Emil Kostadinov

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Emil Kostadinov (Bulgarian: Емил Костадинов) (born August 12, 1967 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian football striker, former member of the Bulgaria national team for which he played in two World Cups. He gained international prominence after scoring two goals in the last matchday of the European 1994 World Cup qualification, against the French national team. His second goal of the match, scored in the very last second of regular time, qualified Bulgaria to the World Cup finals at the expense of France.

[edit] Club career

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 3 times the Bulgarian Championship title, 3 times the Bulgarian Cup and reach the semi-final of the Cup Winners' Cup.

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

[edit] International career

Kostadinov was a member of the Bulgaria national team from 1988 to 1998. He earned 70 caps in which he scored 26 goals.

After helping Bulgaria qualify for the 1994 World Cup, he was a part of the squad that reached semifinals in the finals tournament, again in partnership with Hristo Stoichkov. He played all 7 games but did not score.

He also played at the Euro 96 and the 1998 World Cup, both tournaments in which Bulgaria did not reach second round.

[edit] See also

History of Emil Kostadinov

v • d • e Bulgaria squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Mikhailov • 2 Kremenliev • 3 Ivanov • 4 Tsvetanov • 5 Houbchev • 6 Yankov • 7 Kostadinov • 8 Stoichkov • 9 Letchkov • 10 Sirakov • 11 Borimirov • 12 Nikolov • 13 Yordanov • 14 Guentchev • 15 Iliev • 16 Kiriakov • 17 Mihtarski • 18 Aleksandrov • 19 Georgiev • 20 Balakov • 21 Yotov • 22 Andonov • Coach: Penev

v • d • e Bulgaria squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Zdravkov • 2 Kishishev • 3 T. Ivanov • 4 I. Petkov • 5 Yordanov • 6 Yankov • 7 Kostadinov • 8 Stoichkov • 9 Penev • 10 Balakov • 11 Iliev • 12 Mikhailov • 13 Ginchev • 14 Hristov • 15 Zafirov • 16 Nankov • 17 Stoilov • 18 Borimirov • 19 Bachev • 20 G. Ivanov • 21 Kirilov • 22 M. Petkov • Coach: Bonev