Lyubomir Angelov


Lyubomir Angelov was a Bulgarian footballer and manager who played as a forward for the Bulgaria national team. With 26 goals in 44 caps for Bulgaria, he ranks as the nation's fifth-highest all-time top goalscorer.

Club career

He began to play football in his hometown clubs in Sofia such as Atletik, Sława and Szypce. At the age of 14, he moved to AS-23 Sofia, where he was nicknamed Старото, which he received from his schoolmates from the gymnasium. He was Champion of Bulgaria in 1931, when on the final matchday, they defeated FK Szypczenski Sokol by walkover. In 1941, he won the Tsar's Cup, scoring twice in the final against Napredak Ruse to help his side to a 4–2.
After the seizure of power by the communist regime in the 1944 Bulgarian coup d'état, AS-23 Sofia was dissolved, while the main activists were subjected to repression for political reasons. Angelov, along with other leading AS-23 players, Spartak Podujane and Szypki Sofia, founded the band Czawdar Sofia, in which he performed until the end of 1947.

International career

He played in 44 matches for the Bulgaria national football team from 1931 to 1940, nine of which as its captain, scoring a then-national record of 26 goals. He was part of the Bulgaria team that won two back-to-back Balkan Cups in 1931 and in 1932, contributing with 1 and 2 goals respectively, but the highlight of his international career came in the 1935 Balkan Cup, where he was the top goal scorer with 6 goals which came in the form of two hat-tricks against Greece and Yugoslavia. With 14 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is the second-best top goal scorer in the competition's history, only behind Iuliu Bodola of Romania, who has 15. Angelov was also part of Bulgaria's team for their qualification matches for the 1938 FIFA World Cup.

Managerial career

After completing his competitive career, he became a coach, graduating from the State Coaching School. Angelov took charge of the Bulgaria national team three times, first in 1948, then in 1950, and finally in 1953, leading the nation in 8 games. He also served as the head coach of the Bulgaria B team in 23 games between 1949 and 1959 and the youth team in 13 games between 1960 and 1962.
He was the coach of Spartak Sofia twice and again twice with Łokomotiv Sofia, and was also employed in the training staff of Spartak-Levski Sofia, where he was assistant to Rudolf Vytlačil and Yoncho Arsov. Between 1964 and 1966, he worked in Syria, creating the structures of the local football league and the player training system.

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
14 October 1931Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria2–23–21931 Balkan Cup
225 October 1931Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria2–12–11929-31 Balkan Cup
327 March 1932Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece2–12–1Friendly
430 March 1932Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece2–22–2Friendly
530 June 1932Beogradski SK Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia1–03–21932 Balkan Cup
62 July 1932Beogradski SK Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia1–02–01932 Balkan Cup
74 November 1932Taksim Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey3–23–2Friendly
818 March 1934Stadion Balgarska Armia, Sofia, Bulgaria1–21–2Friendly
91 April 1934Beogradski SK Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia1–03–2Friendly
1030 December 1934Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece1–32–31934–35 Balkan Cup
1130 December 1934Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece2–32–31934–35 Balkan Cup
1226 May 1935Stadion Balgarska Armia, Sofia, Bulgaria B2–02–0Friendly
1316 June 1935Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria2–15–21935 Balkan Cup
1416 June 1935Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria3–15–21935 Balkan Cup
1516 June 1935Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria4–15–21935 Balkan Cup
1624 June 1935Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria1–23–31935 Balkan Cup
1724 June 1935Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria2–23–31935 Balkan Cup
1824 June 1935Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria3–23–31935 Balkan Cup
1921 May 1936Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania3–15–41936 Balkan Cup
2024 May 1936Stadionul ONEF, Bucharest, Romania1–11–41936 Balkan Cup
2111 July 1937Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria B1–04–0Friendly
2211 July 1937Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria B4–04–0Friendly
2312 September 1937Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria2–13–3Friendly
242 October 1938Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria B1–11–3Friendly
2524 May 1939Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria2–03–0Friendly
2620 October 1940Grünwalder Stadion, Munich, Germany3–63–7Friendly

Honours

Club

;AS-23 Sofia
Bulgarian State Football Championship:

International

;Bulgaria
Balkan Cup:

Individual