April 1 – Borislav Mihaylov, the legendary goalkeeper and long-time captain of the Bulgarian national football team, passed away in Sofia on Tuesday, aged 63.
Mihaylov had been in critical condition since November last year after suffering a stroke. The Bulgarian football community will bid him a final farewell this Saturday, April 4, with the funeral service and viewing scheduled to take place at the Saint Sofia Church.
Born on February 12, 1963, in Sofia, Mihaylov became a national icon as one of the key figures of the ‘Golden Generation’ that reached the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Under the guidance of Dimitar Penev, he captained the squad to a historic fourth-place finish, a feat that remains the pinnacle of Bulgarian sporting achievement.
Over his illustrious international career, he earned 93 caps for the national team and nine for the Olympic team, taking the captain’s armband for a record-breaking 60 matches. His excellence between the posts earned him the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 1986 and led to him being voted the greatest Bulgarian goalkeeper of all time in a 2011 fan poll. For his contributions to Bulgaria, he was honored with the Order of ‘Stara Planina’, 1st Class, in 1994.
Beyond his international success, Mihaylov enjoyed a prolific club career that began at Levski Sofia, where he won three league titles and three national cups during the 1980s.
Despite a brief suspension from football following a controversial 1985 Cup Final against CSKA, he was quickly reinstated and went on to play professionally in Portugal for Belenenses, in France for Mulhouse, in England for Reading, and in Switzerland for Zürich, as well as for Bulgarian clubs Botev Plovdiv and Slavia Sofia.
Following his retirement from playing, he transitioned into sports administration and was elected President of the Bulgarian Football Union in 2005. He served as the head of the federation for a record 16 years, spanning two terms from 2005 to 2019 and 2021 to 2023, leaving behind a complex and enduring legacy in the history of Bulgarian sport.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at [email protected]