I am Rumen Popov – former football player, professional years – 2000 – 2010. I am the champion of Bulgaria with Lokomotiv Plovdiv for the 2003-2004 season. I have played in Botev Plovdiv, Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Spartak Plovdiv, Vihren Sandanski, Montana, Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo, Haskovo.
People see the successes and achievements as well as the financial side of a footballer’s life. In fact, there is a lot of deprivation, discipline and hard times. The responsibility is very high because the work is in a team and any single mistake leads to a fatal end and thus the whole teamwork suffers – including teammates, coaching staff, doctor, massage therapist, etc. Great concentration is required in the work and in at the same time one should be very calm regardless of the huge tension. People think that a football player trains 2 hours a day and the rest of the time is free, but in fact we take care of our body 24 hours a day – we take into account what we eat, drinks we take and sufficient rest is needed to recover the body.
A football player does not have a day off, often travels and is away from his family. The preparatory periods are especially difficult. Practices every day, most matches are on the weekend. There are no vacations, no national holidays and public holidays. Leave is fixed and the same for the whole team. There are 12-13 days of rest during the winter period, but even then you have an individual program and training does not stop, as does the diet. During the summer period, the holiday is about 20 days, again with a daily individual program and a continuous diet.
The good side of the profession is first of all the financial side, publicity and recognition among people, which obliges you to be careful with your behavior outside the green field, because young children copy the behavior of professional footballers. It is a very good feeling when a person wins, because in this way, the work he has put in during the week is rewarded emotionally, psychologically and financially. When losing, the tension is quite high and one feels unpleasant. Then a person must be very strong to overcome the tension and psychological load in order to be able to objectively analyze the mistakes and move on.
