Georgi Kostadinov (footballer)

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Georgi Kostadinov
Kostadinov with Arsenal Tula in 2018
Personal information
Full name Georgi Georgiev Kostadinov
Date of birth (1990-09-07) 7 September 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Tsarevo, Bulgaria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
APOEL
Number 70
Youth career
2004–2008 Naftex Burgas
2008–2009 Chernomorets Burgas
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Naftex Burgas 10 (0)
2009–2011 Pomorie 53 (4)
2012–2013 Ludogorets Razgrad 12 (2)
2013–2015 Beroe 49 (8)
2015–2017 Levski Sofia 49 (8)
2017–2018 Maccabi Haifa 24 (2)
2018–2022 Arsenal Tula 95 (1)
2022– APOEL 44 (3)
International career
2011–2012 Bulgaria U21 6 (1)
2016– Bulgaria 39 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 March 2024

Georgi Georgiev Kostadinov (Bulgarian: Георги Георгиев Костадинов; born 7 September 1990) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Cypriot First Division club APOEL and the Bulgaria national team.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Born in Tsarevo, Kostadinov began his career with Naftex Burgas. In 2007–08, he helped Naftex win the Bulgarian U19 Championship, scoring the only goal in the final against CSKA Sofia.[1]

In June 2009, Kostadinov joined Pomorie.

Ludogorets[edit]

On 16 January 2012, Kostadinov signed for Ludogorets Razgrad.[2] His A Group debut was on 18 March, as a substitute against Svetkavitsa, replacing Stanislav Genchev in the 78th minute. Six minutes later he scored his first goal, netting the fourth in a 5–0 victory.

Kostadinov won two Bulgarian League titles, a Bulgarian Cup and the Bulgarian Supercup for Ludogorets, but struggled to hold down a place in the first team, totalling 13 games and two goals.

Beroe[edit]

On 19 August 2013, Kostadinov joined Beroe Stara Zagora as a free agent.[3] He signed a two-year contract with the club and was given the number 70 shirt. Kostadinov made his debut in the same day in a 0–0 home draw against Cherno More, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for Élio Martins.[4] He scored his first Beroe goal on 9 March 2014, in a 3–1 away win over Chernomorets Burgas. Kostadinov spent two seasons with the club, where he scored 8 goals in 49 league matches.

Levski Sofia[edit]

Kostadinov with Levski Sofia in 2016

After his contract with Beroe expired, Kostadinov joined Levski Sofia. On 3 July 2015, he signed a two-year contract with Levski.[5] His competitive debut came against Botev Plovdiv in the opening game of the Bulgarian League season on 18 July, and scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 away draw.[6]

After two successful individual campaigns with Levski, he left the club at the end of his contract in May 2017.[7]

Maccabi Haifa[edit]

On 22 June 2017, Kostadinov signed as a free agent for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa on a two-year contract.[8] He made his competitive debut for the club on 29 July, playing full 90 minutes of a 2017–18 Toto Cup Al match against Bnei Sakhnin at Acre Municipal Stadium; Maccabi won 4–1. Kostadinov played his first Israeli Premier League match on the opening day of the season during their 2–0 away defeat against Bnei Yehuda on 21 August.

On 16 September 2017, Kostadinov scored his first goals in a 4–2 home win over Hapoel Ra'anana.[9] He scored his second Maccabi goal on 5 May 2018 in a 1–1 draw at Bnei Sakhnin.[10]

Arsenal Tula[edit]

On 1 July 2018, Kostadinov joined Russian Premier League club Arsenal Tula on a 2+1-year contract, for an undisclosed fee reported to be €200,000.[11] On 29 July, he made his competitive debut in their season opener against Dynamo Moscow by replacing Kantemir Berkhamov for the final 32 minutes of a 0–0 home draw. On 5 October 2018, he scored his first Russian Premier League goal in a 1–1 home draw against FC Ufa.

APOEL[edit]

On 26 July 2022, Kostadinov signed with APOEL in Cyprus.[12] He scored his first goal for the club on 17 September 2022, in a 2–0 away win over Olympiakos Nicosia.

International career[edit]

He was called up to the senior Bulgaria squad by Ivaylo Petev for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg in September 2016.[13] Kostadinov earned his first cap on 7 October under new manager Petar Hubchev, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–4 away loss against France in another qualification match for the 2018 World Cup.[14]

On 31 August 2017, Kostadinov scored his second international goal in a 3–2 home win against Sweden.[15]

International goals[edit]

Scores and results list Bulgaria's goal tally first.[16]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 9 June 2017 Borisov Arena, Borisov, Belarus  Belarus 1–2 1–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 31 August 2017 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria  Sweden 2–1 3–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3. 3 September 2017 Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–2 1–3 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of 21 May 2022
Club Season League Cup[a] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Naftex Burgas 2008–09 B Group 10 0 0 0 10 0
Chernomorets Pomorie 2009–10 24 1 3 0 27 1
2010–11 18 2 1 0 19 2
2011–12 11 1 0 0 11 1
Total 53 4 4 0 57 4
Ludogorets Razgrad 2011–12 A Group 5 2 0 0 5 2
2012–13 6 0 1 0 0 0 7 0
2013–14 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 12 2 1 0 0 0 13 2
Beroe Stara Zagora 2013–14 A Group 19 6 0 0 0 0 19 6
2014–15 30 2 1 0 31 2
Total 49 8 1 0 0 0 50 8
Levski Sofia 2015–16 A Group 29 4 2 0 31 4
2016–17 First League 20 4 2 0 2 0 24 4
Total 49 8 4 0 2 0 55 8
Maccabi Haifa 2017–18 Israeli Premier League 24 2 8 0 32 2
Arsenal Tula 2018–19 Russian Premier League 26 1 5 0 31 1
2019–20 24 0 1 1 2 0 27 1
2020–21 20 0 2 0 22 0
2021–22 25 0 2 0 27 0
Total 95 1 10 1 2 0 107 2
APOEL 2022–23 Cypriot First Division 7 1 0 0 3 0 10 1
Career total 299 26 28 1 7 0 334 27

International[edit]

As of match played 25 March 2024[17]
Bulgaria national team
Year Apps Goals
2016 2 0
2017 6 3
2018 8 0
2019 7 0
2020 2 0
2021 8 0
2022 4 0
2024 2 0
Total 39 3

Honours[edit]

Club[edit]

Ludogorets

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Старшата на Нафтекс взе титлата след 1:0 над ЦСКА" (in Bulgarian). topsport.bg. 24 June 2008.
  2. ^ "Още един младежки национал подписа с Лудогорец" (in Bulgarian). ludogorets.com. 16 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Берое привлече Георги Костадинов" (in Bulgarian). beroe.bg. 19 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Beroe vs. Cherno More". soccerway.com. 19 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Георги Костадинов подписа с Левски за две години" (in Bulgarian). levski.bg. 3 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Botev Plovdiv vs. Levski Sofia" (in Bulgarian). soccerway.com. 18 July 2015.
  7. ^ ""Левски" ще се раздели с Де Нойер, Аниете, Костадинов и Лукин" (in Bulgarian). dnevnik.bg. 13 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Georgi Kostadinov signs a contract with Maccabi Haifa". scouting-team.com. 22 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Maccabi Haifa vs. Hapoel Ra'anana". soccerway.com. 16 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Bnei Sakhnin vs. Maccabi Haifa". soccerway.com. 5 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Георгий Костадинов – в "Арсенале"" (in Russian). arsenaltula.ru. 1 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Καταρχήν συμφωνία με Georgi Kostadinov" (in Greek). apoelfc.com.cy. 26 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Bulgaria - Luxembourg" (PDF). bfunion.bg. 1 September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  14. ^ "France vs. Bulgaria 4:1". flashscore.com. 7 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  15. ^ Хубчев преобрази България, натрихме ноcа на шведите
  16. ^ "Kostadinov, Georgi". National Football Teams. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  17. ^ Kostadinov, Georgi at National-Football-Teams.com

External links[edit]