Nasko Petkov Sirakov ( bg, Наско Петков Сираков; born 26 April 1962) is a Bulgarian retired professional

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, rugb ...

who played mainly as a striker. He is the major shareholder 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 ...

. Part of the Bulgaria national team at the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

as it finished fourth, he was one of the most important footballers in the country in the 1980s and 1990s, representing

in four separate spells. Having surpassed the 200-goal mark as a professional – he was crowned the country's top division topscorer four times – Sirakov also worked with his main club in directorial capacities.

Club career

Born in

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

, the son of professional

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

Petko Sirakov, Nasko started playing as a striker, playing three games for

's first team in 1980, having joined the club's youth system at the age of 13. In the following years, he developed his game with Spartak Varna and lowly

Haskovo Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Develo ...

, returning to Levski after two seasons (he also played briefly for the latter club in the 1982–83 season). In his second stint at Levski, Sirakov began appearing regularly, scoring 14 goals in only 19 matches in

1984–85 A Group The 1984–85 A Group was the 37th season of the A Football Group, the top Bulgarian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1948. Overview It was contested by 16 teams, and Levski Sofia won the championshi ...

, as the team won

the league ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

. From 1986–88, with the club now renamed Vitosha, he helped to another championship, as well as leading the goal charts in both seasons, scoring 64 goals combined – 36 in just 30 matches in

the first year ''The First Year'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film based on a 1920 play of the same name that originally ran on Broadway at the Little Theatre. The play was written by Frank Craven and produced by John Golden. It closed in 1922 after 760 perfo ...

, although the championship was eventually lost to

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 ...

, by three points. During this spell, he also won two

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 tourname ...

s with the club. Sirakov moved abroad for the first time in 1988, playing for the following three years in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...

, with

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at L ...

and

RCD Español Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league ...

. Subsequently, he returned to Levski: in the first season upon his return, he netted 26 times in 27 matches, but the club again lost to CSKA. In the summer of 1992, the 30-year-old Sirakov signed with

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

club

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (, commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply Lens) is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, ''les sang et or'' (''the blood and gold''), co ...

, but returned to his main club in the following transfer window, helping it to three consecutive league wins, whilst being crowned the competition's top scorer on another two occasions. He finished the 1994–95 season with

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 in ...

, still contributing decisively in Levski's championship win, scoring 12 in only 10 matches. Sirakov closed his career at the age of 36, after three years with

Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia ( bg, ПФК Славия София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the top tier of the Bulgarian football league system, the First League. Slavia's home groun ...

, winning a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

in 1995–96 season. During his career in his country, he amassed totals of 294 matches and 196 goals in the top division, the second best achievement after

Petar Zhekov Petar Petrov Zhekov ( bg, Петър Петров Жеков, born 10 October 1944) is a former Bulgarian footballer, widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the history of the Bulgarian football. He won the silver medal at the 1968 Summe ...

; only with his main club, Levski, he scored 165 times in 205 games, a club record. Sirakov briefly managed Slavia Sofia in 1997. In the following decade, he worked as

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

for Levski, being fired on 7 May 2008, and being succeeded by former club and national teammate

Daniel Borimirov Daniel Borimirov Borisov ( bg, Даниел Боримиров Борисов; born 15 January 1970) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. Borimirov's professional playing career spanned near ...

International career

Sirakov was also a regular 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 Macedo ...

during 13 years, making his debut on 7 August 1983, against

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. He represented the nation at the

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 ...

in Mexico – scoring against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

(1–1) and helping the national team to the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

– and at the

1994 World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

in the United States: during the latter, as Bulgaria finished in a best-ever fourth position, he played in all the matches, scoring against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

for a 2–0

win, also earning

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and in the semifinal loss against Italy. Aged 34, Sirakov was also picked for

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

in England, playing the last of his 78 matches (24 goals) on 13 June, against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

, after replacing

Lyuboslav Penev Lyuboslav Mladenov Penev ( bg, Любослав Младенов Пенев; born 31 August 1966) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player. Penev played as a forward for several clubs in Bulgaria and Spain. He started hi ...

in a 1–0 win. Immediately after retiring from international play, Sirakov served as assistant to the national team, appearing with it at the

1998 World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

Personal life

Sirakov is married to Iliana Raeva, a distinguished Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast. They have two daughters, named Slaveya and Violeta. His father, the wrestler

Petko Sirakov Petko Sirakov ( bg, Петко Сираков) (16 February 1929 – 8 April 1996) was a Bulgarian wrestler who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was the father of the former Bulgarian footballer Nasko Sirakov Nasko Petkov Sirakov ...

, was the first world champion from Bulgaria.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sirakov goal.''

Honours

Levski Sofia *

A Group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1987–88,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 1993–94 *

: 1983–84, 1985–86, 1991–92, 1993–94 * Cup of the Soviet Army: 1983–84, 1986–87, 1987–88 Slavia Sofia *

: 1995–96 *

: 1995–96 Bulgaria *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

: fourth place

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

Individual *

top scorer: 1986–87 (36 goals), 1987–88 (28 goals), 1991–92 (26 goals), 1993–94 (30 goals) *

European Golden Shoe 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. ...

third place: 1986–87

References

External links

Bulgarian Sport Catalog profile
* *
Profile at LevskiSofia.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirakov, Nasko 1962 births Living people Bulgarian footballers Bulgaria international footballers Association football forwards PFC Levski Sofia players PFC Spartak Varna players FC Haskovo players Real Zaragoza players RCD Espanyol footballers RC Lens players Botev Plovdiv players PFC Slavia Sofia players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players La Liga players Ligue 1 players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1996 players Bulgarian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in France Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in Spain Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Bulgarian football managers Sportspeople from Stara Zagora Catalonia international guest footballers