Ivan Kolev Vutsov ( bg, Иван Кoлeв Вуцов; 14 December 1939 – 18 January 2019) was a

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 ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the Bulgarian national team. He played in three matches at the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

and for

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 ...

Playing career

Vutsov's professional playing career as a defender spanned nearly 15 years, during which he played for three clubs:

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes ...

and Akademik Sofia. He spent nine seasons with Levski where he won two Bulgarian League titles and one

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 ...

. Vutsov was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

24 times for the

Bulgaria national football team The Bulgaria national football team ( bg, Български национален отбор по футбол, Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol) represents Bulgaria in men's international Association football, football and is administere ...

and appeared in the

. He was also a vice president of the

Bulgarian Football Union The Bulgarian Football Union ( bg, Български футболен съюз, Bǎlgarski futbolen sǎyuz; BFS) is a football association based in Bulgaria and a member of UEFA. It organizes a football league, Bulgarian Parva Liga, and field ...

and manager of the Bulgarian national team,

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

and

PFC 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 ...

where became famous for having 18 games in the European club competitions during his reign. One of the most prominent players he discovered was

Alen Bokšić Alen Bokšić (; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professional footballer. A forward who spent most of his career in France and Italy, he was renowned for his technique and power, and is regarded as one of the greatest players in the h ...

, when managing

. He also held various administrative positions at the

. His son,

Velislav Vutsov Velislav Ivanov Vutsov ( Bulgarian: Велислав Иванов Вуцов) (born 19 July 1967) is a Bulgarian football manager and former footballer. He is also the son of former footballer Ivan Vutsov. Career Throughout his career, he has b ...

, is also a former footballer.

Achievements

''As player of Levski'' * 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 ...

– 1965, 1968 *

– 1967 ''As player of Bulgaria'' *

– 15th Place ''As coach of Levski'' * Bulgarian Champion – 1979 * Bulgarian Cup – 1976, 1979 *

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

1/4 Finalist –

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

''As coach of Bulgaria'' *

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...

– 15th Place

References

External links

Profile at LevskiSofia.info
1939 births 2019 deaths Bulgarian footballers Botev Plovdiv players PFC Levski Sofia players Akademik Sofia players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Bulgarian football managers People from Gabrovo 1966 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup managers Bulgaria international footballers PFC Levski Sofia managers HNK Hajduk Split managers Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Yugoslavia Expatriate football managers in Yugoslavia Aris Thessaloniki F.C. managers PFC Spartak Varna managers Bulgaria national football team managers Bulgarian expatriate football managers PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv managers PFC Slavia Sofia managers Association football defenders Expatriate football managers in Greece Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Greece {{Bulgaria-footy-defender-stub