Lubo Penevlegendary striker of the Valencia CF In the nineties, he was hospitalized in a hospital in Germany as a result of kidney cancer that suffers. According to the Bulgarian newspaper Dsport, the former CSKA, Valencia and Atlético de Madrid footballer would have lost “he is very heavy and his condition is critical.” In addition, the same media assures that “doctors cannot administer chemotherapy due to his severe exhaustion.”
Penev's situation, according to the Bulgarian press, is serious, and they even reveal that Kristina, the wife of the former international striker, has requested help for his treatment and has opened a donation account to help with the costs of his hospitalization in Germany.
Penev played for Valencia CF from 1988 to 1995 and remains one of the most beloved footballers among Mestalla fans. Little was known about that Bulgarian with the reddened cheeks and pale complexion. Already in the first season he showed his scoring instinct with 13 goals. From there, he went down a few years. In the season 92/93 he scored up to 20 goals in the Leaguethus becoming one of the most sought-after forwards of the moment. Everyone liked that tall, hunched striker who offered goals and a game from behind. Until a serious setback came in his life. In January 1994, testicular cancer was detected..
A ball that Penev received in the testicles during training was decisive for his health. The discomfort from that blow ended up leading to the serious illness that Lubo suffered from. The pain he suffered did not derive from a simple blow, it came from a malignant tumor in a testicle. It forced him to miss part of the league and the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where Bulgaria had an excellent generation of players that would take them to fourth place. Five months of chemotherapy sessions and the early detection of the tumor contributed to Lubo returning to the green ten months after playing his last game. He continued scoring and said goodbye in the lost final against Deportivo at the Bernabéu. In his six campaigns as a black and white player, he played 226 games, in which he scored 101 goals.
The march to Atlético
In the summer of 1995, after losing the water final at the Bernabéu, Penev went to Atlético de Madrid, where he continued scoring goals and winning the famous double in a duo formed with Kiko Narváez. Later he passed through Compostela by Fernando Vázquez, and ending – in Spain – in the Celta. His balance in Spain was 153 goals in 10 seasons. He retired from football in PFC Locoma Plost Búlgaro.
The fight with Paco Roig
“What are you doing here, you clown son of a bitch?” The words were spoken by the former Valencian president, Francisco Roig to the former Bulgarian player Lubo Penev, when both met in the Mestalla Box in the match played between Valencia and Atlético after the striker left the mattress team. The thing was not left in words. Both, after insulting each other a few more times, decided to take the step of showing their fists, where, given the Bulgarian's performance, Roig came out worse off. He had symptoms of a stroke in one eye. And as the worst off in the fight, he ended up denouncing Penev, although the latter also had a damaged cheekbone.
His adventure as Mestalla coach
In July 2017, Penev returned to Valencia CF to coach Valencia Mestalla. Only four months later, in November, Valencia announced the dismissal of Penev after the forward announced that he was running as a candidate for the presidency of the Bulgarian Football Federation.
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