Georgi Ivanov (footballer, born 1976)

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)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Cherno More Varna (Manager)
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
2013–2014	Cherno More Varna
2014	Levski Sofia
2016–	Cherno More Varna
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Georgi Alexandrov Ivanov, nicknamed Gonzo (Template:Lang-bg), born 2 July 1976 in Plovdiv), is a former Bulgarian football striker and current manager of Bulgarian side Cherno More Varna. 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.

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 1997. He had previously been on the radar of archrival CSKA Sofia. 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 "blues" to a 1:0 victory. 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). 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 2002. After only a year abroad he rejoined Levski.

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. In the end of the half season for four matches he scored 6 goals, including his record 15th against Sofia rivals CSKA. 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

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

On 20 May 2010, Ivanov hired Yasen Petrov for 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. 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).

Managerial statistics

As of 11 August 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	present	44	18	10	16	040.91	53	51	+2
Total			162	71	35	56	043.83	216	167	+49

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.

Awards

• Topscorer of A PFG 2001
• Champion of Bulgaria 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009
• Bulgarian Cup 1998, 2000, 2002
• Bulgarian Footballer of the Year 2000, 2001

External links

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