Todor Nedyalkov Diev ( bg, Тодор Недялков Диев) (28 January 1934 – 6 January 1995) 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 ...
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 le ...
, part of the Bulgarian squad that won the bronze medals in the
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
Career
Diev began his career at the local
Spartak Plovdiv
PFC Spartak Plovdiv ( bg, ПФК Спартак Пловдив) is a Bulgarian football club based in Plovdiv, which currently plays in the third tier of Bulgarian football, the Third League. The club was established in 1947 and folded its seni ...
. He made his professional debut in 1950 and since then he played in 308 matches and scored 146 goals. He had a brief period in
Spartak Sofia
FC Spartak Sofia ( bg, ФК Спартак София) was a Bulgarian football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded in 1947. The team plays in the Bulgarian Regional Division. The club's home colours are blue and white ...
in 1952–1953. He won the
Bulgarian A Professional Football 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 ...
in 1963 and the
Soviet Army 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 tournamen ...
in 1958. Diev was crowned as championship top scorer for three times in 1955, 1962 and 1963. He is one of the legends of Spartak Plovdiv. He was recognized as all-time best player of the club.
Todor made his international debut on 13 November 1955, when he scored a goal against
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
in a 3–0 win in
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
. He was capped 55 times for
Bulgaria national team and scored 16 goals. Diev played for the team in
1962 FIFA World Cup
The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place bet ...
in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and won a bronze medal in the
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. His most remarkable goal was against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
on 18 May 1958 at
Estádio do Morumbi
Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, widely known as Morumbi (), is a football stadium located in the eponymous district in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the home of São Paulo Futebol Clube and its formal name honors Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, who w ...
. After the match, he received an offer for transfer in Brazilian club, but he refused. Diev was team captain since 20 December 1964 to his retirement. His last international match was against
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
on 27 October 1965, Bulgaria lost 5–0 in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
Todor Diev international appearances, matches and goals – eu-football.info
/ref>
Honours
; Spartak Plovdiv (1953–1966)
*Bulgarian A PFG
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 ...
: 1962–63
* Soviet Army 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 tournamen ...
: 1958
; Bulgaria (1955–1965)
* Summer Olympics Tournament Bronze Medal 1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
;Individual
*Bulgarian A PFG
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 ...
: 1955, 1962, 1963
* Honored Master of Sports: 1960
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diev, Todor
1934 births
1995 deaths
Bulgarian footballers
Bulgaria international footballers
FC Spartak Plovdiv players
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
1962 FIFA World Cup players
Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Bulgaria
Olympic bronze medalists for Bulgaria
Olympic medalists in football
Footballers from Plovdiv
Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Association football forwards
Association football midfielders