Georgi Hristov (; born 10 January 1985) is a Bulgarian 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.

Career

Maritsa Plovdiv

Hristov was born in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

. He grew up as part of Maritsa Plovdiv's academy and made his debut for the senior team in 2002/2003 season. He played for Maritsa until 2007. During the 2005/2006 season he was

B PFG The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League (), also known as Second League () or Vtora liga, is the second level of the Bulgarian football league system, below First Professional Football League (Bulgaria), First League and above the Third ...

's top scorer, with 18 goals. In the same season he was chosen the best footballer of B PFG East group by other players.

Botev Plovdiv

He signed a contract with Botev during summer of 2007. In his first season in

A PFG The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

he became a topscorer, scoring 19 goals and was chosen the best footballer of the season by other players. Hristov became a free-agent on 4 July 2008.

Levski Sofia

Hristov started training with Levski Sofia on 23 June 2008. Later, he signed his contract with 'the Blues'. He scored a hat-trick against his ex-team Botev, in one of his first matches for Levski. On 13 August 2008, Hristov earned a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

for Levski Sofia in the first leg of a decisive Champions League match against

BATE Borisov FC BATE Borisov (, ''FK BATE Borisov'' ; , ''BATE Barysaw,'' ), commonly referred to as BATE or BATE Borisov, is a Belarusian professional football team from the city of Barysaw. The club competes in the Belarusian Premier League, of which the ...

, but it was not converted and the "bluemen" subsequently lost the match by a score of 0:1. On 26 April 2009 Hristov scored four goals against

PFC Belasitsa Petrich OFC Belasitsa () is a Bulgarian Association football, football club from the town of Petrich, currently playing in the Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria), Second League. The team was founded in 1923. They play at the Stadion Tsar Sa ...

. He scored in 56th, 63rd, 65th and 86th minute. The result of the match was 1:7 with a guest win for Levski Sofia. On 9 May 2009 Hristov scored the first goal for Levski Sofia in

The Eternal Derby The Eternal derby of Bulgarian football or simply The Eternal derby () is the name of the local derby football match between the two most popular and successful football clubs in Sofia and Bulgaria: Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia. The dominant forc ...

against CSKA. The result of the match was 0:2 with a guest win for Levski. He became a Champion of Bulgaria in 2009. On 15 July 2009, Hristov opened his goal account for the new season with two goals in the first official match for Levski during 2009/2010 season. The event took place in the 2nd Qualifying round of

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, where Levski beaten the team of

UE Sant Julià Unió Esportiva Sant Julià, also known as UE Sant Julià, is an Andorran professional Association football, football club based in the parish of Sant Julià de Lòria. The club currently competes in the Segona Divisió, but withdrew from this s ...

. The result of the match was 4:0 with a home win for Levski. On 5 August 2009, he also scored against

FK Baku FC Baku (), founded as Dinamo Baku in 1997, was an Azerbaijani football club based in Baku that had been an amateur club since 2016. Prior to that, Baku played 18 seasons in the Azerbaijan Premier League, winning the championship twice and the N ...

to wrap up a 2:0 win for the team from

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. In the play-off round Levski was eliminated by

Debreceni VSC Debreceni Vasutas Sport Club is a Hungarian professional football club based in Debrecen that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the first tier of Hungarian football. They are best known internationally for reaching the group stages of the U ...

with 4:1 (on aggregate). However, Levski qualified for

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. On 8 January 2009. the coach of Levski Georgi Ivanov, announced that he gave 'his' ex-kit-number 9 to Hristov.

Wisła Kraków

On 26 February 2010

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

signed the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n forward on loan from

PFC Levski Sofia PFC Levski Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First Professional Football League (Bulgaria), First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was ...

. On 7 June 2010 it was announced that Hristov's loan contract would be terminated and he would return to Levski, unlike the initial plans of

Wisła Wisła (; ; ) is a town in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, with a population of about 11,132 (2019), near the border with the Czech Republic. It is situated in the Silesian Beskids mountain range in the historical region of ...

having him on loan until December 2010.

Return to Bulgaria

On 31 August 2010, Hristov moved to

PFC Slavia Sofia PFC Slavia Sofia 1913 () 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 Professional Football League, First League. Slavia's home g ...

. In August 2012, he moved to another

outfit

PFC Lokomotiv Sofia FC Lokomotiv Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First Professional Football League (Bulgaria), First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports C ...

. In February 2013, he trialed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

Tampa Bay Rowdies

On 8 March 2013, The

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

, of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, announced that the club had signed Hristov to a two-year deal. Year two of the contract is a club option. Hristov scored his first goal for the Rowdies in a 2–0 win against the

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadi ...

. Hristov made 22 appearances during his first season in USA, finishing as the club's top scorer with 12 goals. He also made 8 assists. He won the MVP award of the league that year. On 4 July 2018 Hristov scored his 58th career goal for the Rowdies, making him the Rowdies' all-time top scorer. Since retiring from professional football, Hristov has featured for

Nashville United Nashville United is an American soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team competes in the Southeast Conference of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), generally considered to be the fourth tier of the United States soccer league ...

during 2020 U.S. Open Cup qualification, and for South Tampa FC of the Florida Suncoast Soccer League, which is a Tampa Bay-area Sunday league.

International career

Georgi Hristov was called up for one friendly match against

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in August 2008, but remained an unused substitute.

Personal life

Hristov is an avid

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

fan, and cited the American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

as his favourite. His older brother Hristo was a guitarist in the rock band P.I.F.

Statistics

: ''(As of 22 May 2018)''

Honours

Levski

: 2008–09 *

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup () is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and the holder of the Bulgarian Cup at that time. ...

: 2009

Individual

Top Goalscorer: 2005–06 *

Top Goalscorer: 2007–08 * B PFG "East" Footballer of the Season: 2005–06 * A PFG Footballer of the Season: 2007–08 * NASL Golden Ball: 2013 * NASL Best XI: 2013 * NASL Player of the Month – September 2013

References

External links

*
Tampa Bay Rowdies profile

Profile at LevskiSofia.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hristov, Georgi 1985 births Living people Footballers from Plovdiv Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Men's association football forwards First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Second Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Israeli Premier League players Ekstraklasa players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players United Premier Soccer League players USL Championship players FC Maritsa Plovdiv players Botev Plovdiv players PFC Levski Sofia players Wisła Kraków players PFC Slavia Sofia players F.C. Ashdod players FC Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Poland Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in the United States 21st-century Bulgarian sportsmen