Hristo STOICHKOV (Patreon)

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Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov (Bulgarian: Христо Стоичков Стоичков; born 8 February 1966) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer and current football commentator for TUDN. A prolific forward, he is widely regarded as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. He was the runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1992 and 1994 and received the Ballon d'Or in 1994. In 2004, Stoichkov was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

At the club level, Stoichkov spent six years at CSKA Sofia and became the top goalscorer in Europe in 1990, receiving the European Golden Shoe. In 1990, he joined Barcelona, where he earned the Spanish nickname "El Pistolero" (lit. 'The Gunslinger') and was part of Johan Cruyff's "Dream Team," which won four consecutive La Liga titles and the 1992 European Cup. During his time at the club, he formed a prolific strike partnership with Romário. Cruyff played a crucial role in bringing him to Barcelona, where he quickly developed into one of the most prolific forwards in the world.

Stoichkov was a member of the Bulgaria national team that finished fourth at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where he emerged as the top scorer with six goals, earning the World Cup Golden Boot. He was ranked as the third-best player at the World Cup, following Romário and Roberto Baggio, and received the World Cup Bronze Ball. In addition to his exceptional footballing talent, he was known for his fiery temperament on the pitch. During his playing career, he was also nicknamed The Dagger (Камата).

Honours

CSKA Sofia

• A Group: 1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90

• Bulgarian Cup: 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89

• Soviet Army Cup: 1984-85, 1985-86, 1988-89, 1989-90

• Bulgarian Supercup: 1989

Barcelona

• La Liga: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98

• Copa del Rey: 1996–97, 1997–98

• Supercopa de España: 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996; Runner up:1990, 1993, 1997

• UEFA Champions League: 1991–92; Runner up: 1993–94

• European Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97; Runner up: 1990–91

• UEFA Super Cup: 1992, 1997

• Intercontinental Cup: Runner up:1992

Parma

• Supercoppa Italiana: Runner up:1995

Al-Nassr

• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98

Kashiwa Reysol

• Japan Soccer League Cup / J.League Cup: 1999

Chicago Fire

• U.S. Open Cup: 2000

• Central Division: 2000, 2001

• MLS Cup 2000: Runner-up

Bulgaria[3]

• FIFA World Cup Semi-finals (4th place): 1994 Bronze Medal

Individual

• Ballon d'Or: 1994

• European Golden Shoe: 1990

• European Cup Winners' Cup Top Scorer: 1989

• UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award / Onze d'Or: 1992

• ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1992, 1994

• Don Balón Award Best Foreign Player in La Liga: 1993-94

• IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer: 1994[49]

• UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award / Onze d'Argent: 1994

• FIFA World Player of the Year: Runner-up: 1992, 1994

• FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe: 1994

• FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball: 1994

• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994

• Bulgarian Footballer of the Year(5): 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994

• A Group Top scorer(2): 1988–89, 1989–90

• Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year: 1994

• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1996

• MLS Best XI: 2000

• The Era of the 'Dream Team' (1988-1996) - Barcelona Legend

• World Soccer's 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century: 2000

• UEFA Jubilee Awards – Greatest Bulgarian Footballer of the last 50 Years: 2004

• FIFA 100: 2004

• Golden Foot: 2007, as football legend

• Sport Movies & TV – Milano International FICTS Fest - FICTS "Hall of Fame": 2013

• UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador - UNESCO Champion for Sport: 2016

• IFFHS: 2019, as football legend

• FourFourTwo - The 50 greatest Barcelona players of all time: 2022

• FourFourTwo - The 100 best football players of all time: 2022

Records

• All-time the only Football Player won Edition of the European Cup Winners' Cup and Asian Cup Winners' Cup.

• All-time Top Scorer in the Bulgarian First Professional Football League with 38 league goals in 30 games - season 1989–90.

• All-time FC Barcelona player with most red cards in the history (10 Red cards)