| Lyubomir Angelov | |
| Birth Date: | 4 October 1912 |
| Birth Place: | Sofia, Kingdom of Bulgaria |
| Death Place: | Sofia, PR Bulgaria |
| Position: | Forward |
| Youthyears1: | 1922–1923 |
| Youthclubs1: | Atletik Sofia |
| Youthyears2: | 1923–1924 |
| Youthclubs2: | Slava |
| Youthyears3: | 1924–1926 |
| Youthclubs3: | Shipka Sofia |
| Youthyears4: | 1926–1928 |
| Youthclubs4: | Shipka Sofia |
| Years1: | 1928–1944 |
| Clubs1: | AS-23 Sofia |
| Years2: | 1944–1947 |
| Clubs2: | Chavdar Sofia |
| Nationalteam1: | Bulgaria |
| Nationalyears1: | 1931–1940 |
| Nationalcaps1: | 44 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 26 |
| Manageryears1: | 1948 |
| Managerclubs1: | Bulgaria |
| Manageryears2: | 1949–1959 |
| Managerclubs2: | Bulgaria B |
| Manageryears3: | 1949–1956 |
| Managerclubs3: | Spartak Sofia |
| Manageryears4: | 1950 |
| Managerclubs4: | Bulgaria |
| Manageryears5: | 1953 |
| Managerclubs5: | Bulgaria |
| Manageryears6: | 1957 |
| Managerclubs6: | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| Manageryears7: | 1960–1962 |
| Managerclubs7: | Bulgaria U21 |
| Manageryears8: | 1964 |
| Managerclubs8: | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| Manageryears9: | 1966–1968 |
| Managerclubs9: | Spartak Sofia |
| Manageryears10: | 1969–1972 |
| Managerclubs10: | Levski-Spartak Sofia (assistant) |
Lyubomir Angelov (Bulgarian: Любомир Ангелов; 4 October 1912 – 24 October 1984) was a Bulgarian footballer and manager who played as a forward for the Bulgaria national team.[1] With 26 goals in 44 caps for Bulgaria, he ranks as the nation's fifth-highest all-time top goalscorer.
He began to play football in his hometown clubs in Sofia such as Atletik, Sława and Szypce.[2] At the age of 14, he moved to AS-23 Sofia, where he was nicknamed Старото, which he received from his schoolmates from the gymnasium.[2] He was Champion of Bulgaria in 1931, when on the final matchday, they defeated FK Szypczenski Sokol by walkover.[3] In 1941, he won the Tsar Cup, scoring twice in the final against Napredak Ruse to help his side to a 4–2.
After the seizure of power by the communist regime in the 1944 Bulgarian coup d'état, AS-23 Sofia was dissolved, while the main activists were subjected to repression for political reasons. Angelov, along with other leading AS-23 players, Spartak Podujane and Szypki Sofia, founded the band Czawdar Sofia, in which he performed until the end of 1947.
He played in 44 matches for the Bulgaria national football team from 1931 to 1940, nine of which as its captain, scoring a then-national record of 26 goals.[4] He was part of the Bulgaria team that won two back-to-back Balkan Cups in 1931 and in 1932, contributing with 1 and 2 goals respectively, but the highlight of his international career came in the 1935 Balkan Cup, where he was the top goal scorer with 6 goals which came in the form of two hat-tricks against Greece and Yugoslavia.[5] With 14 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is the second-best top goal scorer in the competition's history, only behind Iuliu Bodola of Romania, who has 15. Angelov was also part of Bulgaria's team for their qualification matches for the 1938 FIFA World Cup.[6]
After completing his competitive career, he became a coach, graduating from the State Coaching School (1948).[2] Angelov took charge of the Bulgaria national team three times, first in 1948, then in 1950, and finally in 1953, leading the nation in 8 games.[7] He also served as the head coach of the Bulgaria B team in 23 games between 1949 and 1959 and the youth (junior) team in 13 games between 1960 and 1962.[2]
He was the coach of Spartak Sofia twice (1949–1956, 1966–1968) and again twice with Łokomotiv Sofia (1957, 1964), and was also employed in the training staff of Spartak-Levski Sofia, where he was assistant to Rudolf Vytlačil and Yoncho Arsov.[2] Between 1964 and 1966, he worked in Syria, creating the structures of the local football league and the player training system.[2]
Bulgaria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Angelov goal.
| scope=col | No. | scope=col | Date | scope=col | Venue | scope=col | Opponent | scope=col | Score | scope=col | Result | scope=col | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 1 | 4 October 1931 | Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | align=center | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1931 Balkan Cup | ||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 2 | 25 October 1931 | align=center | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1929-31 Balkan Cup | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 3 | 27 March 1932 | align=center | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 4 | 30 March 1932 | align=center | 2–2 | 2–2 | ||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 5 | 30 June 1932 | align=center | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1932 Balkan Cup | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 6 | 2 July 1932 | align=center | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 7 | 4 November 1932 | align=center | 3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 8 | 18 March 1934 | Stadion Balgarska Armia, Sofia, Bulgaria | align=center | 1–2 | 1–2 | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 9 | 1 April 1934 | align=center | 1–0 | 3–2 | ||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 10 | 30 December 1934 | align=center | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1934–35 Balkan Cup | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 11 | 2–3 | |||||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 12 | 26 May 1935 | Stadion Balgarska Armia, Sofia, Bulgaria | B | align=center | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 13 | 16 June 1935 | Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | align=center | 2–1 | 5–2 | 1935 Balkan Cup | ||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 14 | 3–1 | |||||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 15 | 4–1 | |||||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 16 | 24 June 1935 | align=center | 1–2 | 3–3 | ||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 17 | 2–2 | |||||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 18 | 3–2 | |||||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 19 | 21 May 1936 | align=center | 3–1 | 5–4 | 1936 Balkan Cup | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 20 | 24 May 1936 | align=center | 1–1 | 1–4 | ||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 21 | 11 July 1937 | Yunak Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | B | align=center | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | |||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 22 | 4–0 | |||||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 23 | 12 September 1937 | align=center | 2–1 | 3–3 | ||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 24 | 2 October 1938 | B | align=center | 1–1 | 1–3 | |||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 25 | 24 May 1939 | align=center | 2–0 | 3–0 | ||||||||
| scope=row style=text-align:center | 26 | 20 October 1940 | align=center | 3–6 | 3–7 | ||||||||
Bulgarian State Football Championship