Asen Panchev ( bg, Асен Панчев) (1 October 1906 – 17 December 1989) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a left wing.

Early life

He was born in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bulgaria. He started his career in the local club Asparuh Sofia. Later moved to the youth club of

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...

Club career

In Levski he stayed thirteen seasons, played in 107 games and scored a total of sixty goals. He played one season (1934–1935) for Bohemians Praha. After the end of the season, he returned to Levski, where he spent one more year before being forced to retire.

International career

In his stay in the national team of Bulgaria during the period 1926-1936 he took part in thirty-nine games, scoring seventeen goals. He was an inseparable part of the glorious pair with

Asen Peshev Asen Peshev () (5 March 1908-28 June 1967) was а Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker or left wing. Club career He started playing in the Sofia club Vladislav in 1923. In 1924 he moved to Levski Sofia where he stayed thirteen seasons. ...

. He has been compared to a flying arrow. His nickname was "Pancheto". On 9 June 1932, he managed to score a second-half hat-trick for

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

against the powerful

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, unfortunately, they went down only as consolation goals as they still lost 3-5. But the highlight of his international career came in the 1931 Balkan Cup, where he was the top goal scorer with 3 goals, having scored a brace against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and a late winner against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

that gave the title to his nation, and with it, Bulgaria's first piece of silverware. He was also part of the Bulgaria team that won the

1932 Balkan Cup The 1932 Balkan Cup was the third Balkan Cup football tournament. The national teams of Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania took part and it was won by Bulgaria. The top goalscorer was Živković Živković (sometimes transliterated Zivkovic ...

, contributing with 2 goals. He also scored twice in the 1934-35 and

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

editions, although his efforts proved useless to help Bulgaria win another

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

title. With 10 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is the shared third all-time top goal scorer in the competition's history. At the end of 1936 he was crippled and permanently became invalid.

Managerial career

He coached Levski in 1939-1940 when the team won the silver medals. In 1941-1942 he won the championship and cup with Levski Sofia. For a short period of time coaches Levski in 1952.

International goals

:''Bulgaria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Panchev goal.

Awards

Player

;Levski Sofia *Bulgarian

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

: 1933 and 1937 *Four times winner of Ulpia Serdika Cup: 1926, 1930, 1931, 1932 *Sofia Championship: 1924, 1925, 1929, 1933, 1937

International

;Bulgaria *Balkan Cup winner in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

Individual

*Top goalscorer of the 1931 Balkan Cup with 3 goals

Coach

;Levski Sofia *

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament ...

and Bulgarian League winner in 1942 *Sofia Championship title holder in 1942 (part of a

Treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...

winning season) and in 1943

References

1906 births 1989 deaths Bulgarian footballers Bulgaria international footballers PFC Levski Sofia players Bulgarian football managers PFC Levski Sofia managers Expatriate footballers in Czechoslovakia Association football midfielders {{Bulgaria-footy-midfielder-stub