Bozhin Georgiev Laskov ( bg, Божин Георгиев Ласков; (15 February 1922 – 2 April 2007) was a naturalised Slovak

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

player of Bulgarian descent and origin, who played as a striker, noted for his tall stature, impressive physique and great heading. In addition, post-retirement Laskov served as a

otorhinolaryngologist Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

and a trained

Bulgarian Orthodox The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgars ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. After 1946, he lived and worked in

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

and is counted among Bulgaria's and Slovakia's best footballers of the era.

Biography

Laskov was born in the village of Lokorsko, today administratively part of

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

. He graduated from the

Sofia Seminary The Sofia Seminary of St John of Rila ( bg, Софийска духовна семинария „Св. Йоан Рилски“, ''Sofiyska duhovna seminariya „Sv. Yoan Rilski“''), located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is the main semi ...

, from where his nickname Popeto (Попето; "the little priest") stems. His youth team was FC Pobeda from the Sofia neighbourhood of

Orlandovtsi Orlandovtsi ( bg, Орландовци , also transliterated as ''Orlandovci'' or ''Orlandovtzi'') is a neighbourhood of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It lies in the northeast of the city and is administratively part of the Serdika municipality ...

, for which he played in 1939–1940. In 1940, Laskov moved to

PFC 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 b ...

and featured for their senior team between 1941 and 1946 as their number 9 striker. Laskov appeared in 56

Bulgarian Championship 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 ...

matches, scoring the remarkable 40 goals. In 46

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 ...

matches, he scored 21 times; he also appeared in 9 international games, scoring 5 goals, as well as 35 other games with 24 goals on his name. During his stay with Levski, Laskov won the Bulgarian Championship twice (in 1942 and 1946), the Bulgarian Cup three times (in 1942, 1946 and 1947) and the Sofia Championship four times (in 1942, 1943, 1945 and 1946). For the

Bulgaria national football 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 Foo ...

, his tally stands at 8 matches and 2 goals. At the 1946

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, ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

, he was proclaimed the best footballer of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Reportedly, ''

France Football ''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusi ...

'' also deemed him the best footballer in Europe later on. On 15 February 1946, Laskov immigrated to Brno, Czechoslovakia, where he studied medicine at the

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the sec ...

and played for SK Židenice, the modern

1. FC Brno FC Zbrojovka Brno is a professional football club based in the city of Brno, South Moravia, Czech Republic and named after Zbrojovka Brno, a firearms manufacturer. Founded in 1913 as SK Židenice, the club later became known as Zbrojovka Brno. Br ...

. In 1947, he moved to

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% o ...

, where he married a Slovak beautician and was granted Czechoslovak citizenship. In Bratislava, he played for

ŠK Slovan Bratislava ŠK Slovan Bratislava (, "Bratislava Slav") is a football club based in Bratislava, Slovakia, that plays in the Slovak Super Liga. Founded as 1. ČsŠK Bratislava in 1919, the club changed its name to Slovan Bratislava in 1953. Slovan is the m ...

between 1947 and 1952, winning the

Czechoslovak First League The Czechoslovak First League ( cs, 1. fotbalová liga, sk, 1. futbalová liga) was the premier football league in the Czechoslovakia from 1925 to 1993, with the exception of World War II. Czechoslovakia was occupied by German forces who forme ...

in 1949, 1950 and 1951. In Czechoslovakia, he has also played for

FK Inter Bratislava FK Inter Bratislava () is a football club based in Bratislava, Slovakia, temporarily playing its home matches in Stupava. History Inter Bratislava was founded in 1940 by the Apollo refinery (later renamed Slovnaft). Following the end of World ...

(then ''Cervena Hviezda'') and

TTS Trenčín TTS Trenčín was a Slovak football club, playing in the town of Trenčín. History The club was founded in 1904 as Trencsény Torna Egyesület (TTE). TTS Trenčín first played in the top flight of Slovakia during World War II, when Slovak a ...

, until 1960. In the Czechoslovak Championship, he played a total of 169 games, of which 98 (with 48 league goals) for Slovan; he also featured in 3 games for the

Czechoslovakia national football team The Czechoslovakia national football team ( cs, Československá fotbalová reprezentace, sk, Česko-slovenské národné futbalové mužstvo) was the national football team of Czechoslovakia from 1920 to 1993. The team was controlled by the Cz ...

. He was awarded several fair play prizes in Czechoslovakia. Later on, he worked as a manager, managing FK Inter Bratislava,

FC Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a Slovak professional football club based in Trnava. Historically, it is one of the most successful clubs in the country, having won the Czechoslovak First League five times and the Czechoslovak Cup on four occasions, and ...

and

Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest munic ...

. He also served as a professional physician specialized in

otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

and was an active member of the Bulgarian association in Slovakia. Laskov died in Bratislava on 2 April 2007.

Honours

;

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 ...

*Bulgarian

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...

–

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

, 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 ...

–

, 1946,

*Sofia Championship – 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946 ;Individual *

Best player of Europe – 1949 *Best player of the

– 1946Една забравена футболна легенда… Не само на България
/ref> ;

SK Slovan Bratislava SK may refer to: Businesses and organizations * SK Foods, an American agribusiness company * SK Hand Tools, an American tool manufacturer * Sangguniang Kabataan, Philippines youth councils * SK Group, South Korean conglomerate * Scandinavian Airl ...

* Czechoslovak champion –

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 – ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

;

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 ...

1946 Balkan Cup The 1946 Balkan Cup was the 8th edition of this tournament. The participanting teams were Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and for the first time ever, Albania, who ended up winning the tournament in their first try. Squads *The four men ...

– Fourth place *

1947 Balkan Cup The 1947 Balkan Cup, officially called the Balkan and Central European Championship, was played between May and October 1947 between Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Hungary. It was Hungary's first participation in the tournament (hence t ...

– Fourth place

References

*
Alt URL
* * *

External links

*
Profile at LevskiSofia.info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laskov, Bozhin 1922 births 2007 deaths Bulgarian footballers Czechoslovak footballers Footballers from Sofia PFC Levski Sofia players FC Zbrojovka Brno players ŠK Slovan Bratislava players FK Inter Bratislava players TTS Trenčín players Bulgarian Orthodox priests Bulgaria international footballers Czechoslovakia international footballers Dual internationalists (football) Bulgarian surgeons Otolaryngologists Slovak surgeons Bulgarian football managers Czechoslovak football managers Bulgarian emigrants to Czechoslovakia Masaryk University alumni Slovak people of Bulgarian descent FC Spartak Trnava managers People from Sofia City Province 21st-century Eastern Orthodox priests 20th-century Bulgarian physicians 21st-century Bulgarian physicians Association football forwards