch matches in Sofia. We hope this will change in the future. On the other hand, the boys from Plovdiv are together for each match of the team and watch it, dressed in the colors of Inter.

How often do you go to San Siro (as a club)?

We are doing quite well on this. At each major match we organize visits to San Siro. The flag of our fan club is on every match, first orange floor, entrance 16. We also travel to the visiting games of the team. Our most exotic destination has been Beer Sheva in Israel.

How old is your youngest member? The oldest

The youngest is 1 month-old, Tasev Borislav, born 15-01-2019. The oldest is 65-year-old Georgiev Georgi.
How is Inter considered in your country? Is there a preference with other leagues/ teams in general?
Inter is considered a big club. As one of the few. Among the Italian teams, Milan and Juventus have more fans in Bulgaria. this is due to their successes in the 90’s when it became available in Bulgaria to watch matches from the Western Championships including the Serie A. Of course, Real and Barca are very popular here as well as around the world. The English teams are also very popular. Barca, Real and leading English teams are more popular in Bulgaria. My opinion is that the Serie A is third in view after the English Premier League and the Spanish Primera.

Do you have any particular story you would like to share

Two years ago I had the honor to meet Mario Corso. It happened in Sofia and I told him I was going to the fight against Crotonе. We lost 2-1. Next season we won easily 0-2 and Corso joked that we won because I was not in the match. So Mario Corso jokes with me, this makes me famous. Haha! We also have a very strong mini football team. Inter Club Bulgaria is a five-time champion of 9 conducted tournaments among fan clubs of foreign teams in Bulgaria.

What represents Inter for you?

Passion! When we go from Lоtto metro station and suddenly, Giuseppe Meazza shows up behind the trees – it makes me breathless.

Is there a particular player linked to your club or that you would like to have as a guest?

Unfortunately no. Of course, we would love to welcome some former or current Inter player.

Are you linked with any other Inter Club or would you like to?

Again, unfortunately, no, but of course we would like that lot.

Is there any special tradition within the club?

We have a tradition of gathering for a weekend during the summer in the resort Tsigov Chark, in the Rodopi Mountains.

What’s the craziest thing a member of your club did for an Inter game

In 2010 we played in Moscow against CSKA 1/4 final in the Champions League. We won 0-1. A member of our fan club cruised a 6 to 4 meter flag in the audience of CSKA Moscow at the Luzhnyki Stadium. Of course not in the sector with Russian ultras, but in the central sector. It was stretched all the first half, after which the police insisted it be retrieved.

Is there any player from your country that you would like to see at inter?

Unfortunately, Bulgaria does not currently have a footballer who is good enough to play at such a level.