Lothar Matthaeus agrees to become Bulgaria’s national team coach

Matthaeus becomes Bulgaria’s national coach

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Lothar Matthaeus, the 1991 FIFA player of the year, has been hired as Bulgaria’s national team coach,

Federation head Borislav Mihailov said Tuesday that Matthaeus had agreed to a one-year contract with an option for two more years.

The 49-year-old, who helped West Germany win the 1990 World Cup, replaces Stanimir Stoilov, who resigned Sept. 7 after losses to England and Montenegro in the opening qualifiers for the 2012 European Championship.

Matthaeus coached Hungary without much success in 2004-05 and held coaching jobs with Serbia’s Partizan Belgrade, Austria’s Rapid Vienna and Red Bull Salzburg. The midfielder played a record 150 games for West Germany and Germany. He finished his playing career with Major League Soccer’s MetroStars in 2000.