Emil Lyubchov Kostadinov (Bulgarian: Емил Любчов Костадинов; born 12 August 1967) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer[1][2] who played as a forward and represented the Bulgaria national team at two World Cups.

Emil Kostadinov
Kostadinov in 2010
Personal information
Full name Emil Lyubchov Kostadinov
Date of birth (1967-08-12) 12 August 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Sofia, Bulgaria
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker, winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1985–1990 CSKA Sofia 119 (36)
1990–1994 Porto 114 (43)
1995 Deportivo La Coruña 9 (2)
1995–1996 Bayern Munich 27 (7)
1996–1997 Fenerbahçe 25 (11)
1997 UANL 9 (2)
1998 CSKA Sofia 11 (7)
1998–1999 Mainz 05 4 (1)
Total 322 (114)
International career
1986–1988 Bulgaria U21 23 (8)
1988–1998 Bulgaria 70 (27)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

edit

Born in Sofia, Kostadinov started his career in CSKA Sofia. There he formed a redoubtable trio with Hristo Stoichkov and Luboslav Penev in the late 1980s, helping the team to win three times the Bulgarian Championship title, three times the Bulgarian Cup and reached the semi-final of the Cup Winners' Cup.[3]

He played for FC Porto from 1990 to 1994, winning the Portuguese league twice, and becoming popular among Portuguese fans. He also played for Deportivo de La Coruña, Bayern Munich (winning the UEFA Cup with them in 1996 and scoring in the final itself), Fenerbahçe, Mainz 05, and UANL Tigres.

International career

edit

Kostadinov played in the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship scoring two goals. He was a member of the Bulgaria national team from 1988 to 1998. He earned 70 caps in which he scored 27 goals.

Kostadinov gained international prominence after scoring two goals in the last matchday of the European 1994 World Cup qualification, against the France national team. He scored his second goal in the last second of the match with a shot with his right foot from inside the French penalty area that sent the ball into the roof of the net. That match-winning goal enabled Bulgaria to qualify for the 1994 World Cup finals at the expense of France.

After helping Bulgaria qualify for the 1994 World Cup, he was a part of the squad that reached the semi-finals in the proper tournament, again in partnership with Hristo Stoichkov. He played all seven games but did not score. During the game against Italy in the semi-final, Kostadinov was fouled by Alessandro Costacurta in the penalty area, who later committed a handball offence there as well. Both actions were not given penalties, which sparked a lot of controversy, as Bulgarians accused the French referee Joël Quiniou of purposefully ignoring the situations to get "revenge" for the decisive qualifying game between Bulgaria and France at the Parc des Princes, which saw the former qualifying to the World Cup at the expense of the latter.

He also played at the Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup, both tournaments in which Bulgaria did not reach the second round. He scored one (and actually the only) goal in the 1998 World Cup against Spain in the group stages. He retired before the qualifying campaign for Euro 2000.

International goals

edit
Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kostadinov goal.[4][5][6]
List of international goals scored by Emil Kostadinov
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 24 December 1988 Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates   United Arab Emirates 1–0 1–0 Friendly match
2 21 February 1989 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Soviet Union 1–0 1–2 Friendly match
3 5 May 1990 Estádio Brinco de Ouro da Princesa, Campinas, Brazil   Brazil 1–1 1–2 Friendly match
4 27 March 1991 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland   Scotland 1–1 1–1 Euro 1992 qualifier
5 1 May 1991 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria    Switzerland 1–0 2–3 Euro 1992 qualifier
6 25 September 1991 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Italy 1–0 2–1 Friendly match
7 28 April 1992 Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland    Switzerland 2–0 2–0 Friendly match
8 14 May 1992 Olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland   Finland 2–0 3–0 1994 World Cup qualifier
9 3–0
10 17 November 1993 Parc des Princes, Paris, France   France 1–1 2–1 1994 World Cup qualifier
11 2–1
12 12 October 1994 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Georgia 1–0 2–0 Euro 1996 qualifier
13 2–0
14 16 November 1994 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Moldova 4–1 4–1 Euro 1996 qualifier
15 14 December 1994 Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales   Wales 2–0 3–0 Euro 1996 qualifier
16 7 June 1995 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Germany 3–2 3–2 Euro 1996 qualifier
17 7 October 1995 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Albania 2–0 3–0 Euro 1996 qualifier
18 3–0
19 28 May 1996 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Macedonia 1–0 3–0 Friendly match
20 8 October 1996 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg   Luxembourg 2–1 2–1 1998 World Cup qualifier
21 8 November 1996 Supachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand   Thailand 3–0 4-0 Friendly match
22 14 December 1996 Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus   Cyprus 1–0 3–1 1998 World Cup qualifier
23 2 April 1997 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Cyprus 2–0 4–1 1998 World Cup qualifier
24 3–0
25 8 June 1997 Neftochimik Stadium, Bourgas, Bulgaria   Luxembourg 2–0 4–0 1998 World Cup qualifier
26 11 October 1997 Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia   Russia 2–4 2–4 1998 World Cup qualifier
27 24 June 1998 Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens, France   Spain 1–3 1–6 1998 World Cup

Honours

edit

CSKA Sofia

Porto

Bayern Munich

Bulgaria

References

edit
  1. ^ «O Domingos adorava chá, foi o tipo mais inteligente que vi»[permanent dead link] maisfutebol.iol.pt
  2. ^ "Emil Kostadinov". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 18 March 2012.
  3. ^ Yolchev, Ivaylo (29 December 2006). "Емил Костадинов: вече не съм толкова доверчив, най-важното е да има екипност, твърди новият шеф в ЦСКА". 7sport.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Emil Kostadinov - matches and goals for Bulgaria". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Match log for Emil Kostadinov". eu-football.info. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Профил на Емил Костадинов". fccska.com. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  7. ^ "USA '94: The "Bronze Summer" of Bulgaria's Golden Boys". 16 May 2012.
edit