Bulgaria's flamboyant Prime Minister Boiko Borisov is in the running to be named the country's soccer player of the year after Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov got bored of winning.
Borisov sometimes plays as a striker for third division team Vitosha Bistritsa, nicknamed the Tigers, and comfortably leads the fans' poll with more than 2,000 votes.
"There's no way for me to admit I'm a poor player," Borisov, 52, told private broadcaster bTV. "The Tigers are a great team."
It is the first time the Bulgarian Football Union has allowed soccer fans to participate in the poll. They will nominate the top 20 while sports journalists will have the final vote.
Berbatov, Bulgaria's leading scorer with 48 international goals, is second with less than 1,500 votes but has urged journalists to stop voting for him having won the award for a record seventh time last December.
In addition to being a prolific soccer striker as he often boasts himself, Prime Minister Borisov is a black belt in karate and an avid tennis player.
