Georgi Sokolov
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Georgi Apostolov Sokolov | ||
Date of birth | 19 June 1942 | ||
Place of birth | Sofia, Bulgaria | ||
Date of death | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. | ||
Position(s) | Winger / Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1957 | Spartak Plovdiv | 1 | (0) |
1958–1969 | Levski Sofia | 186 | (58) |
1969 | Dunav Ruse | 7 | (0) |
International career | |||
1959–1967 | Bulgaria | 14 | (5) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Georgi Apostolov Sokolov (Bulgarian: Георги Апостолов Соколов; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international footballer. Forward with remarkable ball control, imagination, dribbling skills and feints, Sokolov is regarded as one of the talanted Bulgarian footballers of all time.[1]
Sokolov spent the majority of his playing career with Levski Sofia, winning two A Group titles and two Bulgarian Cups. At international level, he represented Bulgaria at the 1962 FIFA World Cup.[2]
Contents
Career
Club career
Sokolov started his career with Spartak Plovdiv (under his father's Apostol Sokolov management). On 1 December 1957, he made his debut against Spartak Pleven to become the A Group's youngest ever player at the age of 15 years, 5 months and 12 days old.[3]
In early 1958, Sokolov joined Levski Sofia. He made his debut for the club in a friendly against Chelsea in Sofia on 17 August 1958.[4] Two weeks later, he made his league debut for Levski in a 0–0 draw against Spartak Varna at the age of 16 years, 2 months and 12 days old.[5] Sokolov spent 11 seasons with Levski, scoring 83 goals in 239 matches in all competitions. On 12 September 1965, he scored the club's first ever goal in the European Cup in a 2–1 away loss against Djurgårdens IF.[6]
International career
Sokolov played a key role in Bulgaria winning the 1959 UEFA European Under-18 Championship on home soil. He scored goal in the team's opening group stage match against the Netherlands. Bulgaria won the match 3–1. Sokolov also scored against East Germany in the semi-finals.[7]
One month later, Sokolov received his first call-up to the senior Bulgaria squad. On 13 May 1959, he became Bulgaria's youngest ever senior player by appearing in a 3–2 friendly win over Netherlands at Vasil Levski National Stadium aged 16 years, 10 months and 27 days.[8] He participated in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, and scored Bulgaria's first ever World Cup goal, in a 6–1 loss against Hungary.[9]
Honours
Club
- Levski Sofia
References
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- ↑ Georgi Sokolov – FIFA competition record
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External links
- Player Profile at levskisofia.info
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- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Articles containing Bulgarian-language text
- 1942 births
- 2002 deaths
- Bulgaria international footballers
- Bulgarian footballers
- FC Spartak Plovdiv players
- PFC Levski Sofia players
- FC Dunav Ruse players
- Bulgarian A Football Group players
- 1962 FIFA World Cup players
- Bulgarian football forward stubs