zlatanov

zlatanov · 11-04-2006, 20:42

Two Bulgarian names, who may have very well become even greater players than Hristo Stoichkov if it wasn't for the Communist regime - Hristo Bonev (typical #10 like Cruyff, Platini, Rivera) and Georgi Asparuhov (Gundi) (the closest thing to a complete striker I have ever seen, after MvB). Both of them were wanted by teams like Juventus, Barcelona, and Bayern Munchen but the Communist Party in Bulgaria never allowed the move to happen.
I have read a story saying that Juve were ready to pay 800,000 US for Bonev at a time when Johan Cruyff made his move from Ajax to Barcelona for 1 million US - an absolute record and an unheard of amount of money in football for those years. There are similar stories for Gundi too.
Yet, very few people outside Bulgaria have heard those names.

11-04-2006, 20:42	#2
zlatanov Moderator Join Date: 07 2003 Location: Nowhere near San Siro :( Fave Players: Zinedine Zidane, Genarro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta	Two Bulgarian names, who may have very well become even greater players than Hristo Stoichkov if it wasn't for the Communist regime - Hristo Bonev (typical #10 like Cruyff, Platini, Rivera) and Georgi Asparuhov (Gundi) (the closest thing to a complete striker I have ever seen, after MvB). Both of them were wanted by teams like Juventus, Barcelona, and Bayern Munchen but the Communist Party in Bulgaria never allowed the move to happen. I have read a story saying that Juve were ready to pay 800,000 US for Bonev at a time when Johan Cruyff made his move from Ajax to Barcelona for 1 million US - an absolute record and an unheard of amount of money in football for those years. There are similar stories for Gundi too. Yet, very few people outside Bulgaria have heard those names. Last edited by zlatanov; 11-04-2006 at 20:46.