Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov (
Bulgarian:
Христо Стоичков Стоичков), sometimes
Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in
Plovdiv) is a retired
Bulgarian footballer.
He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation
and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time.
Nicknamed The Dagger (Камата), The Dog (Кучето), The Modern Left
(Модерния ляв).
At Barcelona he earned the Spanish nickname 'El
Pistolero' which translates to 'the gunslinger'. He was a member of the
Bulgaria national team that finished fourth at the
1994 World Cup,
of which he was the top scorer with 6 goals.
Apart from his footballing
talent, he was notable for his on-pitch temper. His awards include the
European Golden Boot, the
Ballon d'Or, the
World Cup Golden Boot and the
World Cup Bronze Ball.
Stoichkov began his career in his hometown, moving to
Hebros in 1984. The next year he went to
CSKA Sofia. There, he was involved in a fight during the final of the 1985
Bulgarian Cup which resulted in an original lifelong ban, which was eventually reduced to a month
suspension.
After he was brought back to football, he managed to win the
European Golden Boot with CSKA by scoring 38 goals in 30 games. He then moved on to
FC Barcelona, where he was part of
Johan Cruyff's
'Dream Team', Stoichkov helped Barcelona to one of the most successful
eras of the club, winning the Primera Division four years in a row
between 1991 and 1994 and the
European Cup after defeating
Sampdoria
in 1992. During his stay in Barcelona, he had become an idol for the
club's fans, and was Barça's most popular player at the time, having
earned a place in the supporters' hearts much like
Johan Neeskens and
Diego Maradona in the past. In Barcelona Stoichkov played in tandem with
Romário.
In his first season with the club Stoichkov was suspended for two months for stomping on a referee's foot,
but he still netted 14 league goals and six more in the
Cup Winners' Cup. Stoichkov then had short spells with
Parma,
Al-Nassr, and finally finishing his career in Japan with
Kashiwa Reysol and the United States with the
Chicago Fire and
D.C. United.
Stoichkov played as a left winger who was known for his explosive
acceleration and speed dribbling, and for taking unpredictable shots on
goal. He was also notable at taking
free kicks and
penalties
as well as being among the best crossers in the world at his prime. He
gained infamy because of his aggressive temper on the pitch.
He could
often be seen arguing with the referee, or with his opponents. In 2006,
he was sued by a former
American University college student whose leg he broke in a violent tackle during a match against
D.C. United in 2003.
The case was settled out of court in 2007 for undisclosed financial terms.
The student's coach called Stoichkov's challenge "criminal".
Ray Hudson, who coached D.C. United for whom Stoichkov played at the time, called it a "rash tackle". Following an investigation by
MLS, Stoichkov was suspended two games and fined $2,000.
Honours at Barcelona
-
- 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98
-
- 1992, 1994, 1996
-
- 1991–92, Runner-Up 1993–94
-
- 1992, 1997
-
- 1996–97
-
- 1996–97
In May 2010, Marius reached his first ATP Challenger Tour final at the Trofeo Paolo Corazzi as a qualifier. On his route to the final he won in three sets against Australian Bernard Tomic in the semifinals but eventually lost the final to German Denis Gremelmayr.
The year 2011 started very good for Marius. He reached his second Challenger final at the Tretorn Serie+ event in Kazan, Russia. In the final, he won against 4th seeded German, Andreas Beck, in straight sets.
