Georgi Hristov ( Macedonian: Ѓорѓи Христов; born 30 January 1976) is a Macedonian former 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, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker. Hristov represented

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

internationally between 1995 and 2005, amassing 48

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scoring 16 goals.

Club career

Born in

Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...

, Hristov started out at his hometown club

Pelister Baba (; or Baba Mountain, ), also known by the name of its highest peak, Pelister (), is a mountain in North Macedonia. The Pelister peak (2601 metres, or 8533 feet) overlooks the city of Bitola. Baba is the third highest mountain in North Macedo ...

, making his

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...

debut at the age of 16. He would earn himself a transfer to Partizan in 1994, spending three years with the ''Crno-beli'' and winning back-to-back championships in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

and

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. In June 1997, Hristov was sold to English side

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

for a club record fee of £1.5 million. He scored four league goals in his debut season with the Tykes as they suffered relegation from the Premiership. Over the next two seasons, Hristov missed a majority of games due to a knee injury, before eventually leaving on a free transfer. He subsequently joined Dutch club

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

in July 2000, finishing his debut season in

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

as the team's top scorer with 15 goals. In July 2003, following two injury-plagued seasons with NEC, Hristov completed a switch to

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

on a one-year deal with an option for a further year. He was forced to undergo another knee surgery in January 2004, causing him to miss the rest of the season. After half a year without a club, Hristov joined Scottish side

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

in January 2005. He was, however, released by the Pars before the end of the season. In September 2005, Hristov moved to Hungary and signed with

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

on a four-year deal. His contract was prematurely terminated by mutual agreement before the end of the same year. Between January and May 2006, Hristov played for

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

club Hapoel Nazareth Illit in a failed attempt to save them from relegation.

International career

At international level, Hristov was capped on 48 occasions for

, scoring 16 times. He netted a goal on his debut in a 2–2 draw against

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

on 10 May 1995. His last cap came on 12 October 2005 in a 0–0 draw away against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Managerial career

In October 2011, Hristov was appointed as manager of Metalurg Skopje. He resigned from his position in November 2012.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Partizan *

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed as the First League of FR Yugoslavia following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, ef ...

: 1995–96, 1996–97

References

External links