Apostol Sokolov ( bg, Апостол Соколов; 23 October 1917 - 12 June 1987), nicknamed Potso, was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

n football

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. On club level, he played for

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 ...

, Prince Kiril Sofia and

Spartak Sofia FC Spartak Sofia ( bg, ФК Спартак София) was a Bulgarian football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The club was officially founded in 1947. The team plays in the Bulgarian Regional Division. The club's home colours are blue and white ...

. Playing 15 times for

during the 1940s and 1950s, Sokolov represented them at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Sokolov was considered one of the Eastern Europe's best goalkeepers during his career. He is regarded as the first goalkeeper who began to leave the goal line like modern keepers and even

Lev Yashin Lev Ivanovich Yashin (russian: Лев Иванович Яшин; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990), nicknamed the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther", was a Soviet professional footballer regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the hi ...

said Sokolov was his inspiration. He had good reflexes and sense of positioning but above all he's remembered for his innovative style of play. His son

Georgi Sokolov Georgi Apostolov Sokolov ( bg, Георги Апостолов Соколов; 19 June 1942 - 27 June 2002) was a Bulgarian international footballer. A forward with remarkable ball control, imagination, dribbling skills and feints, Sokolov is reg ...

was one of the most talented Bulgarian footballers who played as a winger or forward for

and

Career

Club career

Sokolov started his career with FC Bulgaria Sofia. In 1939 he joined

. After six first-team games (three for

State Championship New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octob ...

and three for Tsar's Cup) Sokolov moved to

. Then he played for Prince Kiril Sofia, before returned to Levski in 1944. On 1 June 1947, Sokolov saved a crucial penalty in the Bulgarian Cup final against

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv ( bg, „Ботев“ Пловдив, ) or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, that competes in ...

to help Levski beat 1–0. With Levski he won two Republic Championship titles, one A Group title and three

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tourname ...

International career

Sokolov made his first appearance for the

Bulgarian national team The Bulgaria national football team ( bg, Български национален отбор по футбол, Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol) represents Bulgaria in men's international football and is administered by the Bulgarian Fo ...

on 6 July 1947, at the age of 29, in a 3–2 home loss against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

for the

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

. He kept four clean sheets during his time with the national team. Sokolov was included in the Bulgarian squad for 1952 Summer Olympics, and played in a 2–1 loss against

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

on 15 July. The last of his 15 caps came in the

1954 World Cup Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

qualifier against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

on 8 November 1953, which ended 0–0.

Honours

Club

;Levski Sofia * Republic Championship (2): 1946,

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January– February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the count ...

A Group The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

(1): 1948–49 *

(3): 1946,

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

References

External links

Player Profile
at levskisofia.info * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolov, Apostol 1917 births 1987 deaths Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers PFC Levski Sofia players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Bulgaria