Georgi Asparoukhov, or "Gundi", is considered by many to be the greatest Bulgarian football player of all time. This means he is deemed a better player than modern Bulgarian stars such as Barcelona's phlegmatic forward Hristo Stoichkov, Stuttgart's brilliant play-maker Krassimir Balakov, or the defender Trifon "Wolf" Ivanov.

A while ago, I was drinking a few pints and having a laugh with some friends in my local pub when we got into a conversation with some foreign season-workers.

Some were Polish, some were Czech, some were Bulgarian. In some basic German and English, we still managed to keep a conversation going. The main topic that evening, besides beer and women, was football.

When we came to talk about the best player their nation had ever produced, I was pretty sure the Bulgarians would choose Hristo Stoichkov. After all, "Itso" was one of the best forwards in the world in the early nineties. He won the Europa Cup I in '92 and he led Bulgaria to an unprecedented fourth spot in the '94 World Cup.

My Bulgarian drinking comrades still surprised me by mentioning Gundi as the best player Bulgaria had ever had. Naturally, none of us had ever heard of Gundi and we were curious to hear more of this unknown legend.

Ironically the start of a proper league in the Netherlands happened very much despite the Dutch federation, KNVB, who did everything in its power to delay the entrance of money into the game.

In 1954 it submitted to pressure from press, players and several businessmen, who had started a successful league of their own.

Dutch football was averse to cash until well after World War II. The post-war years therefore saw an exodus of players like Faas Wilkes, Kees Rijvers, and Bertus de Harder who headed to France, Spain, and Italy respectively to earn a salary with their favourite hobby.

Leaving their own country also meant the end of their international careers.

The Dutch federation stubbornly refused to invite professionals for the Dutch team, which as a result saw a steady decline with only a single win between the summer of 1949 and the end of 1952, while average attendances at league matches also dropped with all the stars playing abroad.