ˌɔn twˈɛnti θɹˈiː dʒuːlˈaɪ nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti sˈɛvən, nˈæŋkɑːv wʌz ɪnvˈɑːlvd ɪn ˈɑːɹɡjuːəbli wˈʌn ʌvðə mˈoʊst dɹəmˈæɾɪk mˈætʃᵻz ɪn sˈiːskˈɑː sˈoʊfiəz ɹˈiːsənt hˈɪstɚɹi, skˈoːɹɪŋ twˈaɪs tə ɡˈɪv hɪz tˈiːm ɐ θɹˈiː:wˈʌn ɐwˈeɪ lˈiːd ɐɡˈɛnst ɹoʊmˈeɪniən sˈaɪd ˌɛfsˈiː stˈoʊə bjˈuːkjʊɹɹˌɛsti ɪnðə fˈɜːst lˈɛɡ əvə tʃˈæmpiənz lˈiːɡ pɹɪlˈɪmɪnˌɛɹi fˈeɪz mˈætʃ, bˌʌt wʌz ˈʌltᵻmətli sˈɛnt ˈɔf ænd ðə ɹoʊmˈeɪniənz səksˈiːdᵻd ɪn bɹˈɪŋɪŋ ðə skˈoːɹ tə θɹˈiː:θɹˈiː.
On 23 July 1997, Nankov was involved in arguably one of the most dramatic matches in CSKA Sofia's recent history, scoring twice to give his team a 3:1 away lead against Romanian side FC Steaua București in the first leg of a Champions League preliminary phase match, but was ultimately sent off and the Romanians succeeded in bringing the score to 3:3.