John Gastev (born John Gastevich; 11 August 1964) is a former

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

er who played in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL). A cult figure and "crowd favourite" standing at only and weighing just , Gastev began with West Perth in 1983. However, Gastev's career did not take off until

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

when he gave up a career as an engraver to concentrate upon football full-time and became a mainstay for the Falcons before debuting with the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

in their inaugural season in the Victorian Football League (VFL). After only two seasons and 30 games, Gastev was dumped and joined the

Brisbane Bears The Brisbane Bears were a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, now known as the Brisbane Lions. Granted a Australian Football League, Victorian Football League (VFL), licence in 1986, ...

for 1989. Gastev's main roles were as a tagger, though he occasionally played as a forward in his early years. In an upset win over the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a Austral ...

early in 1989, Gastev kicked seven goals after half-time, a feat made more remarkable by the fact that he kicked no other goal in the first thirteen rounds of 1989. In this first year at the Bears he won the

best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...

, repeating the feat in 1992. After 1990, Gastev played chiefly in defence, and his career was ended when he suffered a major hit at the hands of Gary Ablett in a match in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major Australian Football League, AFL stadium, a seco ...

. Gastev announced his retirement during the off-season,1994 Bears
/ref> despite being only thirty years old. His other honours include playing for

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in state of origin.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gastev, John Brisbane Bears players West Coast Eagles players 1964 births Living people Sportsmen from Western Australia West Perth Football Club players Western Australian State of Origin players Brisbane Bears Club Champion winners Australian rules footballers from Perth, Western Australia Australia international rules football team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen