Georgi Asparuhov

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For the PFC Levski Sofia stadium, see Georgi Asparuhov Stadium.

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Georgi Asparuhov
Georgi Asparuhov 1969.jpg
Georgi Asparuhov in 1969
Personal information
Full name Georgi Rangelov Asparuhov
Date of birth (1943-05-04)4 May 1943
Place of birth Sofia, Bulgaria
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Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Levski Sofia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1959–1961 Levski Sofia 23 (7)
1961–1963 Botev Plovdiv 47 (25)
1963–1971 Levski Sofia 176 (118)
Total 246 (150[2])
International career‡
1961–1971 Bulgaria 50 (19)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 June 2006
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 30 May 2006

Georgi Rangelov Asparuhov (Bulgarian: Георги Рангелов Аспарухов) (sometimes spelled Asparoukhov), nicknamed Gundi (4 May 1943 – 30 June 1971) was a Bulgarian football player. He is considered to be among the top Bulgarian footballers of all time.[3] He was voted the best Bulgarian footballer of the 20th century, ahead of Hristo Stoichkov.[3] Asparuhov was nominated for the 1965 Ballon D'Or award, finishing eighth in the final standings. Normally a striker, Asparuhov was renowned for his finishing, technique and heading ability.

Career

Asparuhov was a striker for Levski Sofia from 1960 to 1961 and 1964 to 1971, and for Botev Plovdiv from 1961 to 1963. He played 245 matches and scored 150 goals in the top Bulgarian division.[4] Some of the top European clubs at the time sought his services. In the 1965–66 European Cup, Levski played Benfica (with Eusébio in the squad). When Benfica eliminated Levski after hard fought 3:2 and 2:2 scorelines and Gundi having netted 3 of all Levski goals (one of them Simo Nikolov), Europe began to view Gundi with interest. In fact, he was the first player to score two goals in Benfica's stadium. The Portuguese club wanted to buy Asparuhov, but the communist government of Bulgaria did not allow them to do so.

Asparuhov featured in 50 games for the Bulgarian national football team, scoring 19 goals. He scored the only goal for Bulgaria in the 1966 World Cup in England.

Death

Asparuhov died in a car crash in 1971 with teammate Nikola Kotkov. Over 550,000 people gathered at his funeral in Sofia.[5] The present stadium of Levski Sofia is named Georgi Asparuhov Stadium in honour of the famous striker.

Statistics

  • National team — 50 matches, 19 goals
  • Bulgarian championship — 245 matches, 150 goals — 199/125 for Levski, 45/25 for Botev
  • Bulgarian Cup — 35 matches, 20 goals — 27/16 for Levski, 8/4 for Botev
  • Total club mathes — 326 matches, 209 goals
  • European club tournaments — 23 matches, 19 goals — CEC-12, CWC-7
  • International club matches — 35 matches, 23 goals — 32/20 for Levski, 3/3 for Botev
  • First match — with Levski against Lokomotiv Sofia — 22 September 1960
  • Last match — with Levski against CSKA — 28 June 1971
  • First goal — for Levski against Botev (1:1) — 28 September 1960
  • Last goal — for Levski against Etar — 13 June 1971
  • First international cap — 6 May 1962 against Austria
  • Last international cap – 12 June 1970 against Morocco
  • Overall – 388 matches, 231 goals

Honours

References

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  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Georgi Asparuhov – Gundi – Bulgarian legendary football player. Events.Bg. Retrieved on 19 November 2013.

External links


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