Hristo Atanasov Bonev (Bulgarian: Христо Aтанасов Бонев; born 3 February 1947), also known as Zuma (Bulgarian: Зума), is a Bulgarian football manager and former player who last managed Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Bulgarian A PFG.[1] One of the greatest Bulgarian men's footballers, Bonev was renowned for his vision and technique.

Hristo Bonev
Bonev in 2016
Personal information
Full name Hristo Atanasov Bonev
Date of birth (1947-02-03) 3 February 1947 (age 77)
Place of birth Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964–1967 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 64 (19)
1967–1968 CSKA Sofia 6 (5)
1968–1981 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 337 (161)
1981–1982 AEK Athens 10 (0)
1982–1984 Lokomotiv Plovdiv 6 (0)
Total 422 (185)
International career
1967–1979 Bulgaria 96 (48)
Managerial career
1983–1985 Lokomotiv Plovdiv
1987–1988 Lokomotiv Plovdiv
1988–1990 Panathinaikos
1990–1993 AEL
1993–1994 Ionikos
1994–1996 APOEL
1996–1998 Bulgaria
1997–1998 Lokomotiv Sofia
2000 Sachsen Leipzig
2010 Lokomotiv Plovdiv
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Bonev in 1974

Bonev started his career at Lokomotiv Plovdiv in 1964 where he played until 1981 with a brief spell at CSKA Sofia in 1967. During his spell at Lokomotiv Plovdiv, he became their star player, while also was called to play for the national team.

In 1981 he moved to Greece to play for AEK Athens.[2] In AEK, his offer was meager, due to his knee injury, which, among other things, cost him his career. He stayed at AEK for 1 and a half years completing 10 official appearances. He left in the summer of 1982 suffering from a knee injury, although events proved that he wanted to try his luck in England and Oxford United offered him a trial but with a better-paying contract option. In order to obtain his freedom then, he convinced the president of the club Zafiropoulos by proposing his compatriot Angel Kolev with a small amount of money, but just like Bonev, he didn't help the team. The experiment in England did not catch on, as Bonev was betrayed by his knee and so he left Oxford with just 3 appearances in pre-season friendlies.

He returned to Lokomotiv Plovdiv to end his career in 1984 at the age of 37.[3] Bonev has played in 404 games and has scored 180 goals in the A group for Lokomotiv Plovdiv. He has played also 14 games and has scored 6 goals in the UEFA Cup with the smurfs.[4] Bonev won the Cup of the Soviet Army in 1983, he is also vice-champion of Bulgaria for 1973, with two more bronze medals won - in 1969 and 1974.

International career

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Bonev played for the Bulgaria national team 96 times, scoring a record 48 goals, between 1967 and 1979.[5] He played for his country at the 1970 and 1974 World Cups.

Managerial career

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Bonev in 2018

Before ending his career at Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bonev played as a player-coach for a season. After his retirement he became a manager and initially went to Greece and became coach of Panathinaikos in 1988, where he won the Greek Championship in 1990 and he is chosen for the Manager of the season in Greece.

Then he managed AEL for three seasons following a year at Ionikos, where he won the second division league and got his club promoted to the first division. After Greece, he became manager of the Cypriot team APOEL in 1995 and until 1996 when he quit from his team, he won the Cypriot Cup in his first year in Cyprus in 1995 and the Double the following season.

He went back to his home country to become manager of Lokomotiv Sofia and then he was appointed as head coach to his country's national team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Despite a disappointing showing in France, with only one point achieved from three games, he continued as national coach, but after a 3–0 defeat to Poland in the first qualifying match for Euro 2000 in September 1998, he decided to resign from his post, stating "I believe I have taken the team as far as I am able, and now it is time for the players to respond to someone else who, I hope, can improve our results."

Honours

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As a player

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Lokomotiv Plovdiv

As a manager

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Panathinaikos

Ionikos

APOEL

Individual

Source: [6]

International goals

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Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bonev goal.[7]
List of international goals scored by Hristo Bonev
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 9 October 1968 Mithatpaşa Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey   Turkey 2–0 2–0 Friendly
2 27 October 1968 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Netherlands 1–0 2–0 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 15 June 1969 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Poland 1–0 4–1 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 22 October 1969 Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, Netherlands   Netherlands 1–1 1–1 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 7 December 1969 Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg   Luxembourg 3–1 3–1 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
6 5 May 1970 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Soviet Union 3–2 3–3 Friendly
7 2 June 1970 Estadio León, León, Mexico   Peru 2–0 2–3 1970 FIFA World Cup
8 9 June 1971 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway   Norway 1–0 4–1 UEFA Euro 1972 qualification
9 4–0
10 7 September 1971 Grünwalder Stadion, Munich, Germany   West German Amateurs 1–3 1–3 Friendly
11 27 October 1971 Stadionul Național, Bucharest, Romania   Romania 1–1 1–1 Unofficial Friendly
12 10 November 1971 Stade Marcel Saupin, Nantes, France   France 1–0 1–2 UEFA Euro 1972 qualification
13 24 November 1971 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Spain 7–3 8–3 1972 Summer Olympics qualification
14 24 March 1972 Stadion Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia, Bulgaria   Soviet Union 1–1 1–1 Friendly
15 16 April 1972 Stadion Beroe, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria   Poland 1–1 3–1 1972 Summer Olympics qualification
16 3–1
17 31 May 1972 Estadio El Plantío, Burgos, Spain   Spain 1–1 3–3 1972 Summer Olympics qualification
18 21 June 1972 Stadion Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia, Bulgaria   Italy 1–0 1–0 Friendly
19 18 October 1972 Stadion Beroe, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria   Northern Ireland 1–0 3–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
20 3–0
21 19 November 1972 Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus   Cyprus 3–0 4–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
22 4–0
23 31 January 1973 Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens, Greece   Greece 2–2 2–2 Friendly
24 2 May 1973 Stadion Georgi Asparuhov, Sofia, Bulgaria   Portugal 2–0 2–1 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
25 13 October 1973 Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal   Portugal 1–1 2–2 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
26 2–1
27 6 February 1974 Morphou Municipal Stadium, Morphou, Cyprus   Cyprus 2–1 4–1 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
28 3–1
29 4–1
30 8 February 1974 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait   Kuwait 2–0 3–1 Friendly
31 10 February 1974 Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait   Kuwait 1–1 2–1 Friendly
32 2–1
33 31 March 1974 Z.T.E. Stadion, Zalaegerszeg, Hungary   Hungary 1–3 1–3 Friendly
34 8 May 1974 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Turkey 1–0 5–1 1973–76 Balkan Cup
35 2–0[1]
36 25 May 1974 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   North Korea 1–0 6–1 Friendly
37 5–0
38 6–1
39 19 June 1974 Niedersachsenstadion, Hannover, Germany   Uruguay 1–0 1–1 1974 FIFA World Cup
40 13 October 1974 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Greece 1–0 3–2 UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
41 11 June 1975 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Malta 4–0 5–0 UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
42 25 January 1976 National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan   Japan 1–1 3–1 Friendly
43 28 January 1976 Yanmar Stadium Nagai, Osaka, Japan   Japan 1–0 1–1 Friendly
44 5 May 1976 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   North Korea 1–0 3–0 Friendly
45 2–0
46 22 September 1976 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   Turkey 1–0 2–2 Friendly
47 9 October 1976 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria   France 1–2 2–2 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
48 25 April 1979 Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina   Argentina 1–1 1–2 Friendly
Notes
1 Some sources credit Bonev's second goal as an own-goal by Nikos Kovis.

References

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  1. ^ "Bonev bids to rescue Loko Plovdiv". uefa.com. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  2. ^ Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (11 May 2005). "Foreign Players in Greece since 1959/60". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Χρίστο Μπόνεφ". kitrinomavro.gr.
  4. ^ "Локомотив Пловдив – Статистика" (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  5. ^ Mamrud, Roberto (22 January 2009). "Hristo Bonev – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Български легенди >> Христо Бонев" [Bulgarian legends - Hristo Bonev] (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Hristo Bonev". RSSSF.