- Georgi Velinov
Georgi Velinov Velinov ( _bg. Георги Велинов Велинов; b. 5 October 1957), nicknamed Johnny (Джони, "Dzhoni") is a former
Bulgaria n footballer and football manager. A goalkeeper, he was electedBulgarian Footballer of the Year in 1981.Velinov was born in
Rousse on 5 October 1957. He played forPFC Dunav Rousse (1974–1975, fourA PFG matches) andPFC Cherno More Varna (1976–1978, 37 A PFG matches) before joiningPFC CSKA Sofia , of whom he was part of from 1978 to 1987. During his first stay with CSKA, Velinov won the A PFG in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1987 and theBulgarian Cup in 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1987. Velinov then moved toPortugal to play forS.C. Braga (1987–1988),Atlético Clube de Portugal (1988–1989) andElvas (1989–1990). He returned to Bulgaria and played one more season with CSKA, 1991–1992, winning the A PFG once more and setting his number of league appearances for CSKA at 285.Velinov continued his career in
PFC Slavia Sofia (1993–1994, 12 A PFG matches),PFC Sliven (1994) and Botev Novi Pazar (1995). His career spanned 338 A PFG matches, 33 seniorBulgaria national football team appearances, 21 under-21 features and 17 junior international games. He was a awarded a Master of Sports honour in 1980 and won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year prize in 1981.In 1995–1996, Velinov was the manager of FC Lokomotiv Rousse; it was under his management that Lokomotiv first managed to defeat their local rivals Dunav, beating them 1–0. The defeat meant Dunav would be relegated to the amateur V AFG for the first time ever while Lokomotiv would remain in the B PFG. He has also worked as a goalkeeper coach and as a coach in CSKA's youth teams. In May 2007, he became a
liver transplant recipient. [cite news|url=http://topsport.ibox.bg/news/id_1596888692|title=Оперираха Георги Велинов |date=2007-05-11|publisher=Топспорт|language=Bulgarian|accessdate=2008-10-09]References
*cite book
last = Paytashev
first = Rumen
year = 2001
title = Svetovna Futbolna Entsiklopediya
publisher = KK Trud
location = Sofia
id = ISBN 954-528-201-0
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