Georgi Asparuhov

Football player infobox
playername= Georgi Asparuhov


fullname = Georgi R. Asparuhov
height = 1.84m
nickname = Gundi
dateofbirth = birth date|1943|5|4|mf=y
cityofbirth = Sofia
countryofbirth = Bulgaria
dateofdeath = death date and age|1971|6|30|1943|5|4
clubcrest =
clubnumber = 9
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1959-1961
1961-1963
1963-1971
clubs = Levski Sofia
Botev Plovdiv
Levski Sofia
caps(goals) = 23 (7)
47 (25)
176 (118) [ [http://www.levski.bg/Levski/cms/info/bg/history/gundi.html PFC Levski ] ]
nationalyears = 1961-1971
nationalteam = Bulgaria
nationalcaps(goals) = 50 (19)
pcupdate = June 9, 2006
ntupdate = May 30, 2006

Georgi R. Asparuhov ( _bg. Георги Аспарухов) (sometimes spelled "Asparoukhov"), nicknamed Gundi (May 4, 1943 – June 30, 1971) was a Bulgarian football player. He is considered to be among the top Bulgarian footballers of all time, if not the best.

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. Some of the top European clubs at the time sought his services.Fact|date=May 2007 In the 1965-66 European Cup, Levski played Benfica (with stars including Eusébio in the squad). When Benfica eliminated Levski after hard fought 3:2 and 2:2 scorelines and Gundi having netted all Levski goals, Europe began to view Gundi with interest. In fact, he was the first player to score two goals in Benfica's stadiumFact|date=February 2007. In the aftermath of this match, Levski grew in popularity in Europe. The rich Portuguese club wanted to buy Asparuhov, but the communist government of Bulgaria did not allow them to do so.

For the Bulgaria national football team, Asparuhov featured in 50 games and has 19 goals. He also scored the only goal for Bulgaria in England '66. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOrTCH8NUO4 YouTube - Gundi's goal at Wembley ] ]

Asparuhov died in a car crash in 1971 with his talented teammate, Nikola Kotkov. At his funeral, over 550,000 people went to Sofia to pay tribute and their respect to him and to bid him farewell. The present stadium of PFC Levski Sofia is called 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

Honours

* Champion of Bulgaria — 3 times, 1965, 1968 and 1970 with Levski
* Holder of the National Cup — 4 times, 1962 with Botev Plovdiv, 1968, 1970, 1971 (posthumously) with Levski
* World Cup — 3 times, 1962, 1966 and 1970
* Bulgaria's top scorer — 1964-1965 - 27 goals
* Sportsman #1 of Bulgaria — 1965
* Holder of an Order of Labour
* Deserved Master of Sports
* Holder of the Fairplay prize (posthumously) — 1999
* 8th place in the Golden Ball quiz — 1965

References

External links

* [http://www.georgiasparuhov.com/ GeorgiAsparuhov.Com]
* [http://gundi.levskifootball.com/ Gundi.LevskiFootball.Com]
* [http://www.geocities.com/levski2000/AsparuchovGeorgi.html Website from LEVSKI2000]
* [http://www.levskifc.hit.bg/gundi.html Website from Levskifc]
* [http://www.blue-blood.hit.bg/gundi.htm Website from Blue-blood]
* [http://www.levski.bg/History/gundi-bg.htm Website from Levski.bg]
* [http://liudmil.blog.bg/viewpost.php?id=7231 Blog from Ludmil]
* [http://www.levski.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=30 Website from Levski.biz]
* [http://samolevski.freeservers.com/as.htm The History of Georgi Asparuhov]
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