Years Team Role Footballer Height 1.76 m | 1991–1995 Sporting CP Weight 72 kg Name Krasimir Balakov | |
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Full name Krasimir Genchev Balakov Date of birth (1966-03-29) 29 March 1966 (age 49) Place of birth Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria Children Gloria Balakova, Krasimir Balakov Similar People Yordan Letchkov, Emil Kostadinov, Trifon Ivanov, Fredi Bobic, Hristo Stoichkov Profiles | ||
Krasimir balakov stutgard
Krasimir Genchev Balakov (Bulgarian: Красимир Балъков, [krɐsiˈmir ˈbaɫɤkof]; born 29 March 1966) is a Bulgarian former footballer turned manager. A former attacking midfielder, he was a key member of the Bulgarian national team that finished fourth in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. After Hristo Stoichkov, he is considered the greatest Bulgarian footballer of his generation.
Contents
- Krasimir balakov stutgard
- Krasimir balakov
- Club career
- Coaching career
- International career
- Managerial statistics
- Club
- International
- Individual
- References
Krasimir balakov
Club career
Balakov began his club career at the local Etar Veliko Tarnovo, before transferring to Portugal's Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1990, playing alongside future Ballon D'Or recipient Luís Figo, his compatriot Yordanov, and future two-time Champions League winner Paulo Sousa. Though Sporting had a quality squad, Balakov only managed to win the 1994–95 Portuguese Cup during his time at the club. Today, fans still remember him as an exceptional player. In 1995, he transferred to Germany's VfB Stuttgart where he won two UEFA Intertoto Cups (2000 and 2002) and a DFB-Pokal (1997), before retiring in 2003 - the same year that he called time on an international career which had spanned 15 years and 92 caps. As an attacking midfielder Balakov formed a successful attacking partnership with strikers Fredi Bobic and Giovane Élber at Stuttgart. The trio were known as the "magic triangle". He was voted as Stuttgart's best player of all time. He stayed at Stuttgart until retiring as a player in 2003, although he did made a comeback as a player two years later when he made a single appearance as player-manager of VFC Plauen.
Coaching career
The year after he retired, Krasimir became assistant coach of the club he had just retired from, VfB Stuttgart. He stayed in this position for two years before deciding to become a player-manager at VFC Plauen, where he remained for just a short time.
He had been appointed on 16 January 2006 as a manager of Grasshopper Club Zürich to replace Hanspeter Latour who left for 1. FC Köln. Balakov managed to win the Intertoto Cup thus qualified the club to the UEFA Cup for 2006–07 season.
He had been appointed on 29 October 2007 as a manager of FC St. Gallen to replace Rolf Fringer. Three days before the season ended, he was fired by the club management.
In December 2008, he became manager of PFC Chernomorets Burgas in his homeland, taking over from Dimitar Dimitrov, after also having considered an offer to coach the national team of his country. On 6 December 2010, he was released from PFC Chernomorets Burgas after mutual consent, following a change in the long-term vision for the club by the owner Mitko Sabev.
On 27 May 2011, it was announced that Balakov will take over the helm of Croatian club Hajduk Split.
On 22 March 2012, Balakov was appointed the manager of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He was sacked on 17 May 2012, after being unable to prevent Kaiserslautern's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga. He subsequently continued his career as manager in his country.
International career
Balakov made 92 appearances for Bulgaria, between 1988 and 2003 (one of the best totals in national history) and scored 16 goals. Other than the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he also played for his country at Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup. At age 37 he played in the qualifications for Euro 2004 to help his teammates qualify but retired from football before the final stage in Portugal.