Until this season, Tottenham had never played against a team from Bulgaria and suddenly the floodgates have opened with tonight’s fixture against Ludogorets the third game in just two months.
There are very few links throughout our history with the Balkan nation but one of the very first Bulgarian players to play against the Lilywhites featured in a memorable game. The date is 19 October 1983, the venue is White Hart Lane and his name is Andrey Zhelyazkov.
A striker born in Radnevo in southern Bulgaria, Zhelyazkov is a real legend in his homeland, having played for 10 years at Slavia Sofia (1971-81). He is the Whites’ all-time top goalscorer and twice won the Cup with them in 1975 and 1980.
Slavia were a really strong team in the late 1970s and came agonisingly close to winning the league in 1980. They finished second, just a point behind CSKA Sofia, a formidable team of the time who managed to dethrone the then-reigning European champions Nottingham Forest (1980/81) and Liverpool (1981/82) in the European Cup.
Zhelyazkov was Slavia’s brightest star who won the Bulgaria Player of the Year award in 1980 and in the summer of 1981, he joined Dutch giants Feyenoord. Fast forward two years and ‘Zhuzho’ could not believe what the club told him one day during his summer break.
Denne historien er fra Spurs v Ludogorets-utgaven av Tottenham Hotspur Publications.
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Denne historien er fra Spurs v Ludogorets-utgaven av Tottenham Hotspur Publications.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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OBITUARY – JOHNNIE HILLS
We were saddened to hear of the passing of John ‘Johnnie’ Hills, a defender who spent 11 years at the Club as an amateur and professional between 1950-61. He passed away at home in Brussels, Belgium, on Friday, 26 November, aged 87.
PAPER CHASE
Club historian John Fennelly looks back at what supporters were reading on their way, at half-time and heading home afterwards when NORWICH CITY visited in March 1938.
RIDE FOR UGO
Laurence Gant, Head of Academy Sports Medicine and Science, is set to take part in a five-day charity cycle in memory of his friend, and our former Under-23s coach Ugo Ehiogu.
DEVELOPMENT SQUAD
BIG WIN OVER EVERTON
SPURS WOMEN
INTERNATIONAL ROUND
GAME ZERO ACHIEVES NET ZERO CARBON STATUS
Sky this week published a case study revealing that Game Zero, our Premier League match against Chelsea here in September, achieved net zero carbon emissions.
LIVING IN THE MOMENT
Exclusive interview with our young midfielder OLIVER SKIPP, now an established member of our first team and also a familiar face to today’s opponents, who is enjoying every moment in the Premier League spotlight.
MEET OUR FIRST-YEAR UNDER-18S PLAYERS
TOUGH DAY AGAINST COTTAGERS
TREBLE TOP
Looking back at Spurs hat-tricks scored against tonight’s opposition.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
A creative midfielder who was full of heart and desire, LEWIS HOLTBY made his Spurs debut against this afternoon’s opposition back in January 2013 and went on to make 42 appearances in our colours, scoring three goals. We caught up with the Germany international to discuss his time at the Club and find out what he is up to now…
