Hristo Bonev

Hristo Atanasov Bonev (Template:Langx; born 3 February 1947), also known as Zuma (Template:Langx), is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who last managed Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Bulgarian A PFG.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of the greatest Bulgarian men's footballers, Bonev was renowned for his vision and technique.

Club career

File:Hristo Bonev 1974.jpg

Bonev in 1974

Bonev started his career at Lokomotiv Plovdiv in 1964 where he played until 1981 with a brief spell at CSKA Sofia in 1967. During his spell at Lokomotiv Plovdiv, he became their star player, while also was called to play for the national team.

In 1981 he moved to Greece to play for AEK Athens.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In AEK, his offer was meager, due to his knee injury, which, among other things, cost him his career. He stayed at AEK for 1 and a half years completing 10 official appearances. He left in the summer of 1982 suffering from a knee injury, although events proved that he wanted to try his luck in England and Oxford United offered him a trial but with a better-paying contract option. In order to obtain his freedom then, he convinced the president of the club Zafiropoulos by proposing his compatriot Angel Kolev with a small amount of money, but just like Bonev, he didn't help the team. The experiment in England did not catch on, as Bonev was betrayed by his knee and so he left Oxford with just 3 appearances in pre-season friendlies.

He returned to Lokomotiv Plovdiv to end his career in 1984 at the age of 37.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bonev has played in 404 games and has scored 180 goals in the A group for Lokomotiv Plovdiv. He has played also 14 games and has scored 6 goals in the UEFA Cup with "The Smurfs" (the nickname of Lokomotiv Plovdiv).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bonev won the Cup of the Soviet Army in 1983, he is also vice-champion of Bulgaria for 1973, with two more bronze medals won - in 1969 and 1974.

International career

Bonev played for the Bulgaria national team 96 times, scoring a record 48 goals, between 1967 and 1979.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He played for his country at the 1970 and 1974 World Cups.

Managerial career

File:Bonev at Black and White Christmas.jpg

Bonev in 2018

Before ending his career at Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bonev played as a player-coach for a season. After his retirement he became a manager and initially went to Greece and became coach of Panathinaikos in 1988, where he won the Greek Championship in 1990 and he is chosen for the Manager of the season in Greece.

Then he managed AEL for three seasons following a year at Ionikos, where he won the second division league and got his club promoted to the first division. After Greece, he became manager of the Cypriot team APOEL in 1995 and until 1996 when he quit from his team, he won the Cypriot Cup in his first year in Cyprus in 1995 and the Double the following season.

He went back to his home country to become manager of Lokomotiv Sofia and then he was appointed as head coach to his country's national team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Despite a disappointing showing in France, with only one point achieved from three games, he continued as national coach, but after a 3–0 defeat to Poland in the first qualifying match for Euro 2000 in September 1998, he decided to resign from his post, stating "I believe I have taken the team as far as I am able, and now it is time for the players to respond to someone else who, I hope, can improve our results."

Honours

As a player

Lokomotiv Plovdiv

• Cup of the Soviet Army: 1983

As a manager

Panathinaikos

• Alpha Ethniki: 1989–90

Ionikos

• Beta Ethniki: 1993–94

APOEL

• Cypriot First Division: 1995–96
• Cypriot Cup: 1995–96, 1994–95

Individual

• Bulgarian Footballer of the Year: 1969, 1972, 1973
• Best Bulgarian Footballer of 20th century: Third place
• Best Footballer of Plovdiv for 20th century
• Stara Planina Orden – 1st Class
• Honorary citizen of Plovdiv
• Manager of the year in Greece: 1989–90

Source: <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

International goals

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bonev goal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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List of international goals scored by Hristo Bonev

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	Template:Dts	Mithatpaşa Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey	Template:Fb	2–0	2–0	Friendly
2	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	2–0	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	4–1	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	Template:Dts	Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, Netherlands	Template:Fb	1–1	1–1	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	Template:Dts	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Template:Fb	3–1	3–1	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	3–2	3–3	Friendly
7	Template:Dts	Estadio León, León, Mexico	Template:Flagdeco Peru	2–0	2–3	1970 FIFA World Cup
8	Template:Dts	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Template:Fb	1–0	4–1	UEFA Euro 1972 qualification
9				4–0
10	Template:Dts	Grünwalder Stadion, Munich, Germany	Template:Fbicon West German Amateurs	1–3	1–3	Friendly
11	Template:Dts	Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania	Template:Fb	1–1	1–1	Unofficial Friendly
12	Template:Dts	Stade Marcel Saupin, Nantes, France	Template:Fb	1–0	1–2	UEFA Euro 1972 qualification
13	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	7–3	8–3	1972 Summer Olympics qualification
14	Template:Dts	Stadion Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–1	1–1	Friendly
15	Template:Dts	Stadion Beroe, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–1	3–1	1972 Summer Olympics qualification
16				3–1
17	Template:Dts	Estadio El Plantío, Burgos, Spain	Template:Fb	1–1	3–3	1972 Summer Olympics qualification
18	Template:Dts	Stadion Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	Friendly
19	Template:Dts	Stadion Beroe, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	3–0	1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
20				3–0
21	Template:Dts	Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Template:Fb	3–0	4–0	1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
22				4–0
23	Template:Dts	Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens, Greece	Template:Fb	2–2	2–2	Friendly
24	Template:Dts	Stadion Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	2–0	2–1	1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
25	Template:Dts	Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal	Template:Fb	1–1	2–2	1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
26				2–1
27	Template:Dts	Morphou Municipal Stadium, Morphou, Cyprus	Template:Fb	2–1	4–1	1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
28				3–1
29				4–1
30	Template:Dts	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait	Template:Fb	2–0	3–1	Friendly
31	Template:Dts	Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait	Template:Fb	1–1	2–1	Friendly
32				2–1
33	Template:Dts	Z.T.E. Stadion, Zalaegerszeg, Hungary	Template:Fb	1–3	1–3	Friendly
34	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	5–1	1973–76 Balkan Cup
35				2–0Template:Ref label
36	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	6–1	Friendly
37				5–0
38				6–1
39	Template:Dts	Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover, Germany	Template:Fb	1–0	1–1	1974 FIFA World Cup
40	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	3–2	UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
41	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	4–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
42	Template:Dts	National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan	Template:Fb	1–1	3–1	Friendly
43	Template:Dts	Yanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka, Japan	Template:Fb	1–0	1–1	Friendly
44	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	3–0	Friendly
45				2–0
46	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–0	2–2	Friendly
47	Template:Dts	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Template:Fb	1–2	2–2	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
48	Template:Dts	Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina	Template:Fb	1–1	1–2	Friendly

Notes

Template:Note label Some sources credit Bonev's second goal as an own-goal by Nikos Kovis.