Karadzhov keen for Bulgaria to build

Bulgaria's debut in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament has been brief, although goalkeeper Ivan Karadzhov is hoping the experience can serve as the springboard for more success in the future.

'Unbelievable difference'
Defeats by Hungary, Germany and Spain left Bulgaria bottom of Group A yet an impressive qualifying campaign has left Karadzhov optimistic that appearing here will bring long-term benefits. "This has still been a great experience for me and us all, this is a top-level tournament and you have to learn a lot," he told uefa.com. "We hope we will have the chance to play in more of these events and pick up the experience that's so important for our future careers. The difference between these top-level tournaments and the championships in Bulgaria is unbelievable. Just [qualifying] is a big achievement for our team; no Bulgarian team had managed that for more than 20 years. But we didn't come here to be part of those eight teams, we wanted to show other teams our qualities, to play well and win."

'Take our chances'
Those hopes might not have been realised, but the PFC CSKA Sofia goalkeeper is clear where his side must improve. "The first game against Hungary was our best chance and we were all massively disappointed to lose that because we played well and created lots of chances," he said. "They scored a goal that we could have prevented and we created plenty of chances but just couldn't score. Then we didn't play well against Germany and deservedly lost that. We have to learn that it's not easy to create chances and so when we do, we must take them. Scoring one in three chances is not enough. It's also impossible to play so well against Hungary and be so bad two days later – we have to be more consistent."

Room for improvement
Bulgaria have endured a frustrating campaign but Karadzhov himself has performed impressively, although he recognises there are still several areas in which he can improve if he is to have the impact he craves. "I think I've done OK here, but you can always give and do more," he said. "Physically I'm quite big, which is useful for a goalkeeper, and I'm good with my feet – although I can still improve a lot there. In terms of shot-stopping you can always be better and I have to work on my speed and reflexes as well, because I feel I've lost something there. A goalkeeper learns throughout his career – he doesn't stop improving."

'I need to play'
The next stage in his career, according to the goalkeeper, is to earn more opportunities and playing time at senior level, although he recognises that will be another challenge. "I've finished with youth football now and of course I want to play," Karadzhov said. "That would help me a lot, although there have been a lot of changes at CSKA recently and I've not yet spoken to the new committee and coach so I don't know what's going on. If the first team don't need my services and no other team is interested in buying or loaning me, then I will stay in the second team at CSKA and hopefully get some games there. It's a very important period for me now, I just need to play."