Krasimir Balakov

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Krasimir Balakov
Personal information
Full nameKrasimir Genchev Balakov
Date of birth (1966-03-29) 29 March 1966
Place of birthVeliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1983–1990Etar Veliko Tarnovo142(35)
1991–1995Sporting CP138(43)
1995–2003VfB Stuttgart236(54)
2005VFC Plauen1(0)
Total517(132)
National team
1988–2003Bulgaria92(16)
Teams managed
2003–2005VfB Stuttgart (assistant)
2005VFC Plauen (player-manager)
2006–2007Grasshopper
2007–2008St. Gallen
2008–2010Chernomorets Burgas
2011–2012Hajduk Split
20121. FC Kaiserslautern
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Krasimir Genchev Balakov (Bulgarian: Красимир Балъков) (born 29 March 1966) is a Bulgarian former footballer turned manager. 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.

Club career

Balakov began his club career at the local Etar Veliko Tarnovo, before transferring to Portugal's Sporting in 1990, where he won the 1994–95 Portuguese Cup. 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. 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".

Coaching career

The year after he retired, Krasimir became assistant coach of the club he had just retired from, VfB Stuttgart. He stayed at this position for two years before deciding to become a player-manager at VFC Plauen. 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.[1] 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. 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.[2] On 27 May 2011, it was announced that Balakov will take over the helm of Croatian club Hajduk Split.[3] On 22 March 2012, Balakov was appointed the manager of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[4] He was sacked on 17 May 2012, after being unable to prevent Kaiserslautern's relegation to 2. Bundesliga.[5]

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.

Managerial statistics

As of 17 May 2012.
Team From To Competition Record
G W D L Win % GF GA GD
Grasshopper Club Zürich 16 January 2006 21 May 2007 Swiss Super League 53 19 18 16 35.85 71 54 +17
Europe 12 6 2 4 50.00 21 18 +3
Total 65 25 20 20 38.46 92 72 +20
Chernomorets Burgas 14 December 2008 6 December 2010 Bulgarian A Professional Football Group 60 29 16 15 48.33 79 54 +25
Bulgarian Cup 2 1 0 1 50.00 5 2 +3
Total 62 30 16 16 48.39 84 56 +28
Hajduk Split 31 May 2011 22 March 2012 Prva HNL 22 13 5 4 59.09 42 17 +25
Croatian Cup 4 3 0 1 75.00 9 4 +5
Europe 2 0 0 2 00.00 0 2 –2
Total 28 16 5 7 57.14 51 23 +28
1. FC Kaiserslautern 22 March 2012 17 May 2012 Bundesliga 8 1 0 7 12.50 7 18 –11
Total 8 1 0 7 12.50 7 18 –11
Career totals League 143 62 39 42 43.36 199 143 +56
Cup 6 4 0 2 66.67 14 6 +8
Europe 14 6 2 6 42.86 21 20 +1
Total 163 72 41 50 44.17 234 169 +65

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Krassimir Balakov neuer Cheftrainer" (in German). fcsg.ch. Retrieved 29 October 2007. 
  2. ↑ "Красимир Балъков се раздели с Черноморец (Бургас)". burgas-top.com (in Bulgarian). 8 December 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2012. 
  3. ↑ Jurišić, Bernard (27 May 2011). "Krasimir Balakov novi trener Hajduka". Sportnet.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 27 May 2011. 
  4. ↑ "Balakov više nije trener Hajduka". hajduk.hr (in Croatian) (Hajduk Split). 22 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012. 
  5. ↑ "Aus für Balakov nach 57 Tagen". Die Rheinpfalz (in German). 18 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012. 
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