Georgi Ivanov (footballer, born 1976)

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

In this Bulgarian name, the patronymic is Alexandrov and the family name is Ivanov.

Georgi Alexandrov Ivanov, nicknamed Gonzo (Bulgarian: Георги Александров Иванов – Гонзо; born 2 July 1976), is a Bulgarian former professional footballer and manager who is the current president of the Bulgarian Football Union. A forward, Ivanov is a former Bulgarian international and is perhaps best known for his time at Levski Sofia and his goalscoring prowess in the Eternal derby of Bulgarian football, netting 15 goals, having bettered Nasko Sirakov's record in 2008.

Georgi Ivanov
Георги Александров Иванов
President of the Bulgarian Football Union
In office 15 March 2024 – present
Preceded by	Emil Kostadinov (interim)
Personal details
Born	(1976-07-02) 2 July 1976 (age 47) Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Occupation	Footballer football administrator
Association football career Position(s) Forward 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) International career 1996–2005 Bulgaria 34 (4) Managerial career 2009–2010 Levski Sofia 2011 Levski Sofia 2012 Levski Sofia (interim) 2013–2014 Cherno More 2014 Levski Sofia 2016–2017 Cherno More 2022 Bulgaria (interim) *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Georgi Ivanov was born in Plovdiv and is of Romani descent.^[1] He started his career in his hometown Plovdiv playing for local club Lokomotiv Plovdiv. His talent soon became apparent, and he received several call-ups for the Bulgaria national team. For four seasons in Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Ivanov earned 60 appearances playing in the Bulgarian top division, scoring 15 goals.

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, he 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, 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 Ivanov on the pitch.

Rennes

Ivanov joined French Ligue 1 side Rennes for a club record transfer fee of €4,100,000 in the summer of 2002.^{[6][citation needed]} 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.

Levski Sofia second period

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

Turkish period

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

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

Levski Sofia fourth period

On 22 June 2008, Ivanov signed a contract with Levski Sofia for the fourth time. Towards the end of the first half of the season he scored six goals in four matches, including his record 15th against Sofia rivals CSKA.^[8] During that season, he 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]

Bulgaria

On 6 June 2022, Ivanov took over as interim manager of Bulgaria after the resignation of Yasen Petrov.^[14] In his capacity as a technical director of the Bulgarian Football Union, he played a role in the decision of employing Mladen Krstajić as the next permanent head coach of Bulgaria.^[15] In January 2023, Ivanov affirmed that as long as he remains in an official capacity with the Football Union, naturalized players of non-Bulgarian origins will not be selected for the national team.^[16] The manner in which his statements were worded attracted some controversy due to being perceived as having racial connotations.^[17]

International career

Georgi Ivanov was a part of Bulgaria national team between 1996 and 2005. He earned his first cap with Bulgaria as a 20-year-old, in a 2–1 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.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.^[18][19]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	15 February 2000	Estadio Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile	Australia	1–1	1–1	Ciudad de Valparaíso Tournament
2.	7 October 2000	Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Malta	1–0	3–0	2002 World Cup qualifier
3.				2–0
4.	2 June 2001	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	1–0	1–0	2002 World Cup qualifier

Managerial statistics

As of 12 June 2022

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
Bulgaria	6 June 2022	12 June 2022	2	0	2	0	000.00	1	1	+0
Total			169	72	37	60	042.60	221	178	+43

Honours

Levski Sofia

• A PFG: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009
• Bulgarian Cup: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2007

Individual

• Bulgarian Footballer of the Year: 2000, 2001
• A PFG top scorer: 2001

References

1. [9] Kassimeris, Christos (2009). Anti-Racism in European Football: Fair Play for All. p. 78. ISBN 9780739126110.
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. "Гонзо започва наказателната акция срещу ЦСКА преди 17 години". donbalon.eu. 25 October 2014. 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. Kyrtunov, Bozhidar (6 June 2022). "Георги Иванов-Гонзо ще води България след срамната загуба от Грузия" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
15. "Михайлов говори по куп теми и заяви: Изказването на Гонзо беше грешка на езика" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
16. "Гонзо наложи вето в националния отбор: Без натурализирани чужденци!" (in Bulgarian). bgdnes.bg. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
17. "Шеф в БФС: Чужди играчи с друг цвят на кожата нямат място в националния" (in Bulgarian). mediapool.bg. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
18. "Georgi Ivanov – matches and goals for Bulgaria". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
19. "Гонзо има едва четири гола за националния отбор" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.

External links

• Profile at LevskiSofia.info
• Georgi Ivanov at National-Football-Teams.com