Hristov's goals have Canaries singing
15.4.08, 11:24
by Stoyan Georgiev, uefa.com
Georgi Hristov will look to justify the optimism of a generation of PFC Botev Plovdiv fans as he leads the Canaries in the Bulgarian Cup semi-finals on Wednesday. At 23, Hristov is enjoying his first season in the top division, topping the goalscorers table with 16 strikes to date.
Botev predecessors
Having helped Botev to reach the cup semi-finals for the first time since 1995, he may now follow Botev predecessors Ivan Sotirov (1961), Georgi Slavkov (1981), Antim Pehlivanov (1983) and Atanas Pashev (1986) in finishing the season as Bugaria's top striker.
Three goals clear
With six games to go until the end of the season, Hristov is three goals ahead of his nearest challenger, PFC Lokomotiv Sofia's Martcho Davtchev, and with his side tenth in the 16-team table, is hungry for success. "I will not hide my ambition to become the league's top goalscorer," said Hristov. "I am doing my job and it would be a fantastic achievement for me."
Great striker
Long regarded as the best team outside the Bulgarian capital, Botev have been waiting for a new world-class striker to emerge at the club since Slavkov won the European Golden Shoe for his 31 goals in the 1980/81 season, when the club were known as FC Trakia Plovdiv. Now, with the emergence of the impressive Hristov, the Canaries' gain may be the music world's loss.
Musical family
The scion of a musical family, Hristov's father and grandfather are both musicians, while his brother Hristo Hristov is the guitarist in Bulgarian grunge band P.I.F. Young Georgi too seemed destined to perform until, on the way to study Mozart and Beethoven at a piano lesson, he passed by PFC Maritsa Plovdiv's stadium and decided to swap music for football.
Big discovery
Maritsa is famous as the club that nurtured the young Hristo Stoitchkov - Bulgaria's greatest player - and the same coach that spotted the irascible legend, Ognyan Atanasov, also recognised Hristov's ability. After impressing at Maritsa, Hristov joined Botev in the summer of 2007, helping to forge an exciting attacking side alongside strikers Georgi Kakalov and Dormushali Saidhodzha.
Litex tie
Now Botev face PFC Litex Lovech in the semi-finals on Wednesday. "We will go to Lovech looking to reach the final," he said. "We hope our fans will come in numbers and give their support. The draw is obviously hard for us, but we are confident of making an upset. I have achieved so much because of my team-mates. They have helped me a lot and the atmosphere inside the team is excellent."
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