Bojidar Georgiev Iskrenov (, born 1 August 1962), nicknamed Gibona (Гибона means "The

Gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast Indi ...

"), Gibi (Гиби) and The Joy of the People (Радостта на народа), is a former Bulgarian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who spent most of his career playing for

Levski Sofia PFC Levski Sofia () 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 by a group of high sc ...

as a forward. Iskrenov also had a brief film career. He appeared in the movie '' Manevri na petiya etazh'' as the elevator technician.

Career

A native of the capital Sofia, Iskrenov played for Levski between 1979 and 1989, scoring 58 goals in 208 matches. He was then transferred to the Spanish

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

in 1989–1990, but could not establish himself in the first team and went on as a

Lausanne Sports Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challenge League Season. The ...

player in Switzerland in 1990–1991. Spells at

Botev Plovdiv Profesionalen Futbolen Klub Botev AD, commonly referred to as Botev Plovdiv (, ), or simply Botev (within its associated city), is a Bulgarian professional Association football, football club based in Plovdiv. It competes in the First Professiona ...

(1991–1992),

CSKA Sofia CSKA Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia and currently competing in the country's premier football competition, the First League. ''CSKA'' is an abbreviation for ''Central Sports Club of the Army'' ...

and PFC Shumen (1994) followed, with Iskrenov ending his career at

Septemvri Sofia Septemvri () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently competes in the Second League, the second tier of Bulgarian football. Its home ground is the Septemvri Stadium, but due to its poor condition the ...

(1994–1995). Iskrenov won the top Bulgarian league, the

A PFG The First Professional Football League (), commonly known as Parva Liga or Bulgarian First League (currently known as the efbet League for sponsorship reasons), is a professional association football league in Bulgaria and the highest level of t ...

, three times (all with Levski): in 1984, 1985 and 1988, as well as the

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup () 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 tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...

in 1982, 1984 and 1986 (with Levski) and 1993 (with CSKA). He played a total of 263 matches and scored 58 goals in the A PFG. A very skillful player, known for his feints as well as the ability to shoot with both legs, Iskrenov was also nicknamed Radostta na naroda (Радостта на народа; "The Joy of the people").

International career

For the Bulgaria national team, Bojidar Iskrenov has 50 matches and 5 goals, debuting on 28 October 1981 in a 0–3 defeat by

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and retiring from international football on 12 May 1993 after a 2–2 draw between Bulgaria and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in Sofia. He played at the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

in Mexico, when Bulgaria reached the round of 16.

Honors

; Club

* Bulgarian League – 1979, 1984, 1985, 1988 *

– 1979, 1982, 1984, 1986 * Cup of the Soviet Army – 1984, 1987, 1988 ; International

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

–

15th place In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

References

External links

*
Profile at LevskiSofia.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iskrenov, Bozhidar 1962 births Living people Bulgarian men's footballers Bulgaria men's international footballers Footballers from Sofia PFC Levski Sofia players Real Zaragoza players FC Lausanne-Sport players Botev Plovdiv players PFC CSKA Sofia players PFC Septemvri Sofia players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players La Liga players Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Continental Indoor Soccer League players Washington Warthogs players 1986 FIFA World Cup players Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Men's association football midfielders Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States 20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen