The First Bulgarian To Have Played Against Spurs?

Our 1984 UEFA Cup success saw us overcome Dutch side Feyenoord in the early stages with a team featuring the likes of Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullit – and also a star of Bulgarian football. Bulgarian journalist Stoyan Georgiev spoke to Andrey Zhelyazkov, who was right at the heart of the action as Cruyff and co looked to end our European adventure that season before it had barely begun

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.