Introduction
Krasimir Genchev Balakov (Bulgarian: Красимир Балъков, pronounced [krɐsiˈmir ˈbaɫɤkof]; born 29 March 1966) is a Bulgarian former footballer turned manager. He was a key member of the Bulgarian national team that finished fourth in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. After Hristo Stoichkov, he is considered the greatest Bulgarian footballer of his generation.
Club career
Balakov began his club career at the local Etar Veliko Tarnovo, before transferring to Portugal's Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1990, playing alongside future Ballon D'Or recipient Luís Figo, his compatriot Yordanov, and future two-time Champions League winner Paulo Sousa. Though Sporting had a quality squad, Balakov only managed to win the 1994–95 Portuguese Cup during his time at the club. Today, fans still remember him as an exceptional player. In 1995, he transferred to Germany's VfB Stuttgart where he won two UEFA Intertoto Cups (2000 and 2002) and a DFB-Pokal (1997), before retiring in 2003. As an attacking midfielder Balakov formed a successful attacking partnership with strikers Fredi Bobic and Giovane Élber at Stuttgart. The trio were known as the "magic triangle". He was voted as Stuttgart's best player of all time.
Coaching career
The year after he retired, Krasimir became assistant coach of the club he had just retired from, VfB Stuttgart. He stayed in this position for two years before deciding to become a player-manager at VFC Plauen, where he remained for just a short time.
He had been appointed on 16 January 2006 as a manager of Grasshopper Club Zürich to replace Hanspeter Latour who left for 1. FC Köln. Balakov managed to win the Intertoto Cup thus qualified the club to the UEFA Cup for 2006–07 season.
He had been appointed on 29 October 2007 as a manager of FC St. Gallen to replace Rolf Fringer. Three days before the season ended, he was fired by the club management.
In December 2008, he became manager of PFC Chernomorets Burgas in his homeland, taking over from Dimitar Dimitrov, after also having considered an offer to coach the national team of his country. On 6 December 2010, he was released from PFC Chernomorets Burgas after mutual consent, following a change in the long-term vision for the club by the owner Mitko Sabev.
On 27 May 2011, it was announced that Balakov will take over the helm of Croatian club Hajduk Split.
On 22 March 2012, Balakov was appointed the manager of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He was sacked on 17 May 2012, after being unable to prevent Kaiserslautern's relegation to the 2. Bundesliga. He subsequently continued his career as manager in his country.
International career
Balakov made 92 appearances for Bulgaria, between 1988 and 2003 (one of the best totals in national history) and scored 16 goals. Other than the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he also played for his country at Euro 1996 and the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Managerial statistics
- As of 6 November 2015.
| Team | From | To | Competition | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | GD | ||||
| Grasshopper Club Zürich | 16 January 2006 | 21 May 2007 | Swiss Super League | 53 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 35.85 | 71 | 54 | +17 |
| Europe | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 50.00 | 21 | 18 | +3 | |||
| Total | 65 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 38.46 | 92 | 72 | +20 | |||
| Chernomorets Burgas | 14 December 2008 | 6 December 2010 | Bulgarian A Professional Football Group | 60 | 29 | 16 | 15 | 48.33 | 79 | 54 | +25 |
| Bulgarian Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00 | 5 | 2 | +3 | |||
| Total | 62 | 30 | 16 | 16 | 48.39 | 84 | 56 | +28 | |||
| Hajduk Split | 31 May 2011 | 22 March 2012 | Prva HNL | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 59.09 | 42 | 17 | +25 |
| Croatian Cup | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 | 9 | 4 | +5 | |||
| Europe | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | 0 | 2 | –2 | |||
| Total | 28 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 57.14 | 51 | 23 | +28 | |||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 22 March 2012 | 17 May 2012 | Bundesliga | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 12.50 | 7 | 18 | –11 |
| Total | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 12.50 | 7 | 18 | –11 | |||
| Litex Lovech | 27 May 2014 | 11 July 2015 | Bulgarian A Professional Football Group | 31 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 51.61 | 49 | 32 | +17 |
| Bulgarian Cup | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 60.00 | 9 | 7 | +2 | |||
| Europa League | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33.33 | 8 | 6 | +2 | |||
| Total | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 50.00 | 66 | 45 | +21 | |||
| Career totals | League | 174 | 78 | 45 | 51 | 44.83 | 248 | 175 | +73 | ||
| Cup | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 63.64 | 23 | 13 | +10 | |||
| Europe | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 40.00 | 29 | 26 | +3 | |||
| Total | 205 | 93 | 51 | 61 | 45.37 | 300 | 214 | +86 | |||
Honours
Club
- Portuguese Cup winner: 1995
- DFB-Pokal winner: 1996–97
- UEFA Intertoto Cup winner: 2000, 2002
- DFB-Ligapokal finalist: 1997, 1998
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finalist: 1997–98
- Bundesliga runner-up: 2002–03
International
- FIFA World Cup fourth place: 1994
Individual
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1994
- Bulgarian Footballer of the Year: 1995, 1997
- FIFA XI (Reserve): 1996
- Leme de Arruda, Marcelo (20 October 2015). "FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 October 2015.