Plamen Markov Markov -Пламен Марков Марков-, (born 11 September 1957) is a Bulgarian retired professional
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 played as a
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
for clubs in Bulgaria and France. He played for the
Bulgaria national team at international level.
Playing career
Markov was born in
Sevlievo
Sevlievo ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in north-central Bulgaria, part of Gabrovo Province. Sevlievo is known as one of the wealthiest towns in Bulgaria owing to the well developed local economy, high employment rate and maj ...
. He played for the
Bulgaria national team on 32 occasions,
[ including a match in the 1986 World Cup against Argentina.
In June 1985 he moved from ]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'' ...
to join French club FC Metz
Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...
, playing 87 matches for them. After the 1986–87 season he transferred to Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
. He retired as a player in 1990.
Coaching career
His first coaching job came with Grenoble, and he was later in charge at his former club, CSKA Sofia, but he was sacked in 1995.[ He stepped down as coach of Bulgaria after the ]Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...
tournament.
He was reappointed as Bulgaria coach in January 2008, but was sacked in December 2008 following three draws in their 2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
qualifying campaign.
Personal life
Markov is married and has two daughters.[
]
References
1957 births
Living people
Bulgarian men's footballers
Bulgarian football managers
1986 FIFA World Cup players
PFC Vidima-Rakovski Sevlievo players
PFC CSKA Sofia players
FC Metz players
Grenoble Foot 38 players
Grenoble Foot 38 managers
UEFA Euro 2004 managers
Ligue 1 players
First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players
Bulgarian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Bulgarian expatriate sportspeople in France
Bulgaria men's international footballers
PFC CSKA Sofia managers
Bulgaria national football team managers
People from Sevlievo
Footballers from Gabrovo Province
Bulgarian expatriate football managers
Men's association football midfielders
FC Yantra Gabrovo managers
Expatriate football managers in Morocco
Wydad AC managers
Botola managers
20th-century Bulgarian sportsmen
{{Bulgaria-footy-midfielder-stub