Nikola Kotkov

Nikola Kotkov

Personal information
Full name	Nikola Todorov Kotkov (Никола Тодоров Котков)
Date of birth	9 December 1938(1938-12-09)
Place of birth	Sofia, Bulgaria
Date of death	30 June 1971(1971-06-30) (aged 32)
Place of death	Sofia, Bulgaria
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	PFC Lokomotiv Sofia
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1956–1969	PFC Lokomotiv Sofia	286	(143)
1969–1971	PFC Levski Sofia	36	(20)
–	Total	322	(163 )
National team‡
1956–1959	Bulgaria U19	16	(8)
1959–1961	Bulgaria U21	7	(5)
1961–1969	Bulgaria	26	(12)
–	Total	59	(33 )
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 2006. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of December 2006

Nikola Todorov Kotkov (Bulgarian: Никола Тодоров Котков) (9 December 1938–30 June 1971), nicknamed Koteto (Котето, "The Kitten") was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a striker.

Born in the capital Sofia, Kotkov started his football career as a PFC Lokomotiv Sofia trainee and went on to spend much of his career (1956–1969) with the club, winning the Bulgarian Championship in 1964. He then moved to PFC Levski Sofia, for whom he played until his death in 1971. Kotkov died together with his friend and teammate Georgi Asparuhov in a traffic accident in the Vitinya Pass of the Balkan Mountains, en route to Vratsa. With Levski, Kotkov became once again champion in 1970, winning the Bulgarian Cup the same year.

Kotkov played a total of 322 matches and scored 163 goals in the Bulgarian Championship and was given the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 1964. For the Bulgaria national team, he had 26 caps and scored 12 goals, taking part in the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England.

A fans' favourite noted for his fair play, Kotkov was known for his remarkable technique, pinpoint passing and skilful free kick taking.

Statistics

• National teams — 59 matches, 33 goals
• Bulgarian championship — 322 matches, 163 goals — 286/145 for Lokomotiv, 45/25 for Levski
• European club tournaments — 11 matches, 10 goals — CEC-6, CWC-5
• First match — with Lokomotiv Sofia 1956
• Last match — with Levski against CSKA — 28 June 1971
• All - 392 matches, 206 goals

Honours

• Champion of Bulgaria — 2 times, 1964 with Lokomotiv and 1970 with Levski
• Holder of the National Cup — 2 times 1970, 1971 (posthumously) with Levski
• Bulgarian Footballer of the Year — 1964
• Holder of an Order of Labour - 1970
• Deserved Master of Sports
• 25th place in the Golden Ball quiz — 1967

References

• Paytashev, Rumen (2001). Svetovna Futbolna Entsiklopediya. Sofia: KK Trud. p. 187. ISBN 978-954-528-201-0. 

External links

• Article about Kotkov from a PFC Lokomotiv Sofia fansite (Bulgarian)

Persondata
Name	Kotkov, Nikola
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 December 1938
Place of birth	Sofia, Bulgaria
Date of death	30 June 1971
Place of death	Sofia, Bulgaria

This biographical article related to a Bulgarian association football forward is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Bulgarian footballers PFC Lokomotiv Sofia players PFC Levski Sofia players 1966 FIFA World Cup players 1938 births 1971 deaths People from Sofia Road accident deaths in Bulgaria Bulgaria international footballers Bulgarian football forward stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Arachis correntina Tom McGrath (playwright) Look at other dictionaries: Nikola — Gender male Language(s) Slavic Origin W …   Wikipedia List of Bulgarians — This is a partial list of famous Bulgarians:Bulgarian monarchs*Kubrat *Batbayan *Asparukh of Bulgaria *Tervel of Bulgaria *Kormesiy of Bulgaria *Sevar of Bulgaria *Kormisosh of Bulgaria *Vinekh of Bulgaria *Telets of Bulgaria *Sabin of Bulgaria… …   Wikipedia Bulgarian A Professional Football Group — For other sports leagues which may be referred to by this name, see List of professional sports leagues. Bulgarian A Professional Football Group Countries …   Wikipedia Liga Profesional de Bulgaria — A PFG A PFG 2011/12 Deporte Fútbol …   Wikipedia Español Sofia — This article is about the capital of Bulgaria. For other uses, see Sofia (disambiguation). Sofia София From top left: Tsarigrad Road, National Assembly Square, Sofia University rectorate, National Palace of Culture detail …   Wikipedia PFC Levski Sofia — Levski Sofia Full name Професионален футболен клуб Левски София (Professional football club Levski Sofia) Nickname(s) Сините (The Blues) От …   Wikipedia Georgi Asparuhov — Football player infobox playername= Georgi Asparuhov fullname = Georgi R. Asparuhov height = 1.84m nickname = Gundi dateofbirth = birth date|1943|5|4|mf=y cityofbirth = Sofia countryofbirth = Bulgaria dateofdeath = death date and… …   Wikipedia PFC Lokomotiv Sofia — Football club infobox clubname = PFC Lokomotiv Sofia fullname = PFC Lokomotiv Sofia nickname = Loko , The irons founded = 28 October 1929 ground = Lokomotiv Stadium capacity = 25 000 chairman = manager = league = TBI A Football Group season =… …   Wikipedia 1971 in association football — yearbox in?=in football (soccer) cp=19th Century c=20th Century cf=21st Century yp1=1968 yp2=1969 yp3=1970 year=1971 ya1=1972 ya2=1973 ya3=1974 dp3=1940s dp2=1950s dp1=1960s d=1970s dn1=1980s dn2=1990s dn3=2000sThe following are the football… …   Wikipedia 1938 in association football — yearbox in?=in football (soccer) cp=19th Century c=20th Century cf=21st Century yp1=1935 yp2=1936 yp3=1937 year=1938 ya1=1939 ya2=1940 ya3=1941 dp3=1900s dp2=1910s dp1=1920s d=1930s dn1=1940s dn2=1950s dn3=1960sThe following are the football… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”