Georgi Ivanov (footballer, born 1976)

Georgi Alexandrov Ivanov, nicknamed Gonzo (Bulgarian: Георги Александров Иванов – Гонзо), born 2 July 1976 in Plovdiv), is a former Bulgarian football striker and currently manager. Ivanov is a former Bulgarian international and is perhaps best known for his goal-scoring prowess in The Eternal Derby of Bulgaria, netting 15 goals, having bettered Nasko Sirakov's record in 2008. He is presently a sports director at Lokomotiv Plovdiv.

For other people named Georgi Ivanov, see Georgi Ivanov (disambiguation).

Georgi Ivanov
Personal information
Full name Georgi Aleksandrov Ivanov
Date of birth (1976-07-02) 2 July 1976
Place of birth Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1997 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 60 (15)
1997–2002 Levski Sofia 115 (70)
2002–2004 Rennes 15 (0)
2003–2004 → Levski Sofia (loan) 21 (9)
2004–2005 Samsunspor 29 (4)
2005–2006 Gaziantepspor 13 (1)
2006 Levski Sofia 23 (14)
2007–2008 Rijeka 34 (6)
2008–2009 Levski Sofia 23 (12)
Total 330 (132)
National team
1996–2005 Bulgaria 34 (4)
Teams managed
2009–2010 Levski Sofia
2011 Levski Sofia
2012 Levski Sofia (interim)
2013–2014 Cherno More
2014 Levski Sofia
2016–2017 Cherno More
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Georgi Ivanov started his career in his home town Plovdiv playing for local club Lokomotiv Plovdiv. His talent soon became apparent, and he received several call ups for the Bulgarian national football team. For four seasons in Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Georgi earned 60 appearances playing in the Bulgarian top division, scored 15 goals.

PFC Levski Sofia first period

"Gonzo", as he was known among the fans, signed for Levski Sofia in the summer of 1997. He is believed to have previously been twice on the radar of archrival CSKA Sofia, but then manager Georgi Vasilev deciding on both occasions against securing his services.[2][3] On 24 October 1997, Gonzo played in his first Eternal Derby and scored the winning goal in the 84th minute after a Vladimir Ivanov assist to help the "bluemen" to a 1:0 victory.[4] In total, Georgi Ivanov has participated in 22 editions of the rivalry, scoring a record-breaking 15 goals (the last time he found the net against the "redmen" was in an A PFG match held in November 2008 that finished 1:1).[5] Levski Sofia have only lost two derby matches against the "reds" with Gonzo on the pitch.

Stade Rennais

Ivanov joined French Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais FC for a club record transfer fee of €4,100,000 in the summer of 2002.[6] After featuring regularly under the management of Philippe Bergeroo, he saw his opportunities reduced following the former's sacking in October 2002 and the appointment of Vahid Halilhodžić.[7] After less than a full year abroad Ivanov rejoined Levski on loan.

PFC Levski Sofia second period

During 2003–04 season, Gonzo played for Levski Sofia again out on loan. He made 21 league appearances and scored nine goals.

Turkish period

Between 2004 and 2006, Georgi Ivanov played in Turkey for Samsunspor and Gaziantepspor.

PFC Levski Sofia third period

Ivanov once again rejoined Levski Sofia on a free transfer from Gaziantepspor in 2006 and won the Bulgarian title for the fourth time in his career.

NK Rijeka

In January 2007, Georgi Ivanov was transferred to Croatian club NK Rijeka. In Croatia, Gonzo was used as a striker and as a defensive midfielder.

PFC Levski Sofia 4th period

On 22 June 2008, he signed a contract with PFC Levski Sofia for the fourth time. Towards the end of the first half of the season he scored 6 goals in 4 matches, including his record 15th against Sofia rivals CSKA.[8] During that season, Gonzo showed once again his strong leadership, playing even with an injury and protectors on his face because of a broken cheek-bone. He became a Champion of Bulgaria in 2009.

Coaching career

Executive Director

Because of injuries, Ivanov did not start the 09/10 season. On 23 July 2009, Ivanov became a manager and head of the sport technical issues in PFC Levski Sofia, but he said that when he is ready he could play again.

Head coach

After the fourth defeat in eight competitions, Levski Sofia have replaced the manager Ratko Dostanic, with the sports manager.[9]

He took over Levski in the 10th round, but collected only 9 points. After the end of the season, Ivanov finished with the team in third place and achieved qualification for the UEFA Europa League.

On 20 May 2010, Ivanov hired Yasen Petrov as Levski's head coach, ending his coaching career.

He also became caretaker manager of Levski following the resignation of Nikolay Kostov on 26 March 2012.

On 10 October 2012, Ivanov was announced as the new manager of Lokomotiv Plovdiv, replacing Emil Velev. However, he left the team after just one day in charge of the training process.[10] Between December 2012 and the summer of 2014, Ivanov served as manager of Cherno More Varna. After that he returned to Levski Sofia, where he alternated between the positions of head coach and director of football (on occasions also holding them at the same time).

On 21 June 2016, Ivanov returned as manager of Cherno More, replacing Nikola Spasov.[11] On 21 September 2017, he resigned following a streak of poor results.[12]

Executive Director

In August 2019, he became the sports director of Lokomotiv Plovdiv.[13]

Managerial statistics
As of 20 September 2017
Team From To Record
G W D L Win % GF GA GD
Levski Sofia 19 October 2009 30 June 2010 27 16 4 7 059.26 46 23 +23
Levski Sofia 1 June 2011 3 November 2011 13 8 0 5 061.54 21 15 +6
Levski Sofia 27 March 2012 7 April 2012 2 0 0 2 000.00 0 2 –2
Cherno More 17 December 2012 19 May 2014 57 20 18 19 035.09 63 52 +11
Levski Sofia 4 August 2014 22 December 2014 19 9 3 7 047.37 33 24 +9
Cherno More 21 June 2016 21 September 2017 49 19 10 20 038.78 57 61 –4
Total 167 72 35 60 043.11 220 177 +43

International career

Georgi Ivanov was a part of Bulgaria national football team between 1996 and 2005. He earned his first cap with Bulgaria as a 20-year-old, in a 1–0 victory over Luxembourg on 8 October 1996. For Bulgaria, Gonzo was capped 34 times, scoring 4 goals. He was part of Bulgaria's roster for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, but did not make any appearances in the tournament.

International goals
Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.[14]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.15 February 2000Estadio Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile Australia1–11–1Ciudad de Valparaíso Tournament
2. 7 October 2000Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria Malta1–03–02002 World Cup qualifier
3.2–0
4.2 June 2001Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland1–01–02002 World Cup qualifier

Awards

References
  1. Rusev, Rostislav (12 July 2012). "Синя мечта" (in Bulgarian). trud.bg. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  2. "ЦСКА преговаря с Гонзо зад гърба на треньора преди битката със Стяуа". blitz.bg. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  3. "Гонзо бил луд фен на ЦСКА!". topsport.bg. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  4. donbalon journalists (25 October 2014). "Гонзо започва наказателната акция срещу ЦСКА преди 17 години". donbalon.eu. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  5. Frangov, A. (1 November 2008). "1:1 в дербито; Пак Гонзо, пак дузпа за ЦСКА". futbol-tv.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. Yotov, Stanil (13 July 2002). "Трансферът на Георги Иванов в "Рен" осигури половината бюджет за "Левски"". capital.bg. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  7. "Georgi Ivanov player profile". rougememoire.com. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. Kamenov, Kalin (3 November 2008). "След вечното дерби остана само Гонзо" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  9. .Levski: Dostanic tritt zurück
  10. .Гонзо изтрая само ден в Локо Пд и си тръгна"
  11. "Георги Иванов е новият треньор на Черно море" (in Bulgarian). PFC Cherno More. 21 June 2016.
  12. "Георги Иванов подаде оставка" (in Bulgarian). PFC Cherno More. 21 September 2017.
  13. "Локомотив представя Гонзо в сряда". topsport.bg. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. "Georgi Ivanov – matches and goals for Bulgaria". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
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