Georgi Asparuhov

Georgi Rangelov Asparuhov (Bulgarian: Георги Рангелов Аспарухов) (sometimes also 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.
A prolific forward of his generation, Asparuhov was renowned for his finishing, technique and heading ability. He was voted the best Bulgarian footballer of the 20th century, ahead of Hristo Stoichkov. Asparuhov was also nominated for the 1965 Ballon D'Or award, finishing eighth in the final standings. Asparuhov's career was cut short in 1971 at the age of 28 when he was killed in a vehicle accident.

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. 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.

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

• 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

• Champion of Bulgaria /3 times/ : 1965, 1968, 1970
• Holder of the National Cup /4 times/ : 1962, 1967, 1970, 1971
• Bulgarian A Group top scorer /1964-65/ : 27 goals
• European Cup Winners Cup top scorer : 1962-63
• Bulgarian sportsperson of the year : 1965
• Bulgarian footballer of the year : 1965
• Best Bulgarian footballer of the 20th century
• Ballon d'Or 1965 : 8th place
• Three times participation on FIFA World Cup Finals : 1962, 1966, 1970
• Quarter-final with Bulgarian national team on UEFA European Championship : 1968
• Holder of an Order of Labour
• Deserved Master of Sports
• Holder of the Fairplay prize /posthumously/: 1999
• FIFA award: All-time best footballer on the planet – 40th place