RIVAL bosses Graeme Souness and Stoicho Mladenov will resume round three of a personal duel stretching back 20 years when Blackburn Rovers and CSKA Sofia meet in the UEFA Cup tomorrow.

Fate has conspired to throw the two old rivals together again a full two decades after they first crossed swords in a couple of epic encounters during the early 1980s.

And, with honours currently even between the two legendary warriors, both men are intent on gaining the upper hand when they take up their battle stations in opposite dugouts at Ewood Park.

Twenty years ago Mladenov - nicknamed the Executioner by the Bulgarians - squared up Souness on the pitch itself as Liverpool and CSKA went head-to-head in two titanic struggles in the European Cup.

In the first meeting in 1981, it was Souness who took the spoils with a brilliant hat-trick as Bob Paisley's Reds won 5-1 at Anfield and 6-1 on aggregate on their way to being crowned the kings of Europe.

"I got three goals in the first leg and, even though I do say so myself, it was a cracking hat-trick," recalls Souness.

"The first one was at the Anfield Road End. I was in on the goalkeeper one-against-one and I slotted it past him from the penalty spot.

"Then in the second half there were two crosses from Steve Heighway, I think, one from either side kicking into the Kop, and I lashed them in from outside the box.

"So that was very satisfying."

However, that's only half the story as Mladenov gained his revenge less than 12 months later.

Once again, Liverpool looked on course to eliminate the Bulgarians after winning the first leg 1-0 at Anfield.

But Mladenov then achieved cult-status when his two goals in the second leg sent the Merseysiders spinning out of the competition 2-1 on aggregate following extra time as CSKA pulled off one of the biggest shocks in their history.

"That was one of the greatest nights in our history," said Vladimir Roupov, the current press officer for CSKA.

"Liverpool were the defending champions, they had beaten us in both games the previous year, and we looked like we were going out again after losing the first leg 1-0 at Anfield.

"But then in the second game, Mladenov scored twice, the second goal coming in extra time, and he became a hero after that.

"Our fans still call him the Executioner of Liverpool for what he did and he's fired up to do the same against Blackburn."

Even now, Souness occasionally allows his mind to wander back to the night and wonders how Liverpool conspired to lose that tie.

"That was a shock because we were the champions and especially as we'd beaten them so convincingly the year before.

"I can remember it going into extra-time, they were 2-0 up, we needed to score, and David Johnson had an incredible effort stopped by their keeper on the goalline. It was an instinctive save from a point-blank header and I knew then that it wasn't to be.

"But isn't fate strange that we are now going to meet again?"

In the ensuing years, both men have since hung up their boots to concentrate on managerial careers.

Souness arrived at Ewood two years ago via spells at Rangers, Liverpool, Galatasaray, Southampton, Benfica and Torino whereas Mladenov returned to his roots in the summer following a couple of years in Portugal and a stint as Bulgarian national boss.

Although he has only been at the helm three months, the signs are he is about to bring the good times back after a relatively barren period in the club's history.

CSKA might get a mention in the Guiness Book of records for winning the Bulgarian Championship a whopping 28 times but their last title success came five years ago - an eternity by their standards.

In Mladenov, though, they feel they have the right man to set the record straight and five wins from their opening five games would appear to support that view.

"The supporters have reacted very positively to his appointment," said Roupov.

"He was head of the international team, he has a lot of experience, and he's very well respected in Bulgaria.

"Our fans also connect him to the last time we won the title in 1997 because he was assistant manager of the team at the time."

What would please his growing fan club most, however, would be another run in Europe.

Over the years, CSKA have claimed a number of high-profile scalps - including Liverpool - and they are eager to add Rovers to their collection.

But what are their chances of inflicting further pain on Souness again?

"We are optimistic. I would say our chances are 50/50 because Blackburn are, of course, a very good side," said Roupov.

"They've got more famous players than we have but they are in a bit of a crisis because they've only won one game all season.

"So we think we can beat them if we apply ourselves at Ewood Park.

"We know quite a bit about them because we watch English matches every week here.

"We know their players like Brad Friedel, Damien Duff, Tugay, David Dunn and, of course, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke.

"And we also know they have a poor record in Europe which is something we are hoping to exploit."