Georgi Hristov (footballer, born 1985)

Georgi Hristov
Personal information
Full name Georgi Georgiev Hristov
Date of birth (1985-01-10) 10 January 1985
Place of birth Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker / Midfielder
Club information
Current team
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Number 10
Youth career
Maritsa Plovdiv
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2007 Maritsa Plovdiv 111 (51)
2007–2008 Botev Plovdiv 30 (19)
2008–2010 Levski Sofia 38 (12)
2010Wisła Kraków (loan) 2 (0)
2010–2012 Slavia Sofia 30 (4)
2012 Lokomotiv Sofia 13 (2)
2013– Tampa Bay Rowdies 75 (23)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 April 2016.

† Appearances (goals)

Georgi Hristov (Bulgarian: Георги Христов; born 10 January 1985 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the North American Soccer League.

Career

Maritsa Plovdiv

Hristov grew up as part of Maritsa Plovdiv's academy and made his debut for senior team in 2002/2003 season. He played for Maritsa until 2007. During the 2005/2006 season he became top scorer of B PFG, scoring 18 goals.[1] 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 he became a topscorer scoring 19 goals[2] 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 for Levski Sofia in the first leg of a decisive Champions League match against BATE Borisov, but it was not converted and the "bluemen" subsequently lost the match by a score of 0:1.[3] On 26 April 2009 Hristov scored four goals against PFC Belasitsa Petrich. 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 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, where Levski beaten the team of UE Sant Julià. The result of the match was 4:0 with a home win for Levski. On 5 August 2009, he also scored against FK Baku to wrap up a 2:0 win for the team from Sofia. In the play-off round Levski was eliminated by Debreceni VSC with 4:1 (on aggregate). However, Levski qualified for UEFA Europa League. 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 signed the Bulgarian forward on loan from PFC Levski Sofia.[4] 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 having him on loan until December 2010.[5]

Return to Bulgaria

Hristov playing for Slavia in a match against Litex Lovech

On 31 August 2010, Hristov moved to PFC Slavia Sofia.[6] Subsequently he was loaned out to Israeli club F.C. Ashdod. In August 2012, he moved to another A PFG outfit PFC Lokomotiv Sofia. He was released at the end of the year. In February 2013, he trialed with Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union.[7]

Tampa Bay Rowdies

On 8 March 2013, The Tampa Bay Rowdies, of the North American Soccer League, announced that the club had signed Hristov to a two-year deal. Year two of the contract is a club option.[8] Hristov scored his first goal for the Rowdies in a 2-0 win against the San Antonio Scorpions.[9] 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.

International career

Georgi Hristov was called up for one friendly match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 2008, but remained an unused substitute.[10]

Personal life

Hristov is an avid rock music fan. In an interview he cited the American thrash metal band Megadeth as his favorite one. His older brother Hristo Hristov is a rock guitarist, playing in the Bulgarian band П.И.Ф (P.I.F.).[11]

Statistics

(As of 18 June 2014)
Club Season League Domestic League Domestic Cups European Cups Play-offs Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Maritsa Plovdiv 2002–2003 V AFG 174174
2003–2004 V AFG 217217
2004–2005 V AFG 26102610
2005–2006 B PFG 241810112619
2006–2007 B PFG 2312222514
Botev Plovdiv 2007–2008 A PFG 3019433422
Levski Sofia 2008–2009 A PFG 251130303111
2009–2010 A PFG 12131103255
Wisła Kraków 2009–2010 Ekstraklasa 202040
Levski Sofia 2010–2011 A PFG 100010
Slavia Sofia 2010–2011 A PFG 23450284
2011–2012 A PFG 7070
Lokomotiv Sofia 2012–2013 A PFG 13231163
Tampa Bay Rowdies 2013 NASL 221223--2415
2014 NASL 249186
Total Maritsa Plovdiv 111 51 3 2 1 1 115 54
Total Botev Plovdiv 30 19 4 3 - 0 0 34 22
Total Levski Sofia 38 12 6 1 13 3 57 16
Total Slavia Sofia 30 4 0 0 30 4
Total Tampa Bay Rowdies 31 14 2 3 33 17

Honours

Levski

Individual

References

External links

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