Dimitar Yakimov

Dimitar Yakimov
Personal information
Full name	Dimitar Nikolov Yakimov
Date of birth	August 12, 1941 (age 83)
Place of birth	Šlegovo, now Republic Macedonia
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder / Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1958–1960	Septemvri Sofia
1960–1974	CSKA Sofia
International career
1959–1973	Bulgaria
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dimitar Nikolov Yakimov (Template:Lang-bg; born 12 August 1941), is a Bulgarian former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Throughout his career, he played for the Bulgarian football club CSKA Sofia, and was sometimes called "the poet of football" for his dribbling skills.

On a club level, Yakimov reached the semifinal of the Cup of European Champions with CSKA Sofia in 1967. His career was ended prematurely in the early 1970s, although he was neither injured, nor with declining skills. He still can be seen occasionally playing for the CSKA veterans. The most successful Bulgarian player of all time, Hristo Stoichkov (CSKA, Barcelona), has pointed out Yakimov as a big inspiration of his youth.^{[citation needed]}

International career

Yakimov was part of the Bulgaria under-18 team that won the 1959 UEFA European Under-18 Championship. In October 1959, he was handed his first call-up to the Bulgarian senior squad, making his debut in a 1–0 friendly win over France on 11 October.^[2] Yakimov also played for Bulgaria at the 1960 Summer Olympics.^[3]

Yakimov played a decisive role in probably the most important victories of the Bulgarian national team in the 1960s. He scored the winning goal for Bulgaria in the World Cup qualifier play-off against France, played on a neutral field in Italy in 1961, leading his country to its first participation in World Cup finals.^[4]

In Italy, four years later, his precise long pass cut the whole Belgian defense, reaching Georgi Asparuhov in a clear scoring position to seal another famous victory which sent Bulgaria to the World Cup in England.

Honours

Club

Septemvri Sofia

Bulgarian Cup: 1959–60

CSKA Sofia

Bulgarian League (7): 1960–61, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73
Bulgarian Cup (4): 1960–61, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1971–72

Individual

Bulgarian League top scorer: 1970–71 (26 goals)

References

^ player stats EU Football. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
^ "Bulgaria 1–0 France 11.10.1959". eu-football.info.
^ "Dimitar Yakimov Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "Изхвърляме "петлите" с фамозни голове". 7sport.net. 4 October 2003. Retrieved 6 August 2015.

[1] yer stats EU Football. Retrieved 2012-04-22.

[2] "Bulgaria 1–0 France 11.10.1959". eu-football.info.

[3] "Dimitar Yakimov Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[4] "Изхвърляме "петлите" с фамозни голове". 7sport.net. 4 October 2003. Retrieved 6 August 2015.

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