Petar Petrov Zhekov ( bg, Петър Петров Жеков, born 10 October 1944) is a former
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 ...
n
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
, widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the history of the Bulgarian football. He won the silver medal at the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
.
Zhekov was born in
Knizhovnik,
Haskovo Province
Haskovo Province ( bg, Област Хасково - ''Oblast Haskovo'', former name ''Haskovo okrug'') is a province in southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece and Turkey to the southeast, comprising parts of the Thracian valley along the river ...
, and began his career at
F.C. Dimitrovgrad. He was initially deployed as a
defender, but on the advice of manager Hristo Hadzhiev switched to the forward position. Later he moved to
Beroe Stara Zagora
Beroe ( bg, Берое) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded in 1916 under the name ''Vere ...
, where he twice became
Bulgaria's top goalscorer. Between 1968 and 1975 Zhekov played for
CSKA Sofia
CSKA Sofia ( bg, ЦСКА София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sport ...
and scored 144 goals for the team. This makes him the club's best goalscorer of all time. He also won the
European Golden Boot
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. ...
in 1969 and two European Bronze Boots. He has 333 appearances and a record of 253 goals in
the Bulgarian A Group.
He later coached
PFC Hebar Pazardzhik
FC Hebar ( bg, Футболен клуб Хебър) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Pazardzhik. The club currently competes in the First League, the first tier of the Bulgarian football league system.
Founded in 1918, Hebar h ...
.
Петър Жеков
hebarfc.com
Career statistics
Honours
* Bulgarian League: 6
1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75
*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 ...
: 4
:: 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974
Individual
*European Golden Boot
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. ...
: 1969
* Bulgarian League Top Scorer : 6 times
:: 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973
References
1944 births
Living people
Bulgarian footballers
Bulgaria international footballers
Olympic silver medalists for Bulgaria
Olympic footballers of Bulgaria
Footballers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
FC Dimitrovgrad players
PFC Beroe Stara Zagora players
PFC CSKA Sofia players
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
1966 FIFA World Cup players
1970 FIFA World Cup players
People from Dimitrovgrad, Bulgaria
Olympic medalists in football
Bulgarian football managers
PFC Hebar Pazardzhik managers
OFC Vihren Sandanski managers
Association football forwards
Sportspeople from Haskovo Province
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