Blagoy Georgiev

Blagoy Georgiev

Georgiev with Rubin in 2015
Personal information
Full nameBlagoy Zhorev Georgiev
Date of birth21 December 1981
Place of birthSofia, Bulgaria
Height1.84 m (6 ft 12 in)
Playing positionAttacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current team
Rubin Kazan
Number77
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1999–2008Slavia Sofia172(46)
2006Deportivo Alavés (loan)10(0)
2006–2007Red Star Belgrade (loan)20(2)
2007–2008MSV Duisburg (loan)31(2)
2009–2012Terek Grozny105(7)
2013–2014Amkar Perm36(3)
2014–Rubin Kazan18(1)
National team
Bulgaria U21
2004–2011Bulgaria50(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 April 2015.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 October 2011

Blagoy Georgiev (Bulgarian: Благой Георгиев) (born 21 December 1981 in Sofia) is a Bulgarian footballer who currently plays for Rubin Kazan as a midfielder.

Career

Slavia Sofia

Georgiev was born in Sofia. He is a product of the Slavia Sofia youth academy.[1] He signed a professional contract in June 1999 and then made his first team debut under Miroslav Mironov' management three months later, on 17 October, in a 3–1 home win over Pirin Blagoevgrad. Georgiev's first goal came on 27 November 1999, when he scored a last-minute against Beroe Stara Zagora to secure a 1–1 away draw. On 11 March 2000, he netted Slavia's only goal in their league loss, a 2–1 defeat against Velbazhd Kyustendil. He then scored in Slavia's 3–2 win against Botev Plovdiv on 22 April, taking his tally for the season to 3 goals.

On 27 September 2003, Blago scored his first-ever hat-trick in his career, scoring four in a 5–2 away win over Chernomorets Burgas. After scoring his 17th league goal in the final game of the 2003–04 season, a 2–0 win against Naftex Burgas, he ended the campaign in joint second place with Stoyko Sakaliev in the race for the Bulgarian A PFG golden boot.

During his six years at Slavia Stadium, he scored 46 league goals in 172 matches.

Alaves loan

On 13 January 2006, Deportivo Alavés confirmed Georgiev has joined on loan until the end of the season.[2] He made his La Liga debut a week later, during Alaves's 2–0 loss against Barcelona at Camp Nou. He spent most of his time with Alaves on the bench. Blago returned to Bulgaria at the end of the season having made 10 appearances in Alaves's unsuccessful battle against relegation.

Red Star loan

On 14 June 2006, Serbian side Red Star Belgrade signed Georgiev on a season-long loan deal.[3]

Duisburg loan

On 28 May 2007, Georgiev joined Bundesliga side MSV Duisburg on loan until the end of the 2007–08 season.[4] On 14 March 2008, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 loss against Schalke 04. On 4 May Blago scored a last-minute winning goal for 3–2 over Bayer 04 Leverkusen. During the season, he earned 31 appearances.

Terek Grozny

On 6 January 2009, Georgiev signed a four-year contract with Russian side Terek Grozny for 1.5 million Euros.[5] He made his Russian Premier League debut on the opening day of the 2009 season, on 15 March, in a 1–0 home win over Spartak Nalchik.[6] Georgiev's first goal came on 19 July, when he scored in a 3–2 home win against Zenit Saint Petersburg.

On the eve of the 2010 season, Georgiev was selected by manager Anatoly Baidachny, as the replacement captain after Timur Dzhabrailov's retirement.[7] On 10 May 2010, he scored the opening goal of the league game against CSKA Moscow which Terek lost 1–4. Three days later, Blago provided two assists in a 2–0 home victory over Saturn Ramenskoye.[8]

Georgiev scored his first league goal of the 2011 season and the winner against Anzhi Makhachkala, in a 1–0 victory on 20 May. On 13 August, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 6–2 defeat at Dynamo Moscow.[9] On 5 November, in a 2–0 home victory over Krasnodar, Blago assisted Musawengosi Mguni for the second goal.[10] On 28 December 2011, few days after his 30th birthday, he was reported to have become a target for Lokomotiv Moscow.[11]

On 4 November 2012, Georgiev marked his 100th Russian Premier League game by scoring a penalty in a 3–1 loss against Anzhi Makhachkala.

Amkar Perm

Georgiev signed with Amkar Perm on 19 December 2012 on a three-year deal.[12]

Statistics

All stats correct as of 27 October 2012.[13]

Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Slavia Sofia 1999–00 16330193
2000–01 19010200
2001–02 29331324
2002–03 24751298
2003–04 2917103017
2004–05 2811102911
2005–06 14310144
Total 15944152000017446
Deportivo Alavés 2005–06 100??100
Total 100000000100
Red Star Belgrade 2006–07 202??60262
Total 202006000262
MSV Duisburg 2007–08 31221333
Total 312000000312
Slavia Sofia 2008–09 13210142
Total 132100000142
Terek Grozny 2009 27100271
2010 19110201
2011–12 40430434
2012–13 19120211
Total 10576000001117
Amkar Perm
2012–13 10100102
2013–14 17110181
Total 273100000283

International career

Georgiev with Bulgaria in 2011

A Bulgaria international, Blagoy Georgiev was also previously a member of the country's under-21 team. He has been capped 50 times and scored 5 goals for Bulgaria. On 11 October 2011, he announced his retirement from Bulgarian national team. In September 2012, it was revealed that Georgiev may consider returning to the national team,[14] but he is yet to add to his 50 caps for the "lions".

Blagoy Georgiev: International Goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 8 February 2007 Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus 0–3 0–3 Friendly
2. 14 November 2007 Celje, Slovenia  Slovenia 0–3 0–3 UEFA Euro 2008 Qual.
3. 6 September 2008 Podgorica, Montenegro  Montenegro 2–2 2–2 World Cup 2010 Qual.
4. 19 November 2008 Beograd, Serbia  Serbia 6–1 6–1 Friendly.
5. 18 November 2009 Ta' Qali, Malta  Malta 1–3 1–4 Friendly.

Honours

Red Star Belgrade

Personal life

Georgiev is a devout Christian.[15]

Georgiev previously had a fling with singer Liana[16] and was formerly in a long-term relationship with Hristina Vitanova (with whom he has two children), but has since 2014 been dating model Queenie-Alice Nikolova.[17][18]

References

  1. "Детско-юношеска школа на ПФК Славия". pfcslavia.com.
  2. "Благо Георгиев вече е играч на Алавес". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). 13 January 2006.
  3. "Georgiev accepts Red Star task". uefa.com. 14 June 2006.
  4. "Благо отиде под наем в Бундеслигата". novinar.bg (in Bulgarian). 28 May 2007.
  5. "Blagoi Georgiev joins Terek Grozny". russia.theoffside.com. 6 January 2009.
  6. "Terek 1–0 Spartak Nalchik". soccerway.com. 15 March 2009.
  7. "Благо Георгиев стана капитан на Терек". novsport.com (in Bulgarian). 17 January 2010.
  8. "Асистенции на Благо при 2:0 за Терек". 24chasa.bg (in Bulgarian). 14 May 2010.
  9. "Blagoy Georgiev scored in defeat for the Terek loss Dynamo Moscow". free-soccer-picks.com. 13 August 2011.
  10. "Терек се справи с Краснодар, Благо с асистенция". sportal.bg (in Bulgarian). 5 November 2011.
  11. "Благо отпразнува 30, Локо Москва го пожела". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). 28 December 2011.
  12. "Georgiev to Join Amkar in 2013". rsport.ru. 19 December 2012.
  13. "Blagoy Georgiev Stats". fc-terek.ru (in Russian).
  14. "Георгиев иска при "трикольорите", преосмислил отказа си от националния". topsport.bg (in Bulgarian). 26 September 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  15. "Набожният Благо обладал Лияна в манастир, "Обаждаше ми се през 10 минути, плака, когато бебето се роди", каза Христина". topsport.bg (in Bulgarian). 17 September 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  16. "Лияна възпя Благой Георгиев, певицата отвръща на удара". topsport.bg (in Bulgarian). 16 December 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  17. "Благо показа 18-годишно гадже, новата му е Куини-Алис". topsport.bg (in Bulgarian). 7 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  18. "Благо се хвали: много съм влюбен, не се виждам с Христина". topsport.bg (in Bulgarian). 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.

External links

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