Lyubomir Angelov

Lyubomir Angelov
Lyubomir Angelov in 1943
Personal information
Date of birth (1912-10-04)4 October 1912
Place of birth Sofia, Kingdom of Bulgaria
Date of death 24 December 1984(1984-12-24) (aged 72)
Place of death Sofia, PR Bulgaria
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1922–1923 Atletik Sofia
1923–1924 Slava
1924–1926 Shipka Sofia
1926–1928 Shipka Sofia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1928–1944 AS-23 Sofia
1944–1947 Chavdar Sofia 20 (9)
International career
1931–1940 Bulgaria 44 (26)
Managerial career
1948 Bulgaria
1949–1959 Bulgaria B
1949–1956 Spartak Sofia
1950 Bulgaria
1953 Bulgaria
1957 Lokomotiv Sofia
1960–1962 Bulgaria U21
1964 Lokomotiv Sofia
1966–1968 Spartak Sofia
1969–1972 Levski-Spartak Sofia (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lyubomir Angelov (Bulgarian: Любомир Ангелов; 4 October 1912 – 24 October 1984) was a Bulgarian footballer and manager who played as a forward for the Bulgaria national team.[1] With 26 goals in 44 caps for Bulgaria, he ranks as the nation's fifth-highest all-time top goalscorer.

Club career

[edit]

He began to play football in his hometown clubs in Sofia such as Atletik, Sława and Szypce.[2] At the age of 14, he moved to AS-23 Sofia, where he was nicknamed Старото (Bulgarian: Staroto), which he received from his schoolmates from the gymnasium.[2] He was Champion of Bulgaria in 1931, when on the final matchday, they defeated FK Szypczenski Sokol by walkover.[3] In 1941, he won the Tsar's Cup, scoring twice in the final against Napredak Ruse to help his side to a 4–2.

After the seizure of power by the communist regime in the 1944 Bulgarian coup d'état, AS-23 Sofia was dissolved, while the main activists were subjected to repression for political reasons. Angelov, along with other leading AS-23 players, Spartak Podujane and Szypki Sofia, founded the band Czawdar Sofia, in which he performed until the end of 1947.[citation needed]

International career

[edit]

He played in 44 matches for the Bulgaria national football team from 1931 to 1940, nine of which as its captain, scoring a then-national record of 26 goals.[4] He was part of the Bulgaria team that won two back-to-back Balkan Cups in 1931 and in 1932, contributing with 1 and 2 goals respectively, but the highlight of his international career came in the 1935 Balkan Cup, where he was the top goal scorer with 6 goals which came in the form of two hat-tricks against Greece and Yugoslavia.[5] With 14 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is the second-best top goal scorer in the competition's history, only behind Iuliu Bodola of Romania, who has 15. Angelov was also part of Bulgaria's team for their qualification matches for the 1938 FIFA World Cup.[6]

Managerial career

[edit]

After completing his competitive career, he became a coach, graduating from the State Coaching School (1948).[2] Angelov took charge of the Bulgaria national team three times, first in 1948, then in 1950, and finally in 1953, leading the nation in 8 games.[7] He also served as the head coach of the Bulgaria B team in 23 games between 1949 and 1959 and the youth (junior) team in 13 games between 1960 and 1962.[2]

He was the coach of Spartak Sofia twice (1949–1956, 1966–1968) and again twice with Łokomotiv Sofia (1957, 1964), and was also employed in the training staff of Spartak-Levski Sofia, where he was assistant to Rudolf Vytlačil and Yoncho Arsov.[2] Between 1964 and 1966, he worked in Syria, creating the structures of the local football league and the player training system.[2]

International goals

[edit]
Bulgaria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Angelov goal.
List of international goals scored by Ljubomir Angelov[8][4]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 October 1931 Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria  Yugoslavia 2–2 3–2 1931 Balkan Cup
2 25 October 1931  Greece 2–1 2–1 1929-31 Balkan Cup
3 27 March 1932 Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece 2–1 2–1 Friendly
4 30 March 1932 2–2 2–2
5 30 June 1932 Beogradski SK Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia  Yugoslavia 1–0 3–2 1932 Balkan Cup
6 2 July 1932  Greece 1–0 2–0
7 4 November 1932 Taksim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey  Turkey 3–2 3–2 Friendly
8 18 March 1934 Stadion Balgarska Armia, Sofia, Bulgaria  Yugoslavia 1–2 1–2
9 1 April 1934 Beogradski SK Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia  Yugoslavia 1–0 3–2
10 30 December 1934 Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece  Romania 1–3 2–3 1934–35 Balkan Cup
11 2–3
12 26 May 1935 Stadion Balgarska Armia, Sofia, Bulgaria  Germany B 2–0 2–0 Friendly
13 16 June 1935 Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria  Greece 2–1 5–2 1935 Balkan Cup
14 3–1
15 4–1
16 24 June 1935  Yugoslavia 1–2 3–3
17 2–2
18 3–2
19 21 May 1936 Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania  Greece 3–1 5–4 1936 Balkan Cup
20 24 May 1936  Romania 1–1 1–4
21 11 July 1937 Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria  Yugoslavia B 1–0 4–0 Friendly
22 4–0
23 12 September 1937  Poland 2–1 3–3
24 2 October 1938  Germany B 1–1 1–3
25 24 May 1939  Latvia 2–0 3–0
26 20 October 1940 Grünwalder Stadion, Munich, Germany  Germany 3–6 3–7

Honours

[edit]

Club

[edit]
AS-23 Sofia

Bulgarian State Football Championship:

International

[edit]
Bulgaria

Balkan Cup:

Individual

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ljubomir Angelov". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "На 4 октомври е роден българският футболист Любомир Ангелов – Старото!" [Bulgarian football player Lubomir Angelov was born on October 4 - Staroto!]. patrioti.net (in Bulgarian). 4 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Bulgaria Championship History 1924-2009". RSSSF. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Ljubomir Angelov - international football player". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Balkan Cup 1935 results". EU-football.info. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  6. ^ "World Cup 1938 Qualifying". RSSSF. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Liubomir Angelov, football manager". eu-football.info. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Liubomir Angelov - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
[edit]